I enjoy and look forward to Mitchell First’s articles in The Jewish Link each week.

In this past week’s edition (“The Meaning of ‘Chamushim’ (Ex. 13:18)” January 28, 2021), he explained the word “Chamushim” חמושים from the start of בשלח פרשת. Chamushim חמושים is frequently translated as “armed.”

The adage אין דבר יוצא מפשוטו must apply. That adage states that the simplest meaning ascribed to a word must be respected, and the explanation can never be separated from that simplest form. There may be other explanations in addition. The sole exception is שיר השירים.

I agree that חמושים must be a derivative of the word חמש. The word חומש, Chumash, likewise, is a derivative of the word חמש, for the five books of the תורה, although it has taken on its own unique meaning. It is the derivative of the word for “5” nonetheless. The author offers alternative explanations of the word, its similarity to the word “belly” in Akadian and from Sanhedrin where it alludes to the fifth rib.

I believe there is a simpler explanation. The word חמושים is derived from the fact that common weapons at the time were held with “5” fingers: a spear, a sword, a dagger.

The English word “armed” is derived similarly, meaning, an extension of the warrior’s ARM. A perpetrator might be described as “armed and dangerous,” for example. Within this פרשה, Hashem says to Moshe, “Stretch out your ‘hand’ (all five fingers) to the sea, and its waters will split.” At the סדר, Seder, we say Hashem took us out of מצרים, Egypt: ביד חזקה ובזרוע נטויה, with a strong hand and a planted, or outstretched, or firm foreARM. In English we might describe a heroic act as done “single handedly.” There is an entire “play” on the word “יד” within the סדר. The point is that the term “arm,” “hand” or “all five fingers” are used to describe strength or warring ability.

רשי, Rashi, explains חמושים as, מזוינים meaning they were armed. I believe the word מזוינים derives from the letter “ז,” meaning they were armed with a weapon that looks like the letter “.ז” That letter, spelled out, is written זין, much as we would write out the letter A as “Ay” or Z as “Zee.” The word מזוינים derives from the word זין. The letter “ז” written in Torah script looks like a weapon. It has a straight shaft, the part that a warrior would hold with five fingers, and a pointy edge, as does a spear or a sword. The letter is not only a letter, it is a symbol of a weapon.

Interestingly, the modern Hebrew word for ARMS or ammunition (presumably attributed to Ben Yehuda) is from the same derivative of “five”: תחמושת.

Thank you, Mr. First, for your weekly inspiration. The closing words to each of Mr. First’s articles often allude to his abilities or his profession. Perhaps mine might be that as a developmental optometrist, I look and see things from a different vantage point.