I am the L-rd Your G-d. (Exodus …) The Talmud says that the word “I” – Anochi – is an acronym for the words, “I gave over My soul in writing.”⁵. אנא נפשאי כתבית יהבית. Shabbat 105a. For it is known that the Torah corresponds to the human being, as the verse says: “This is the Torah – man” (Numbers …).⁶ Just as a human being has 258 limbs and 365 sinews,⁷ so the Torah has 248 positive commandments and 365 negative commandments.⁸ Every commandment corresponds to a particular organ, and gives life to that organ from the source of that commandment. Thus, a person’s life flows from the entire Torah. And just as there are five aspects of the soul: the nefesh, ruach, neshama, chaya and yechida, so there is the “body” of the Torah, and the spirit, its hidden secrets – Pardes.⁹literal, Remez – symbolic, Derush – homiletic, and Sod – mystical. Thus the word Anochi means “I gave over My soul in writing” – “My soul” refers to the Torah. Degel Machane Ephraim, Ha’Azinu

footnotes: ⁵ Ana nafshai ketavit yehavit ⁶ The full verse reads: “…”. However, in Hebrew, the first three words lack the conjunctive “of,’ and can therefore be interpreted to mean that a human being and the Torah correspond. ⁷ The Talmud uses this t ⁸ See Talmud, Makos 23b; Zohar 1:170b. ⁹ Literally, “an orchard,” but used as an acronym for the four modes of Torah interpreation: Peshat –