The 5 Halogens and Parameter 199
Among the 15 non-metallic elements, 5 halogens (letter ה = 5) total 199 electrons.
According to the course, 199 = צדק צדק: the justice that governs this world, and the value of Tzedakah (צדקה).
The course adds that the Divine Name appears 199 times at letter skips in the Torah, and relays the Ari zal’s teaching on the unification of the Name through Tzedakah.
These 5 elements form the group VII B column. They are called halogens because they all form diatomic molecules, react with metals to form salts, and carry a charge of 1-.
Fluorine F = 9 (pale yellow gas) · Chlorine Cl = 17 (yellow-green gas) · Bromine Br = 35 (red-brown liquid) · Iodine I = 53 (violet-black solid) · Astatine At = 85 (radioactive element).
The 5 halogens correspond to the letter ה = 5, which belongs to this world. Their number of electrons gives the dimension that governs the brain of this world.
“Justice, justice shall you pursue, that you may live and inherit the land that the Eternal your G-d gives you” (Deuteronomy 16:20).
The commentators explain the repetition of the word “justice”: justice must be pursued by just means. “The end justifies the means” is rejected by the Torah: law cannot be built on what is crooked.
צֶדֶק (Tzedek): integral justice, without compassion or magnanimity, pure rigor. מִשְׁפָּט (Mishpat): justice that includes leniency. צְדָקָה (Tzedakah): justice softened by the letter ה of kingship, a synthesis of rigor and leniency.
“Tzedakah saves from death” (Proverbs 10). According to the course, this power comes from its metaphysical nature, which transcends the physical dimension: it belongs to the upper world, articulated in four worlds.
Ideas (Atzilut), letter י, formulation יוד הי ויו הי, 72 · Creation (Briah), ה, יוד הי ואו הי, 63 · Formation (Yetzirah), ו, יוד הא ואו הא, 45 · Action (Assiyah), ה, יוד הה וו הה, 52.
According to the course, searching the whole Torah for the Divine Name at a regular letter skip equal to each world’s value: skip of 72 letters, 55 times; of 63, 48 times; of 45, 49 times; of 52, 47 times.
Teaching of the Ari zal (Sefer HaLikutim, Deuteronomy 15:8): when one gives Tzedakah to a poor person, four elements unify the Divine Name.
1. The coin (the perutah), round like י. 2. The rich person’s hand, 5 fingers = ה. 3. The outstretched arm, straight like ו. 4. The poor person’s receiving hand, 5 fingers = ה, the receiving kingship.
According to the course, the divine presence is in the Torah, the blueprint of creation, to the same extent as in the four upper worlds, in measure of a single mitzvah: Tzedakah. This mitzvah is so important that it is thanks to it that Israel exists on the land.
“Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom” (Psalm 90:12).
Quiz — The 5 Halogens and Parameter 199
Five questions to check