Da'at Torah Emet

שנאמר ורחבה מני ים
Sefer Habahir, verse 3 excerpt

Traditional interpretation: "As it is written (Iyov 11:9), 'It is wider than the sea.'"

The entire phrase has a gematria 953, and digit sums of 17 and 8.

The value 17 corresponds to tov טוב, the primordial light hidden away for the righteous in the "future to come" (that is, in Binah).

The value 8, from the perspective of Will, corresponds to the sefirah Hod. From the perspective of Action, 8 corresponds to the sefirah Binah.

Taken together, these two digit sums immediately connect together the ideas of tov, binah and hod. Kabbalistic tradition (R' Yitzchak Ginsburgh) teaches:

The spiritual service of teshuvah begins at the level of binah, "understanding," and concludes with the healing of hod, as the prophet says: "And his heart shall understand [binah] and he shall return and be healed [hod]."

This phrase contains a prophetic assay for ascertaining if the process of teshuvah has been completed. Having concluded the process, binah and hod are sealed with tov (פ).

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