Steganography is a new word I have learned this week, defined in the dictionary as, “The art or practice of concealing a message, image, or file within another message, image, or file.”
 
Steganography was used by the cabal of Russian spies recently arrested in the USA to communicate intelligence information back to “Moscow Central.” These spies have been living for many years embedded in American society, on a long term mission to get acquainted with US diplomats and policy makers and pass useful information back to their handlers.  It will be interesting to see how this is handled diplomatically, especially in light of the recent furore over alleged passport misuse by the Mossad.  It appears at least one of those arrested entered the US on a forged Irish passport, possibly two passports; and it was because of the allegations against the Mossad that an Israeli embassy official was recently expelled from Ireland in protest.
 
Subliminal messaging is often used in advertising to subconsciously strengthen the message delivered. One of the most famous of these is the subliminal arrow in the blue and orange FedEx logo.  The arrow is formed by the white or “negative” space between the lower half of the capital “E” and the lower case “x,” and gives a subtle hint at movement, speed and direction. Once you are aware of the hidden arrow it will always jump out at you, brilliant in its simplicity.
 
As Jews we are well aware of the importance of the white space between the letters – we just don’t refer to it as “negative space,” because for us the white space is incredibly positive. In the Zohar it is written that the Torah scrolls are written as “black fire upon white fire,” and the Sages teach us that the white space is considered even more holy than the black letters. There are many explanations given but the simplest is possibly that the black letters represent the straightforward literal meaning of the text – what we call Pshat. The white letters contain all the other deep levels of Torah interpretation, known as Remez, Derash and Sod, together forming the acronym PaRDeS meaning an orchard – the orchard of  Torah wisdom.
 
At the very beginning of this week’s Parsha we have an example of subliminal messaging in the Torah. Pinchas, the zealous character who has saved the people from Divine retribution by killing a couple involved in an immoral and inappropriate act, is rewarded by G-d with the gift of eternal priesthood. Describing him, the Torah gives us his lineage as “son of  Elazar, son of Aharon haKohen.” The great sage Rashi comments here that we are told this lineage for a reason – it is to give us an image of who Pinchas was and what his motivation was for his vigilante actions.  Aharon, as we know, was a man of peace; he exemplified the search for peace and harmony. The Torah is telling us here, says Rashi, that the actions of Pinchas were not in his DNA from his maternal grandfather Jethro* but rather were traceable to his paternal grandfather Aharon. What Pinchas did was an act of kindness as it saved the entire nation from destruction, and this kindness was a trait of Aharon his grandfather.
 
So it is always important to read between the lines, absorb the white letters as well as the black, and ensure that we look beyond the simple translation – the pshat – to find deep and beautiful levels of interpretation, remez, drash and sod. Only then can we truly appreciate the orchard of  Torah knowledge with its beautiful fruit.
 
We are now in the period known as the “Three Weeks” of mourning for the destruction of the Batei Mikdash – the two Temples.  We are told that one of the primary causes of this destruction was “sinat chinam” a breakdown, without good cause, in harmonious relationships. These three weeks are a time when we strive to emulate Aharon, the man of peace, and to increase harmony in our interpersonal relationships, so that we can merit to see the cancellation of the Fast of  Av and to see the rebuilding of the Beit Hamikdash, speedily in our times.
 
Shabbat Shalom
 
Rabbi Zalman Lent

 *Many of the bystanders assumed that the actions of  Pinchas were negative and for ulterior motives. They attributed this to the influence of  his ancestor Jethro who had been an idol worshipper.