The Three Hands of Hashem
A number of months ago, a friend of mine asked me why some people (such as 'yours truly') clap from time to time during davening, even during Shemoneh Esreh itself. At the time, I didn't give him much of an answer as I was caught off guard and didn't have sufficient knowledge at my fingertips. Nevertheless, since we just highlighted the need for dance in last week's essay, it seems that now is an appropriate time to rectify my shortcoming and to introduce all of us to the subject of hand-clapping.
We learned from last week's essay that dancing and hand-clapping mitigate judgments (Likutei Moharan 10:1): 讻职旨砖侄讈讬值旨砖讈 讞址住 讜职砖指讈诇讜止诐 讚执旨讬谞执讬诐 注址诇 讬执砖职讉专指讗值诇 注址诇志讬职讚值讬 专执拽旨讜旨讚执讬诐 讜职讛址诪职讞指讗址转 讻址旨祝 讗侄诇 讻址旨祝 谞址注植砖侄讉讛 讛址诪职转指旨拽址转 讛址讚执旨讬谞执讬谉 (When there are, G d forbid, judgments [dinim] upon Yisrael, dancing and clapping hands sweetens the dinim). But hand-clapping in what context? Hand-clapping during tefillah, as taught explicitly by R' Nachman. To illustrate, read these opening statements in three sequential teachings in Likutei Moharan: L.M. 44, 诪址讛 砖侄旨讈诪址旨讻执旨讬谉 讻址旨祝 讗侄诇 讻址旨祝 讘执旨砖职讈注址转 讛址转职旨驻执诇指旨讛 (Regarding hand-clapping during tefillah), L.M. 45, 诪侄讞指讗址转 讻址旨驻址旨讬执诐 讘址旨转职旨驻执诇指旨讛 (Clapping during tefillah), and L.M. 46, 诪侄讞指讗址转 讻址旨祝 讘执旨砖职讈注址转 讛址转职旨驻执诇指旨讛 (Clapping during tefillah). Although there are many other sources that explain the lofty avodah of clapping during tefillah, these should suffice for our purposes. Therefore, at face value, hand-clapping seems like a very good thing (provided we don't unnecessarily disturb others by clapping loudly). Therefore, if we believe that alleviating the burden of judgments against us (and by extension, our families, our communities and our nation) would be a good thing, then we should, at the very least, learn about this subject with an open mind. Let's begin.
For the most part, what primary emotion leads a person to want to clap his hands? Joy. R' Nachman expressed it this way (L.M. 10:6): 讻执旨讬 专执拽旨讜旨讚执讬谉 讜职讛址诪职讞指讗址转 讻址旨祝 谞执诪职砖指讈讻执讬谉 诪执讘职旨讞执讬谞址转 讛指专讜旨讞址 砖侄讈讘址旨诇值旨讘 讻址旨谞执旨专职讗侄讛 讘职旨讞讜旨砖讈 讻执旨讬 注址诇志讬职讚值讬 砖执讉诪职讞址转 讛址诇值旨讘 讛讜旨讗 诪职专址拽值旨讚 讜旨诪址讻侄旨讛 讻址旨祝 讗侄诇 讻址旨祝 (For dancing and hand-clapping are drawn down from the spirit [ruach] that is in the heart; as is readily apparent, for through simchah of the heart, a person dances and claps his hands). That being said, how can we make ourselves suitable vessels to receive this ruach? There are two necessities. First, we must eliminate (as much as possible) any trace of arrogance, and second, we need to connect to the ruach of Mashiach, i.e. the Tzaddik, who is in the aspect of Yoshiyahu, the last righteous king of Yisrael who was killed in battle by soldiers of Pharaoh's army. Of him, Yirmeyahu wrote (Eichah 4:20): 专讜旨讞址 讗址驻值旨讬谞讜旨 诪职砖执讈讬讞址 讬职讬指 (The ruach of our nostrils, the Mashiach of Hashem). These two points are summarized in L.M. 10:6: 讛址讬职谞讜旨 注址诇志讬职讚值讬 讛址爪址旨讚执旨讬拽 砖侄讈讛讜旨讗 讘职旨讞执讬谞址转 专讜旨讞址 讻址旨谞址旨"诇 谞执转职讘址旨讟值旨诇 讛址讙址旨讗植讜指讛 (Thus, through the Tzaddik, who is the aspect of ruach, arrogance is nullified).
But what if we haven't yet come to the level where we're feeling simchah with every breath we take? Assuming that we want to mitigate the harsh judgments hanging over our lives, what should we do? We should clap our hands anyway. But wouldn't that be an act of hypocrisy? No, on the contrary, it would be an act of emunah. In the Kabbalistic literature, a process known as 'female waters' [诪讬讬谉 谞讜拽讘讬谉, mayin nukvin] describes actions initiated 'below' by us which trigger actions from 'above' in the higher worlds. In our case, the very act of clapping one's hands is in the aspect of mayin nukvin which has the power to draw down simchah from the upper worlds into one's heart.
Now let's get into some of the details of what's going on 'behind the scenes' as a result of clapping one's hands. What is actually happening when we clap our hands during tefillah?
We read in Tehillim 111:6: 讻止旨讞址 诪址注植砖指讉讬讜 讛执讙执旨讬讚 诇职注址诪旨讜止 诇指转值转 诇指讛侄诐 谞址讞植诇址转 讙旨讜止讬执诐 (He declared the power of His works [koach ma'asav] to His people, to give to them the inheritance of the goyim). This verse explains why Hashem began the Torah with the account of creation rather than with the giving of the Torah. Rashi spells it out by quoting the Midrash Tanchuma: 讻转讘 诇讬砖专讗诇 诪注砖讛 讘专讗砖讬转 诇讛讜讚讬注诐 砖讛讗专抓 砖诇讜 讜讘讬讚讜 诇讛讜砖讬讘 讘讛 讻诇 诪讬 砖讬专爪讛 讜诇注拽讜专 讗诇讜 讜诇讛讜砖讬讘 讗讞专讬诐 砖诇讗 讬讜讻诇讜 讛讗讜诪讜转 诇讜诪专 诇讬砖专讗诇 讙讝诇谞讬诐 讗转诐 砖讻讘砖转诐 讗专抓 砖讘注讛 讙讜讬诐: (He wrote to Yisrael the account of creation to inform them that the world is His, and it is in His power to settle in it anyone He wants, and to uproot these and to cause others to settle, so that the nations won't be able to say to Yisrael, 'You are thieves for you conquered the land of the seven nations'). Therefore, everything in creation is considered an aspect of 'the power of His works' [讻止旨讞址 诪址注植砖指讉讬讜, koach ma'asav]. And what are those works? How did creation begin? It began with the 28 letters of the first verse of the Torah (Bereshit 1:1): 讘职旨专值讗砖执讈讬转 讘指旨专指讗 讗直诇止拽执讬诐 讗值转 讛址砖指旨讈诪址讬执诐 讜职讗值转 讛指讗指专侄抓 (In the beginning, G d created the heavens and the earth). Now, since the word 讻止旨讞址 [koach] has the gematria of 28, the phrase koach ma'asav can be understood as, 'His works are 28', i.e. the 28 letters of Bereshit 1:1. In other words, everything in creation can be traced back to these 28 letters. They are that fundamental. What is the practical ramification of this fact? The 28 letters of Bereshit 1:1 parallel the 28 segments of the fingers in the two hands (3 for each finger and 2 for each thumb), 14 for each hand, the word 讬指讚 [yad, hand] having the gematria of 14.
That's quite a bit, so feel free to read that last paragraph at least one more time. The main point is that, in some highly mystical sense, which is not at all intuitive, G d created everything through the power of His two hands. But it's more than just that (L.M. 44:1): 讜旨讻职砖侄讈讗指谞讜旨 诪指讞职讗指谉 讻址旨祝 讗侄诇 讻址旨祝 讘指旨讝侄讛 谞执转职注讜止专值专 讻"讞 讗址转职讜指谉 讚执旨讘职专值讗砖执讈讬转 讻止旨讞址 诪址注植砖指讉讬讜 (And when we clap hands, we awaken the 28 letters of Bereshit, the power of His works, i.e. koach [28] ma'asav). This is remarkable! What this means is that we can tap into and activate the power of creation merely by clapping hands during davening. It is as if we are not only re-creating the world around us anew, but we are also involved in the active re-creation of ourselves, for we are an aspect of creation! Therefore, by clapping hands during tefillah one can release himself from his burdens and the dinim against him because a re-created self doesn't have to be saddled with the burdens and the judgments of his previous self. Think about that. That is the power of creation that one can unleash by clapping during his prayers.
