Maghen Abraham - Thoughts From Mayer Sasson

And he hewed two tablets of stone like unto the first…" (34,4)

 Each person corresponds to one letter

The Migaleh Amukot wrote that the word Yisrael "ישראל" is initials for יש ששים רבוא אותיות לתורה – "There are six hundred thousand letters in the Torah". In other words, each person in Israel corresponds to one letter in the holy Torah and that is what gives his soul blessings and vitality.

Concerning this our Sages ob'm said that at the time of the Giving of the Torah the Heavens opened and all of Israel saw the Torah written in black fire on white fire and each one recognized the source of his soul and the source of his friend's soul – which letter alludes to him and is directed to him. All the Jews stood at the bottom of the mountain together to be prepared, just like the letters of the Torah above.

Someone who knew that the source of his soul was in the letter Beit from the word Breishit and knew that the soul of his friend was from the letter Reish of the same word – stood next to his friend whose source came from the letter next to his so that the Children of Israel stood below the same as the letters in the Torah above.

That is why it says "And the entire nation saw the sounds" – The entire nation saw the letters of the Torah written in fire above, "and the people saw and they trembled and stood afar off" – they moved and stood next to one another in order to connect below like the letters of the Torah above.

However the Meor Ainayim said that if a person sins he damages the letter that corresponds to him and thereby disqualifies the Torah scroll of Israel. Therefore the sinner must mend his ways be remorseful, and the letters of "חרטה" – remorse- come from the word "חרט" – engrave, for he is to engrave his letter again in the Torah, the letter that corresponds to his soul that was blemished.

 This is also the idea of repentance - a person must return the blemished letter to its rightful place. Every Jew has a letter in the holy Torah and that gives him blessings and vitality in This World. Therefore it is so important for each one of us to connect to his letter by engaging a lot in Torah and good deeds.

Our main job is to repent in order to correct ourselves so we become worthy of cleaving to that letter in the Torah that corresponds to us and thereby we will merit to join the 600,000 letters in a kosher Torah.

It says in the Gemara that because Israel did that deed (of the Golden Calf) G-d wanted to grab away the Tablets from Moshe and Moshe grabbed them (as if) from G-d. This was in order to give it to us since Moshe knew that without the holy Torah there is no vitality and no blessings and therefore no existence for the Jewish Nation in all generations.

Therefore let us strengthen ourselves in Torah and good deeds, for we must know that all learning and every good deed of ours brighten up the letter in the Torah that corresponds to us and when all Jews connect to their letters the holy Torah shines and tremendous vitality and blessings come down from Heaven to all of Israel.

 SHABBAT SHALOM!!

 Mayer Sasson