5

Michael Stevens released an astounding video where he proved that the human body topologically resembles a 7 branched Menorah (17 minutes in). There are 7 "through holes" (complete holes; ie: a doughnut has 1) in the human body that are all interconnected. The 7 orifices that all interconnect to the rear are:

  1. Mouth
  2. Left Nostril
  3. Right Nostril
  4. Upper Left Tear Duct (Lacrimal Punctum)
  5. Lower Left Tear Duct (Lacrimal Punctum)
  6. Upper Right Tear Duct (Lacrimal Punctum)
  7. Lower Right Tear Duct (Lacrimal Punctum)

In the video, Michael Stevens showed how topologically (by only stretching/squashing and not gluing/ripping/sewing), the body transforms into a Menorah:

Face with 7 holes Smoothed face with 7 holes Menorah-like 7 holes Menorah-like structure Are there any Talmudic/Kabbalistic/Midrashic sources or commentaries which equate a body to a 7-branched Menorah?

2
  • Astounding indeed! I am also surprised that the video author seems to have no knowledge of the shape and concept of a menorah instead referring to the image (bottom one in your post) as resembling a "bodysuit for a spider". I would have thought the idea of a menorah was a pretty universally known concept and especially for this very knowledgeable video author. (Do you think he knew of it and chose to ignore it for whatever reason?)
    – Gre''i
    May 18, 2020 at 8:50
  • I honestly have no idea @Gre''i.
    – Moshe
    Sep 23, 2021 at 17:28

3 Answers 3

4

It seems that the Alshich suggests this as well, saying in fact that the ears represent the outer branches, the eyes represent the next 2 branches, then the nostrils, and finally the mouth.

I saw that written here:

https://books.google.com/books?id=MvUlAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA55&lpg=PA55&dq=%22menorah%22+%22nostril%22+%22mouth%22&source=bl&ots=ZxuU-sejW-&sig=ACfU3U3v2sLGvJi0dGAp55sAzHCfUPGcCQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj9q8P7lqHpAhUoh-AKHemVAtoQ6AEwAnoECGIQAQ#v=onepage&q=%22menorah%22%20%22nostril%22%20%22mouth%22&f=false

Menorah description from Alshich

1
3

Not quite the body, but Rebbe Nachman discusses the Menorah and the face in Likutei Moharan (21:2) (quote from Sefaria):

ב אֲבָל לְהַגִּיעַ לִבְחִינַת שֶׁפַע אֱלֹקִי הַנַּ"ל אִי אֶפְשָׁר לָבוֹא לָזֶה, אֶלָּא שֶׁיְּקַדֵּשׁ אֶת פִּיו וְחָטְמוֹ וְעֵינָיו וְאָזְנָיו, וְהֵן הֵן מְאִירִין לוֹ שֶׁפַע אֱלֹקִי הַנַּ"ל.

But to arrive at this concept of Godly influx is impossible, unless one sanctifies his mouth, nose, eyes and ears. Precisely these are what radiate the Godly influx to him.

הַיְנוּ, שֶׁיִּשְׁמֹר אֶת עַצְמוֹ מִלְּהוֹצִיא שֶׁקֶר מִפִּיו, וְיִהְיֶה לוֹ יִרְאַת שָׁמַיִם, שֶׁהוּא בְּחִינַת חֹטֶם, בִּבְחִינַת (ישעיהו י״א:ג׳): וַהֲרִיחוֹ בְּיִרְאַת ה', וְיִהְיֶה לוֹ אֱמוּנַת חֲכָמִים, הַתָּלוּי בְּאֻדְנִין, בִּבְחִינַת (משלי כ״ב:י״ז): שְׁמַע דִּבְרֵי חֲכָמִים; וְיַעֲצִים עֵינָיו מֵרְאוֹת בְּרַע,

In other words, a person should guard himself from allowing anything false to emerge from his mouth. And he should have fear of Heaven. as in (Isaiah 11:3), “He shall breathe of the fear of God.” And he should have faith in the sages. as in (Proverbs 22:17), “Hear the words of the wise.” And he should keep his eyes shut so as not to look at evil.

כִּי הֵן הֵן הַמְעוֹרְרִין אֶת שֶׁפַע אֱלֹקִי הַנַּ"ל לָבוֹא, כִּי הַפֶּה וְהַחֹטֶם וְהָעֵינַיִם וְהָאָזְנַיִם תְּלוּיִים בַּמֹּחַ, וְהֵן מְעוֹרְרִין אֶת הַמֹּחַ שֶׁיִּהְיֶה בִּבְחִינַת קֶדֶם, בִּבְחִינַת פָּנִים.

For precisely these are what arouse the Godly influx to come. This is because the mouth and the nose and the eyes and the ears are contingent upon the mind. They waken the mind that it should be in the category of “front,” in the category of face.

וְזֶה בְּחִינַת (תהילים קי״ט:ק״ס): רֹאשׁ דְּבָרְךָ אֱמֶת – זֶה בְּחִינַת מֹחַ הַנֶּאֱמַר אֵצֶל פֶּה; וְזֶה (שם קיא): רֵאשִׁית חָכְמָה יִרְאַת ה' – זֶה בְּחִינַת מֹחַ הַנֶּאֱמַר אֵצֶל חֹטֶם; וְזֶה בְּחִינַת (משלי ט׳:ח׳): הוֹכַח לְחָכָם וְיֶאֱהָבֶךָּ – זֶה בְּחִינַת מֹחַ הַנֶּאֱמָר אֵצֶל אֻדְנִין, בִּבְחִינַת: שְׁמַע דִּבְרֵי חֲכָמִים; וְזֶה בְּחִינַת (בראשית ג׳:ז׳): וַתִּפָּקַחְנָה עֵינֵי שְׁנֵיהֶם – זֶה בְּחִינַת מֹחַ הַנֶּאֱמַר אֵצֶל עַיְנִין.

This is the concept of (Psalms 119:160), “Rosh devarkha (Your very first utterance) is truth”—the aspect of mind as it applies to the mouth. And this is (ibid. 111:10), “Reishit chokhmah (The beginning of wisdom) is the fear of God”—the aspect of mind as it applies to the nose. And this is the concept of (Proverbs 9:8), “Rebuke the wise man and he will love you”—the aspect of mind as it applies to the ears, as in, “Hear the words of the wise.” And this is the concept of (Genesis 3:7), “And the eyes of both of them were opened”—the aspect of mind as it applied to the eyes.

וְהֵן הֵן שִׁבְעַת הַנֵּרוֹת, כִּי פֶּה וּתְרֵין נֻקְבָּא חֹטְמָא וּתְרֵין עַיְנִין וּתְרֵין אֻדְנִין הֵם בְּחִינַת שִׁבְעַת הַנֵּרוֹת, וּמְנַרְתָּא דָּא רֵישָׁא, הַיְנוּ הַמֹּחַ, וּפְנֵי הַמְּנוֹרָה הַיְנוּ שֶׁפַע אֱלֹקִי הַנַּ"ל:

And precisely these are the “seven candles.” For the mouth, the two nostrils, the two eyes, and the two ears correspond to the seven candles. The menorah is the head—the mind. And the face of the menorah is the Godly influx.

0
2

Malbim compares it to the branches of the lungs, actually. (See his lengthy essay in Parshas Terumah.)

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .