Igeret Rabbi Shimshon me-Ostropoli — The Letter of Rabbi Shimshon of Ostropol

A copy from the sacred writings of the kabbalist our teacher Rabbi Shimshon, Maggid of Ostropolia, of blessed memory, martyred for the sanctification of God's name:

A great and awesome mystery — and it is written there that whoever contemplates this wondrous and awesome mystery in its proper form,

even once a year, and especially on the eve of Passover,

is assured that he will be saved that year from every stumbling block and from an unusual death,

that no person will have power over him, and that all his enemies will fall beneath him,

that he will tread upon their heights, succeed in all his endeavors, and profit in all his affairs,

until the coming of the Redeemer. Amen. Selah.

Peace to the rabbis of the land, those who build fences and stand in the breach,

may Adonai save them from destruction and ruin,

all of them holy ones who are upon the earth,

each one according to the sharpness of his mind asking and resolving.

Amen. Selah.

The essence of the matter is what the Ari, of blessed memory, wrote in his treatise called Pla'ot Rabbot,

in the gate called The Exodus from Egypt, chapter three, folio forty-two, side one,

and this is his language:

"I have already informed you that Pharaoh was stricken in Egypt with these ten plagues

through three thousand two hundred and eighty angels of destruction,

appointed over three heavens of impurity:

the first is called Shara, the second is called Tammuch, and the third is called Bish'ha,

and over them is the prince called Dalfakat, and over them and over all of them is the prince called Taka.

In the word Bereshit, ten are lacking from the third letter's position, six from the fourth, and six from the ninth, as written.

And this is what happened: the Egyptians were struck in Egypt with ten plagues,

and at the sea they were struck with fifty plagues —

this is the name Shin-Peh-Vav, with which David son of Jesse took hold, and that name spoke and struck.

From the side of the name Tav-Kuf-Lamed, the Egyptians were struck in Egypt with forty plagues,

and at the sea they were struck with two hundred plagues — and that name spoke and struck.

From the side of the name Alef-Shin-Tzadi-Heh, the Egyptians were struck in Egypt with fifty plagues,

and at the sea they were struck with two hundred and fifty plagues.

And through that which the Holy Blessed One strikes, through it He heals the exile.

What was their sin, what was their transgression, what was the faithlessness of our ancestors

that they had to be in this iron furnace,

until He redeemed them through these names: Dalet-Ayin-Bet, Tzadi-Dalet-Alef, Kaf-Shin-Chet-Bet."

Thus far the words of the Ari, of blessed memory.

And now, my teachers and masters, holy ones of Israel,

these words are wondrous — sealed and closed, locked with no one to open them.

Already the great ones of Israel have asked me to explain to them the words of the Ari, and I did not tell them.

But out of the greatness of my love for my teachers and masters,

I will reveal this mystery that was revealed to me in a dream, a nighttime vision,

and now I will reveal the matter by way of allusion before the honor of his Torah,

and may He who is merciful grant atonement.

This is the matter:

What the Ari, of blessed memory, wrote — that Pharaoh was stricken in Egypt with ten plagues, and so forth — his meaning is this:

For the masters of practical Kabbalah have said

that there are three thousand two hundred and eighty angels of destruction

appointed to strike the wicked, to punish them in Gehinnom, and to purify them of their sins.

And of this it was said: "to strike with the fist of wickedness" —

for the word egrof (fist) alludes to three thousand two hundred and eighty,

and through them was also struck Pharaoh the wicked.

And I, the writer, say that this is a wondrous mystery as it is written in enumeration and number:

Blood. Frogs. Lice. Wild beasts. Pestilence. Boils. Hail. Locusts. Darkness. Slaying of the Firstborn.

These ten plagues, as I have written them letter by letter,

add up to three thousand two hundred and eighty angels of destruction

appointed to purify the wicked —

and this is a wondrous plain meaning, which no eye has ever seen.

And the reckoning is exact when one writes Kinnam (lice) without the letter yud,

and Arov (wild beasts) without the letter vav,

and Choshech (darkness) without the letter vav.

Then the reckoning is precisely so — not one less and not one more —

than three thousand two hundred and eighty angels of destruction

who punish the wicked.

And this is what the Ari, of blessed memory, meant by "as it is written" —

meaning: as it is written in the Torah scroll, and not as it is written in prayerbooks and the printed Haggadah,

for there they are all written in their full spelling.

