10 | MARCH 31 • 2022

student corner
Just Call Me 42
W

hen I was 6 years
old, a random
act of strangeness
changed my life. It all started
when my dad picked me up
from gymnastics
practice. I got
in his car and
randomly said to
him, “From now
on, call me 42.
”
My dad was
beyond confused
and still, to this
day, we’re perplexed as to where
it came from. Nevertheless, ever
since that car ride, the number
42 has become my number.
It appears everywhere for me,
following me around wherever
I go. Whether on a receipt or on
a clock, I find great comfort in
spotting this number in many
aspects of my life.
Until recently, I did not think
of 42 as having any significant
meaning, other than being
lucky for me. That changed a
few weeks ago when I came
across an article from The Times
of Israel titled “Forty -Two

Journeys to the Answer to the
Ultimate Question of Life, the
Universe and Everything.
” This
article revealed to its readers
the vast and powerful connec-
tions that the number 42 has to
Judaism, and more specifically,
to Kabbalistic tradition.
For instance, in the Torah
portion Massei, (Numbers
33-35), the 42 locations that
the Children of Israel camped
at after the Exodus from Egypt
are illustrated. Rabbi Israel Baal
Shem Tov, a Jewish mystic from
Poland who is regarded as the
founder of Hasidic Judaism,
interpreted this by explaining
that “The forty-two ‘stations’
from Egypt to the Promised
Land are replayed in the life of
every individual Jew, as his soul
journeys from its descent to
Earth at birth to its return to its
Source.
”
Not only is the number 42
embedded in the lives of all
Jews, but according to the
Zohar Chadash — a Kabbalistic
book — G-d brought the Jews
out of Egypt with the mystery of

his 42-letter name, just like how
heaven and Earth were created.
The universe was created with
this specific name of G-d, and
it just happens to be the signifi-
cant ineffable 42-lettered name.
Another instance of 42 in
Judaism appears in the well-
known prayer, Ana BeKoach.
This prayer, dating back to
the first century, was created
by a Kabalistic rabbi — Rabbi
Nehonia. Ana BeKoach is com-
posed of seven lines, each hav-
ing six words, totaling 42 words
in the prayer. When taking each
first letter of every word, the
result is a 42-letter name, which
is said, by Kabalistic scholars, to
be the essence of the creation,

and the name of G-d. For these
reasons, and many others, Ana
BeKoach is regarded in the mys-
tical tradition as no less than “a
portal to the power of creation
itself and to creation’s source.
”
Coming across all of these
connections and interrelations
between my lucky number and
my religion was enlightening
and substantiated my realization
that there had to be a bigger
reason as to why I embraced
this number at such a young
age. Maybe it was not so ran-
dom after all.

Aliyah Lofman is a junior at Frankel

Jewish Academy.

Aliyah
Lofman

PURELY COMMENTARY

I just watched and listened to
Zelensky speaking to Congress
on March 16, which included
the incredibly powerful video
which showed some of the hor-
rors that Putin’s Russian army
has inflicted on Ukraine and
its people. I am relieved that
the U.S., NATO, and so many
countries have banded together
to give money and weapons
to Ukraine as well as inflicting
strong economic sanctions
on Russia. Still, I can’t help
thinking about Schindler’s List,

the horrors of the Holocaust,
and remembering Schindler’s
memorable line, “I didn’t do
enough!”
We sit back in our comfort-
able homes in the United States,
watching calamities night after
night on our TV screens and
feel awful and futile in the face
of such devastation. It is great
that democracies have come
together, and that Democrats
and Republicans are mostly
united against Putin. But when
a heroic and desperate Zelensky
admits that “today, my age
stopped when the hearts of
more than 100 children stopped
beating. I see no sense in life

if it cannot stop the deaths,
”
my heart and millions of oth-
ers virtually stopped for a few
moments as well.
It is commendable that every
U.S. senator voted to condemn
Putin as a “war criminal.
” But
if the words from the Talmud,
“Whoever saves one life, saves
the world entire,
” are even
vaguely true, then we, even
after all of our donations and
thoughts and prayers, must still
accept the truth that we didn’t
do enough.
We didn’t do enough.

— Arnie Goldman

Farmington Hills

CORRECTIONS
• Despite reports in the March
10 JN, the rocket that damaged
the Kyiv TV tower in Ukraine
did not, in fact, harm the Babyn
Yar memorial, located in an
adjacent area, according to a
veteran Israeli journalist, Ron
Ben Yishai, who toured the site
and saw no signs of damage.

• In “
A Lone Soldier’s Story”
(page 22, March 17), Joseph
Icikson’s age and rank were
incorrect. Joseph Icikson is 22
and an active soldier in the
IDF. Also, Icikson was drafted
into the IDF; he did not vol-
unteer.

letters

continued from page 7