Maghen Abraham - Thoughts From Mayer Sasson

In the merit of Kriyat Shma

"From twenty years old and upward every one that goes

)out into the public service … shall you… count them" (1,3

On the verse "From twenty years old and upward…shall you… count them" the Kisa Harachamim says, "This verse alludes to the fact that one who says Kriyat Shma on his bed (before going to sleep at night) is like one who holds a double headed sword in his hand and the bad spirits and bad angels cannot harm him, as it says in the Gemara "He who says Kriyat Shma on his bed the harmful spirits run away from him as if he was holding a double headed sword in his hand."

It is said – the Kriyat Shma has 248 words like the amount of limbs in a person and it has a special power to distance and kill harmful spirits that cause a person to sin.

The Kisa Harachamim adds, "and he will not dream bad dreams and his soul will arise above to the Heavens and with its breath will burn all the destructive powers, and then he (the one who reads Kriyat Shma on his bed) will sleep peacefully."

This is alluded to in the words "מבן עשרים שנה ומעלה" -"From twenty years old and upward" – has the initials "שמע" and instead of reading -"שָנָה"-years, we can read"שֵנָה" – sleep ---going "upward' .  "Every one that goes out" – those whose souls go out of them at night when they sleep and go upward to Heaven – the souls go up and sign on what the people did that day, for better or for worse.

The words "תפקדו אותם" – "you shall count them" is written in the plural alluding to the destructive angels and harmful spirits. A person who reads the Kriyat Shma burns them with his breath and this is alluded to in the word "תפקדו" which has the letters "תפ קדו". In numerology ת''פ is 480, the same as the bad spirit לילית. The letters "קדו" refer to burning. A person who reads Kriyat Shma on his bed burns up the bad group of לילית and will therefore not come to sin.

SHABBAT SHALOM!