Rather they must be written defectively, as they are written in the Torah scroll.

And also Rabbi Yehudah did not write out all the signs in full but only as initial letters:

De-Tzach, Ada-Sh, Be-Achav —

as the scholar Rabbi Yitzchak Abravanel wrote, and as I wrote above.

And this is what the Ari, of blessed memory, wrote:

"In Bereshit, ten are lacking from the third" — meaning: the third plague, which is Kinnam (lice), is written without the yud.

"From the fourth, six" — which is the plague of Arov (wild beasts), also written without the vav.

"And six lacking from the ninth" — which is the plague of Choshech (darkness), also written without the vav.

And when he says "as it is written," he means that it is so written defectively in the Torah scroll, as mentioned above.

And this is the mystery of these "ten plagues that" the Holy Blessed One "brought" in Egypt —

precisely three thousand two hundred and eighty angels of destruction

who struck Pharaoh and the Egyptians in Egypt,

appointed over these three heavens:

one called Shara, and one called Tammuch, and one called Bish'ha.

In this too there is a great and wondrous mystery:

these three thousand two hundred and eighty camps

that struck Pharaoh and the Egyptians in Egypt, as stated,

who are appointed over these three heavens of impurity —

the text tells us a wondrous and awesome mystery,

and the Maggid established this, as he recited:

these "ten plagues that He brought" —

for within these three words are alluded the three heavens of impurity,

and the three thousand two hundred and eighty angels of destruction

that struck Pharaoh and the Egyptians in Egypt,

corresponding to the count of the ten plagues:

for the ten letters of "eser" (Shara), the letters of "makkot" (Tammuch), the letters of "she-hevi" (Bish'ha),

are an allusion to these three heavens of impurity

within which are appointed numbers equal to exactly three thousand two hundred and eighty angels of destruction,

corresponding to the count of the ten plagues: blood, frogs, and so on —

and they are those who struck Pharaoh and the Egyptians in Egypt,

for the angels of destruction are appointed to strike the wicked and purify them of their sins, as stated.

And through them He struck Pharaoh and the Egyptians in Egypt,

counting these ten plagues. And this is a great wonder.

And what the Ari, of blessed memory, wrote:

"And over them is the prince called Dalfakat" —

his meaning is that the root of this name derives from the word ha-Mitzrim (the Egyptians),

that is: the three heavens are: Ayin-Shin-Resh (eser), Mem-Kaf-Vav-Tav (makkot), Shin-Hey-Bet-Yud-Alef (she-hevi),

and it flows over ha-Mitzrim — which is the name Dalfakat —

formed from the letters that precede the letters of ha-Mitzrim,

and the final mem is the mem of the plural and is not part of the root.

The Maggid alluded to this in the phrase:

"these ten plagues that the Holy Blessed One brought upon the Egyptians in Egypt" —

that is to say: the letters that precede the letters of ha-Mitzrim.

And what the Ari, of blessed memory, wrote:

"And over them and over all of them is the prince called Taka" —

his meaning is that the initial letters of these ten plagues —

De-Tzach Ada-Sh Be-Achav — by gematria equal Taka,

equaling the numerical value of the prince exactly, and also equaling the value of the word asher (which),

and this is the mystery of the meaning of the verse in the section of Bo:

"that you may recount in the ears of your son and your grandson what I wrought among the Egyptians" —

the word asher (what) specifically, for it equals the number Taka,

and similarly there are a thousand such verses

that point to this mystery of asher,

corresponding to the count of the initial letters of the ten plagues as we have explained,

and we have wondrous mysteries in this.

But it is the glory of God to conceal a matter.

And what our teacher the Ari, of blessed memory, wrote:

"The name Shin-Peh-Vav, with which David son of Jesse took hold, and that name spoke and struck them in Egypt with ten plagues, and at the sea they were struck with fifty plagues.

And the name Tav-Kuf-Lamed spoke and struck them in Egypt with forty plagues, and at the sea they were struck with two hundred plagues.

And the name Alef-Shin-Tzadi-Heh spoke and struck them in Egypt with fifty plagues, and at the sea they were struck with two hundred and fifty plagues" —

his meaning concerns a wondrous and awesome mystery:

the dispute of Rabbi Yose the Galilean and Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Akiva mentioned in the Haggadah.

