Daf Yomi, Marriage Counseling, Psychotherapy, Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, Torah and Psychology
Our Gemara on Amud Beis discusses how the wafer Mincha offerings were smeared with oil:
“The oil is smeared in a shape similar to the Greek letter chi.”
There is some debate amongst the commentaries about what this letter was and what shape it was:
The letter “X” (Rambam, Klei Mikdash 1:9)
The Hebrew letter “Tes” (Rashi, Menachos 75a)
Or Gimmel, Nun, or Chaf (Tosafos ibid.)
Or Chaf (Rashi Horiyos 12a), which could be a Delta (a triangle) or reverse chaf sofis, which is a Gamma (Hon Ashir Mishna Menachos 6:3 and Sefer Daf al Daf).
If this pattern is a unique shape, it is understandable that the rabbis used a Greek letter, but according to the commentaries that say this pattern represents a Hebrew letter, we must wonder: why did the rabbis need to reference a Greek letter? Why not just use the Hebrew letter?
In Menachos daf 34b, the Gemara discusses the etymology of the word “totafos,” referring to the head tefillin (Shemos 13:16). Rabbi Akiva explains that the word is composed of two foreign terms meaning two: tat in the language of Katfei and pat in Afriki, totaling four.
Here too, we have an odd use of foreign language in Torah discourse. Sefer Daf al Daf cites the Pri Ha’Aretz, who explains that since Hebrew is the root language, remnants of it remain embedded in other languages as spiritual pathways back to holiness.
Likkutei Moharan (33:2) teaches that holiness can be found everywhere, even in secular or foreign contexts. The Torah’s use of obscure languages emphasizes that Godliness can be accessed even in distant strata. The formulation “two plus two” instead of four may imply that uncovering holiness often requires aggregation—piecing together fragmented experiences to arrive at spiritual awareness.
So we might consider that there is some mystical release of potential embedded in each of these Greek letters or symbols. I cannot speak as to what they might be hinting at, which requires more study.
On a less mystical note, the famous scholar and controversial rabbinic figure Saul Lieberman is said to have asserted that whenever Talmudic literature uses a Greek or Latin term when a Hebrew word was available, there is a meaning they are trying to convey. For example, Synhedrion, or Sanhedrin, which is an obviously Greek word (you can tell because it has no Hebrew shoresh), could easily have been described as Beis Din HaGadol. The rabbis utilized the secular term Sanhedrin most likely to allow for the secular Roman or Greek government to respect their legal sovereignty. If so, the anointing of Temple objects, kohanim, and sacrifices may also have projected to the secular bodies of government the idea of kingship and sovereignty at the Temple. Utilizing the Greek letters may have enforced the idea of governance at the Temple, which must have been useful during times when the Jewish people were allowed self-governing status, albeit under the rulership of their occupying overlords, be they Greek or Roman, such as the time of the Second Temple. Oil, as a method of recognizing royalty, may have been universally recognized. Using a corresponding Greek letter may have conveyed a particular status or meaning which is hard to identify this late in history. However it is true that to this day, we use Greek letters to symbolize ideas in mathematics, physics, and philosophy.
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Translations Courtesy of Sefaria, except when, sometimes, I disagree with the translation
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Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, LCSW-R, LMFT, DHL is a psychotherapist who works with high conflict couples and families. He can be reached via email at simchafeuerman@gmail.com