@article {3202447, title = { \"Baruch yodea misparchem\" \– What Is the Meaning of the Word \"Mispar\" in the Blessing Formula? }, journal = {Leshonenu}, year = {Submitted}, abstract = {

This article examines the expression {\textquotedblleft}yodea misparkhem/mispar kulkhem{\textquotedblright}, which appears in the blessing recited upon passing through a cemetery. The discussion situates the phrase within the broader linguistic context of rabbinic blessings, which draw on multiple strata of Hebrew and form a poetic tapestry interwoven with biblical and midrashic language, often conveying theological themes.

The article proposes that the phrase {\textquotedblleft}yodea misparkhem{\textquotedblright} should not be understood as referring to a numerical count of the dead, but rather as {\textquotedblleft}knows the story of your lives{\textquotedblright}{\textemdash}a knowledge that forms the basis of divine judgment and the resurrection of the dead according to justice. To support this interpretation, the paper explores the possible meaning of the Hebrew noun mispar as {\textquotedblleft}narrative{\textquotedblright} or {\textquotedblleft}account,{\textquotedblright} a rare usage in Hebrew but attested in biblical and other early literature.

The article further suggests that the wording of the blessing preserves a homiletic interpretation of a verse from Balaam{\textquoteright}s blessing (Numbers 23:10), which rabbinic tradition associates with resurrection. According to the proposed reconstruction, the phrases {\textquotedblleft}'afar ya'akov{\textquotedblright} and {\textquotedblleft}rova' Israel{\textquotedblright} were understood as metonymies for the dead, while the verbs mana and safar were interpreted in the narrative sense. Thus, the cemetery blessing is shown to reflect a rich poetic and exegetical tradition, embedding biblical reference and eschatological theology within a fixed liturgical formula.

}, author = {Bar-Asher Siegal Elitzur A.} }