Week 49 (From the Book): To Bring More Light in Order to Extinguish Darkness Altogether

The Snail is saying, "Like the snail that melts away, a stillborn of a mole that does not see the sun." (Psalms 58:9)

Shmuel the Small would say: "When your enemy falls, do not rejoice; when he stumbles, let your heart not be gladdened. Lest G-d see, and it will displeasing in His eyes, and He will turn His wrath from him [to you]" (Proverbs 24:17-18).

Malchut shebeMalchut (kingship within the context of kingship)

In week forty-nine, as we approach the middle of the month of Elul, the snail in Perek Shirah declares that the enemies of Hashem will melt and will be like a stillborn that does not see the sun. (Psalm 58:9) The snail seems to be in a position that is even worse than that of the snake and the scorpion; it is literally fading and melting away. This verse is also deeply connected to the month of Elul when through our teshuvah we melt away our inner feelings of darkness and sadness and connect directly to G-d’s light.

The song of the snail comes from a Psalm in which King David refers to the ability to reduce the evil inclination to nothing, as he himself was able to accomplish. This statement is very appropriate for this week, given that it is on day forty-nine (or week 49 in this case) that we complete the Counting of the Omer. With the end of week forty-nine, we conclude the work of self-improvement of the emotional sefirot for this year. After climbing step by step, week after week, we hopefully significantly diminished the evil inclination within us.

The lesson from Pirkei Avot for this week is in the words of Shmuel HaKatan (“the Small”), who teaches us not to rejoice when our enemy falls, lest G-d dislike it, and turn away His wrath from him (onto us). (Chapter IV: 19; Proverbs 24:17-18) The teaching of Shmuel is connected to how we ought to behave in the face of the fall of our greatest enemy - our evil inclination. Shmuel HaKatan, was so named because of his great humility. We must seek always to be humble, especially in these days of Elul.

And completing the cycle, this week the sefirot combination results in Malchut shebeMalchut, which represents completely majestic behavior still connected to this material world. Malchut is also called the “poor” sefirah, in that it has nothing of its own – it simply reflects the emanations of the other sefirot. In that sense, it is very humble, like Shmuel HaKatan.

The lesson for self-improvement derived from the snail is that we must bring the light of the Torah to all those who are currently in spiritual darkness.

[Gematria Thought: As noted above, the number forty-nine represents the number of days of the Omer count, as well as the number of years until the Jubilee. Forty-nine is the culmination of the entire Omer count, and represents completion, seven times seven.]