To recapitulate what we have learned (L.M. 46): 讙址旨诐 注址诇志讬职讚值讬 诪侄讞指讗址转 讻址旨祝 谞执诪职转指旨拽执讬诐 讛址讚执旨讬谞执讬诐 (By clapping hands, dinim are sweetened). But how? Based on the Tikkunei Zohar and the writings of the Arizal, R' Nachman reveals (L.M. 46): 讻执旨讬 讬值砖讈 砖指讈诇止砖讈 讛植讜指讬讜止转 砖侄讈讛值诐 讘职旨讞执讬谞址转 砖指讈诇止砖讈 讬指讚址讬执诐: 讬指讚 讛址讙职旨讚讜止诇指讛 讬指讚 讛址讞植讝指拽指讛 讬指讚 讛指专指诪指讛 讜职讬址讚 讬指诪执讬谉 讝侄讛 讬指讚 讛址讙职旨讚讜止诇指讛 讜职讬址讚 砖职讉诪止讗诇 讝侄讛 讬指讚 讛址讞植讝指拽指讛 讜旨讘执砖职讈注址转 讛址讻指旨讗指讛 砖侄讈谞执旨转职讞址讘职旨专执讬诐 讬址讞址讚 讝侄讛 讘职旨讞执讬谞址转 讬指讚 专指诪指讛 (For there are three 'Havayahs' [3 times the name of Hashem, 讬 拽 讜 拽], that are the aspect of three hands, the 'great hand' [yad gedolah], the 'strong hand' [yad chazakah], and the 'exalted hand' [yad ramah]. The right hand is the yad gedolah, the left hand is the yad chazakah, and at the time of striking, they connect to each other, which is the aspect of yad ramah).
Keep in mind that these 'hands' of Hashem are not hands in the normal sense of the word with a recognizable shape and form such as the human hand. What are they then? They are the spiritual lights of the sefirot in the world of Atzilut. The 'right hand' called yad gedolah corresponds to chesed on the 'right' column, the 'left hand' called yad chazakah corresponds to gevurah on the 'left' column, and the third hand called yad ramah corresponds to tiferet in the 'middle' column. Therefore, we see that Hashem doesn't just have two 'hands' as we said earlier; rather, he has three 'hands', with His third hand being the sefirah of tiferet, the merging of the 'right hand' of chesed with the 'left hand' of gevurah into the 'middle of the body'. And do we remember what is the essence of the light of tiferet? Truth, beauty, mercy, etc. Therefore, without that third hand, the combining of the right and left hands at the moment of clapping, our prayers are devoid of truth and beauty, and do not invoke the mercy of Hashem.
Before we proceed further to explain why the three names of Hashem [Havayah] were mentioned above, let's apply this knowledge to what we learned already about the koach ma'asav and the act of creation. Hashem didn't create everything just through the power of His two hands, but rather through the power of His three hands! He took his 'right' hand (chesed) and his 'left' hand (gevurah) and struck them together in a mystical, spiritual process known as 'clapping of the hands', and this is how the worlds were created. In other words, Hashem created the worlds with chesed, gevurah and tiferet, His three 'hands'. And that is why when we clap our hands in the spiritual work known as tefillah, we are re-activating the very power of creation itself.
