But then I began to think about it and I realized the corresponding Hebrew date to 9/11 was the twenty-third of Elul, and that also added up to eleven, since Elul is the sixth month of the Jewish calendar year and six plus two plus three equals eleven.
I turned to the portion of the week we read during 9/11 and combed the pages to determine whether the number eleven came up in the parshah. Sure enough: “Hidden things are for Hashem, our G-d, but the revealed things are for us and our children” (Deuteronomy 29:28). Over the words “to us and our children” are eleven cantillation dots.
I was determined to dig deeper.
In the Hebrew language each letter of the alphabet has a numerical value. Aleph is not just “a” but is also the number one, beit is not just “b” but is also the number two, and so on. Thus we can gain greater understanding of the meaning of words through numerology. The Hebrew word for repentance, return to G-d, is teshuvah, the numeric value of which is seven hundred thirteen (seven plus one plus three), once again adding up to eleven.
I examined other elevens in the Torah, in our prayers, and in our literature and discovered they are all somehow connected to teshuvah. Can these elevens be wake-up calls imploring us to re-examine our lives, our priorities? Is it not written in the Talmud that in every catastrophe visited on earth there is a message for us?
In the Holy Temple in Jerusalem the priests offered a special incense service on the Golden Altar. The incense had eleven spices, and they were offered every morning and evening. The service was so sacred that we still recall it in our daily prayers and enumerate all eleven spices. The Arizal taught that sincere recitation of that service brings one to repentance.
The Book of Psalms was written by King David but what is less well known is that Moshe Rabbeinu also composed Psalms and David included them in his book. How many Psalms did Moshe write? You guessed it – eleven.
Moshe imparted his last will and testament to the people in the eleventh month and reminded the nation that the journey from Mount Sinai to the Promised Land normally takes eleven days (Deuteronomy 1:2-3). It is a journey on which we must all embark.
I have much more to share on the number 11 and, please G-d, will do so in a future column. But for now let us all remember that we have come to the age of bar mitzvah and are in the Messianic days on our journey to our Promised Land.
It can be an easy journey or a painfully difficult one. The news that assails us on a daily basis is so horrific that one might assume even the most insensitive among us would be jarred and awakened by it. But we have become immune to the satanic evil that assails us.