Rabbi Yose the Galilean offers his count, and Rabbi Eliezer offers his count, and Rabbi Akiva offers his count.

And this is what the Ari, of blessed memory, wrote:

the name Shin-Peh-Vav spoke and struck them in Egypt with ten plagues, and at the sea they were struck with fifty plagues —

an allusion to Rabbi Yose the Galilean.

For Rabbi Yose the Galilean by gematria equals Shin-Peh-Vav,

and what he wrote — that David son of Jesse took hold of this name —

is also an allusion: Dalet-Vav-Dalet, Bet-Nun, Yud-Shin-Yud by gematria equals the name Shin-Peh-Vav,

for it was specifically through that name that David son of Jesse came.

And this also alludes to what is written in the book Siddei Raza:

that Rabbi Yose the Galilean is a spark of the soul of David son of Jesse.

And this name struck them.

And from the side of the name Tav-Kuf-Lamed, the Egyptians were struck in Egypt with forty plagues, and at the sea they were struck with two hundred plagues —

an allusion to the mystery of Rabbi Eliezer, whose gematria equals Tav-Kuf-Lamed;

and that is why it is Rabbi Eliezer who specifically says:

that this is the name Tav-Kuf-Lamed — the Egyptians were struck in Egypt with forty plagues, and at the sea they were struck with two hundred plagues.

And what he wrote — that through the name Alef-Shin-Tzadi-Heh they were struck in Egypt with fifty plagues, and at the sea they were struck with two hundred and fifty plagues —

this is an allusion to the mystery of Rabbi Akiva,

whose gematria equals Alef-Shin-Tzadi-Heh with the kollel,

and it is this name that declared the Egyptians were struck in Egypt with fifty plagues,

and at the sea they were struck with two hundred and fifty plagues.

Behold, these three names — Shin-Peh-Vav, Tav-Kuf-Lamed, Alef-Shin-Tzadi-Heh — allude to these three Tannaim:

Rabbi Yose the Galilean by gematria equals Shin-Peh-Vav,

Rabbi Eliezer by gematria equals Tav-Kuf-Lamed,

Rabbi Akiva by gematria equals Alef-Shin-Tzadi-Heh.

And this is a wondrous and awesome mystery. A mystery of mysteries. A secret of secrets.

This is what I have written before the honor of his Torah, and may He who is merciful grant atonement for sin.

And what our teacher the Ari, of blessed memory, wrote:

"Through that which the Holy Blessed One strikes, through it He heals the exile;

what was the sin, what was the transgression of our ancestors" — and so forth — his meaning is:

In these ten plagues — De-Tzach, Ada-Sh, Be-Achav —

are alluded, through these letters, the secret and the reason for the descent of our ancestors to Egypt,

as I have written before the honor of his Torah.

And with these plagues He struck them,

and the Holy Blessed One healed us and struck them with a great blow —

this is the finger of God —

and from that very blow came healing to Israel,

for the Holy Blessed One redeemed them, as I have written.

And what he wrote: "What was their sin" — and so forth — meaning:

In these plagues is alluded the sin of our ancestors

that caused the descent into Egypt.

And we have a wondrous and awesome mystery to resolve this difficulty

that the honor of your Torah raised against me,

but this too is resolved as I have written before you —

wonders from His holy and pure Torah.

And what the Ari, of blessed memory, wrote:

"That the Holy Blessed One redeemed us through these names:

Dalet-Ayin-Bet, Tzadi-Dalet-Alef, Kaf-Shin-Chet-Bet" —

his meaning is that the first letters of De-Tzach Ada-Sh Be-Achav form Dalet-Ayin-Bet,

and the second letters form Tzadi-Dalet-Alef,

and the final letters form Kaf-Shin-Chet-Bet,

and within these three names are alluded the healing through which the Holy Blessed One healed Israel

and through which He redeemed us.

Behold, within those very plagues through which the Egyptians were struck,

are alluded the redemption and healing of Israel.

May it be the will of the Holy Blessed One

that He show us the coming of our Messiah speedily in our days,

together with the angels appointed for the redemption,

and may He fulfill in us the verse that is written:

"As in the days of your going out from the land of Egypt, I will show you wonders."

Amen, forever, Selah.