So why mention the three Havayahs, all three being activated only when we clap our hands. What do they have to do with anything? Let's continue in L.M. 46: 讜职讛址讚执旨讘旨讜旨专执讬诐 讛址讬旨讜止爪职讗执讬诐 讛值诐 讬讜止爪职讗执讬诐 诪值讛址讙指旨专讜止谉 讙执旨讬诪址讟职专执讬指旨讗 砖指讈诇止砖讈 驻职旨注指诪执讬诐 讗直诇止拽执讬诐 讜职讛值诐 谞执诪职转指旨拽执讬诐 注址诇志讬职讚值讬 砖指讈诇止砖讈 讛植讜指讬讜止转 (And the speech that emerges, emerges from the throat [garon], with a gematria that equals the gematria of 3 x Elokim, and they are sweetened, i.e. mitigated, by the three Havayahs). As is known, the name Elokim, with its gematria of 86, is the name of G d associated with din. From the moment we open up our mouths to speak in prayer, we find ourselves facing our sins, hence the dinim against us, i.e. the legal presumption of guilt as exemplified by the gematria of 3 x Elokim [258 + 1] = gematria of garon [259]. However, all is not lost. As is also known, the name Havayah is the name of G d associated with chesed. So the three Havayahs sweeten the 3 Elokims. But how does the name Havayah correspond to 'hand' in order to mitigate the din in Elokim? To spell it out: 讻执旨讬 讬指讚 讛讜旨讗 讘职旨讞执讬谞址转 讛植讜指讬指讛 讬讜旨讚 讗讜止转执讬旨讜止转 讜职讚' 讗讜止转执讬旨讜止转 讜职注址诇志讬职讚值讬 讙' 讛址讬指旨讚址讬执诐 砖侄讈讛讜旨讗 讙' 讛植讜指讬讜止转 谞执诪职转指旨拽执讬谉 讛址讙' 讗直诇止拽执讬诐, 砖侄讈讛值诐 讛址讚执旨讬谞执讬谉 讛址讬旨讜止爪职讗执讬谉 诪值讛址讙指旨专讜止谉 砖侄讈讛讜旨讗 讘职旨讙执讬诪址讟职专执讬指旨讗 讙' 讗直诇止拽执讬诐 (For yad [gematria of 14] is the aspect of Havayah, i.e. 10 letters and 4 letters, and through the three yads which are the three Havayahs, the three Elokims are sweetened, which are the dinim that come out of the throat [garon], which has the gematria of three Elokims). The 10 corresponds to the number of letters in Havayah when each letter is spelled out, i.e. 讬讜"讚 讛"讬 讜讗"讜 讛"讬, and the 4 corresponds to the number of letters in the name Havayah itself, i.e. 讬 拽 讜 拽.
The miracle is that when we clap our hands together during tefillah, hands which correspond to the three Havayahs, i.e. the three hands of Hashem, we sweeten the judgments against us because we activate and draw down to us the attribute of tiferet, the 'third' hand, which is synonymous with mercy, i.e. rachamim. Without the third hand, we only have chesed and gevurah, and without the mercy, as we have already seen, the side of gevurah wins out. But with the third hand, we activate Hashem's attribute of rachamim which sweetens everything.
Next time you pray, if you are feeling too self-conscious or spiritually 'disconnected' from what you're doing, at least consider these three beautiful verses. It is written in Tehillim 47:2: 讻讎旨诇志讛指注址诪执旨讬诐 转执旨拽职注讜旨志讻指祝 讛指专执讬注讜旨 诇值讗诇止拽执讬诐 讘职旨拽讜止诇 专执谞指旨讛 (All the peoples, join together hands, shout out to G d with a voice of joyful song). Not only people, but even trees will be clapping their hands (Yeshayah 55:12): 讻执旨讬志讘职砖执讉诪职讞指讛 转值爪值讗讜旨 讜旨讘职砖指讈诇讜止诐 转旨讜旨讘指诇讜旨谉 讛侄讛指专执讬诐 讜职讛址讙职旨讘指注讜止转 讬执驻职爪职讞讜旨 诇执驻职谞值讬讻侄诐 专执谞指旨讛 讜职讻讎诇志注植爪值讬 讛址砖指旨讉讚侄讛 讬执诪职讞植讗讜旨志讻指祝 (For in simchah you will go out and in peace you will be brought in, the mountains and the hills will shout aloud before you in joyful song, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands). And if that's not enough, even the inanimate structures such as rivers will be clapping their hands (Tehillim 98:8): 谞职讛指专讜止转 讬执诪职讞植讗讜旨志讻指祝 讬址讞址讚 讛指专执讬诐 讬职专址谞值旨谞讜旨 (Rivers will clap hands, the mountains will sing joyously together).
Do we really want to be left out?
