Ramban, the perfect encoding of Torah, and hidden messages such as Torah codes

From the Ramban's hakdama to his commentary on Chumash:

עוד יש בידינו קבלה של אמת, כי כל התורה כולה שמותיו של הקב"ה, שהתיבות מתחלקות לשמות בענין אחד. כאילו תחשוב על דרך משל, כי פסוק בראשית יתחלק לתיבות אחרות, כגון: בראש יתברא אלהים. וכל התורה כן, מלבד צירופיהן וגימטריותיהן של שמות.

וכבר כתב רבינו שלמה בפירושיו בתלמוד, ענין השם הגדול של ע"ב, באיזה ענין הוא, בשלשה פסוקים: ויסע ויבא ויט. ומפני זה ספר תורה שטעה בו באות אחת, במלא או בחסר - פסול. כי זה הענין יחייב אותנו לפסול ס"ת שיחסר בו ו' אחד ממלות אותם שבאו מהם ל"ט מלאים בתורה, או שיכתוב הו' באחד משאר החסרים, וכן כיוצא בזה, אע"פ שאינו מעלה ולא מוריד כפי העולה במחשבה.

וזה הענין שהביאו גדולי המקרא למנות כל מלא וכל חסר, וכל התורה והמקרא, ולחבר ספרים במסורת עד עזרא הסופר הנביא, שנשתדל בזה, כמו שדרשו מפסוק ויקראו בספר בתורת האלהים מפורש ושום שכל ויבינו במקרא. ונראה שהתורה הכתובה באש שחורה על גבי אש לבנה, בענין הזה שהזכרנו היה, שהיתה הכתיבה רצופה בלי הפסק תיבות, והיה אפשר בקריאתה שתקרא על דרך השמות, ותקרא על דרך קריאתנו בענין התורה והמצוה, ונתנה למשה רבינו על דרך קריאת המצות, ונמסר לו על פה קריאתה בשמות.

וכן יכתבו השם הגדול שהזכרתי כולו רצוף, ויתחלק לתיבות של שלוש שלוש אותיות, ולחלוקים אחרים רבים, כפי השימוש לבעלי הקבלה. 

"There is also in our hands a true tradition that the entire Torah is composed entirely of Divine names. That the words are divided into Names in one matter. As if you would consider, by way of analogy, that the pasuk of Bereishit would be divided into other words. Such as [in place of בראשית ברא אלהים, "In the beginning of God's creation...], בראש יתברא אלהים. And all the Torah so, aside from the combinations and the gematriot of the names.


And Rabbeinu Shlomo {=Rashi} already wrote in his commentary to the Talmud [on Succah 45a] the matter of the great Name of 72 [letters], and in what manner it is, in three verses, ויסע ויבא ויט. [Meaning, there are three consecutive verses in a row of 72 letters each, which can be combined to form Divine Names.] And because of this, a Sefer Torah in which a single letter is in error, as a malei or a chaser, is invalid. For this matter requires us to invalidate a Sefer Torah which is missing a single vav from the word אותם, from which 39 are written malei in the Torah. Or if the vav were written in one of the other ones [about 180] which are supposed to be chaser, and so the like in this, even though as far as one might think, it neither helps nor harms.


And this matter is what brought the greats [experts] of Scripture to count every malei and chaser, and the entire Torah and Scriptures, and to compose books on the masoret until Ezra the Sofer and Navi, that we should endeavor in this, as they darshened from the verse  ויקראו בספר בתורת האלהים מפורש ושום שכל ויבינו במקרא. And it appears that the Torah, written with black fire upon white fire, in this manner that we have mentioned it was, that the writing was continuous, without a space between words, and it was possible in reading it that one could read it by way of the Names, and to read it by way of our reading it in the matter of Torah and Mitzvot. And it was given to Moshe Rabbenu by way of the reading of the mitzvos, and it was transmitted to him Orally the reading via the Names.


And so do they write the great name I have mentioned, entirely continuously, and it is divided into words of three letters each, and into many other divisions as well, according to the utilizations of the masters of kabbalah."


The Minchas Shai is aware of this Ramban, and cites this in his lengthy introduction to his work, as one of his motivations for working to establish the proper Masoretic text.

At the end of the day, with the many many divergences recorded, discussed, and analyzed in Minchas Shai, one comes to the conclusion that it is extremely unlikely that our current sifrei Torah are correct in every malei and chaser. There are too many disputes among masoretic notes, and diverges from the Torah text before various Rishonim and before Chazal.

Besides that, there is the statement in Masechet Soferim 6:4 indicating a compromise harmonization between various scrolls in the Azarah (or of Ezra). And Kiddushin daf 30 claims that gachon is the middle letter in the Torah. But it is NOT, in our counting of present-day sifrei Torah, nor was it before the Amoraim, which prompts Rav Yosef to say that we are not experts in malei and chaser. So all Sifrei Torah are in error, and would be pasul based on this insistence.

See, however (footnote 34), Rama on Orach Chaim 143:4 where an error in malei / chaser would invalidate only lechatchila, not bedieved, as understood by the Nodah Be-Yehuda on Yoreh Deah 2:178, and also the Minchas Chinuch who holds that this would not invalidate a sefer Torah at all.

Torah Codes are based, in part, on this kabbalistic concept. The text of the Torah in its present form is perfect and can be used to discover hidden meanings. But if one disagrees with this assertion -- and there is strong reason to do so -- then all Torah codes are thrown off.