Holidays: What Are We Counting?

by Rav Moshe Haviv, Yeshivat Beit El, yeshiva.org.il, translated by Hillel Fendel.

We are nearing the end of the Counting of the Omer period, which ends at the beginning of Shavuot [June 12, this year], the Festival of the Giving of the Torah. The 49 days of the Omer began on Passover, connecting between the Exodus from Egypt and the day we received the Torah.

The blessing we recite over the Torah also connects between these two: It begins with "He Who chose us from all the nations," referring to the Exodus when G-d plucked us out as a new nation from amidst another nation – and ends with "He gave us His Torah." In between them is the letter vuv, which means "and" – the special "connecting vuv" in which is hidden the light of the Counting of the Omer. How so?

The Torah tells us about Shavuot: "This day, you have become a nation to Hashem your G-d" (D'varim 27,9). But how could this be, if we actually became a free people seven weeks earlier when we left Egypt?! The answer is that the "becoming a nation" process may have begun at the Exodus, but ended only when we received the Torah.

To elaborate:

During the Counting of the Omer period, we reenact the process of the appearance of the Divine creation known as Israel: "This nation I have created for Myself; they will recount My praise" (Yeshayahu 43,21). The first part of the period is more connected to the physical part of the creation of Israel, i.e., to the creation of the national body. We then proceed, day after day, until we reach the spiritual part of Israel's formation. As we read in Tehillim (42,5):

 

אֶדַּדֵּם עַד בֵּית אֱ-לֹהִים בְּקוֹל רִנָּה וְתוֹדָה הָמוֹן חוֹגֵג׃

I walked slowly with the festive crowds to the House of G-d
with joyous shouts of praise.

 

The first word is spelled aleph-dalet-dalet-mem, which is equal to 49 in gematriya (numerology), It means that we walk slowly but purposefully, from the physical to the spiritual, until we reach 49; this is followed by Shavuot. The first day of the counting is more connected, and of course closer, to the physical, while the end brings us to the spiritual, to the appearance of the spiritual aspect of the nation, that which readies us to receive G-d's word at Mt. Sinai and forever after.

In our times, Divine Providence has merited us with Yom HaAtzma'ut, Israel Independence Day, which falls in the first half of the Omer period. It is an important, additional step, following our long centuries of exile, in the appearance of our physical, national revelation, and therefore is relevant to the "He Who chose us from all the nations" part of the blessing.

On the other hand, towards the end of the Omer period – next Wednesday, to be exact, on the 43rd day of the Omer – comes Yom Yerushalayim, Jerusalem Reunification Day, which relates to "from Zion shall come forth Torah, and G-d's word from Jerusalem (Micha 4,2)." This is of course the spiritual aspect of our national revival: "He Who gave us His Torah."

The sanctity of our national body, and the day on which we received the Torah – are two parts of one entity, connected by the bridge of the Counting of the Omer. Both are necessary: the physical formation of the nation, and its spiritual development and perfection as well. 

One who wants to observe the Jewish "religion," but without any connection to the fact that Jews are a nation, will never be able to truly reach the point of acceptance of the Torah, which is the true manifestation of: "I will take you for Me as a nation and I will be for you – G-d" (Sh'mot 6,7).  

The students of Rabbi Akiva – first the ill-fated 24,000 pairs, and then Rabbi Meir Baal HaNess and Rabbe Shimon bar Yochai on Lag BaOmer – are also part of this process, but this is not the place to elaborate. Let us just note that Rav Tzvi Yehuda Kook (1891-1982) noted in his work HaTorah HaGoelet another level of holiness concealed in this Exodus-to-Torah period. He said that the Counting of the Omer begins not only on Passover, but specifically on the day that the first barley crop was harvested; Omer literally means "sheaf," referring to this barley harvest. This means, he wrote, that it starts when we take a significant hold on the Land of Israel – yet another manifestation of our physical national identity.

Chag Same'ach!

Bechukotai: Reward and Punishment in the Headlines

by Rav Dov Lior, former Chief Rabbi of Kiryat Arba-Hevron, yeshiva.org.il, translated by Hillel Fendel.

This week's Torah portion of Bechukotai (Vayikra 26,3-27,34) – with which we conclude the Book of Vayikra – deals with one of the Thirteen Principles of Faith of the Nation of Israel, as enumerated by the Rambam in his commentary to the Mishna in Tractate Sanhedrin. The principle I am referring to is that G-d's supervision over the world includes reward and punishment for our actions. The Creator rewards our good deeds, and punishes those who disobey His word.

It was on this point that Moshe Rabbeinu forged a covenant between Hashem and our forefathers and representatives at Mt. Sinai. This is called the Sinai Covenant. Forty years later, on the eve of our entrance to the Land of Israel, Moshe again forged the same covenant with Israel.

The central point of the concept of "Covenant with G-d" is that every Jew must know that nothing that happens to him is happenstance; it must rather awaken him to take stock of his behavior. The Gemara in B'rachot (page 5a) teaches that if a person sees that he is undergoing unexplained suffering, he should review his deeds and try to understand where his behavior is errant. This will then arouse him to do teshuvah.

But if one has tribulations, yet still closes his eyes and does not do a self-reckoning, but continues to believe that everything going on around him is meaningless and mere coincidence – these thoughts themselves are sinful!

As the Torah states in our weekly portion: "If you are indifferent to Me and do not wish to obey Me… I too will be indifferent to you, and will increase the punishment…" (26,21-24). That is, if you think, Heaven forbid, that the punishment I am bringing upon you was not purposeful, I will punish you [even] for that thought as well, Heaven forbid.

We live in a period of incredibly critical events: On the one hand, our generation has merited, and is meriting, to return to our Land after so many centuries, while on the other hand, the threats to our country are growing even stronger. It is therefore our national and societal obligation, as a public that believes in Divine reward and punishment, to ask ourselves: "Why is this happening to us? Why have we not yet arrived at the promised salvation, in serenity and peace? There is no other country that finds itself in such an abnormal situation as ours!"

In my humble opinion, it all boils down to this: As long as our nation and government do not want to recognize the great value of Am Yisrael, and that our destiny and Divine mission is to bring faith in the Creator to the entire world, and to bring them the love of justice as well – our situation will continue to deteriorate, Heaven forbid.

We especially must internalize that there can be no separation between our Nation and our Land. Our entire Land belongs exclusively to the Nation of Israel; none of it must be given away. [Note: This was written not long after the unilateral withdrawal from Gush Katif, from which evolved the present war with Hamas.] The attempts to give parts of our Land to others are a continuation, no less, of the Sin of the Spies. It will be recalled that these spies were sent by Moshe Rabbeinu to evaluate how best to conquer the Land – and it was their sin in discouraging the nation regarding the Land that began the process of estrangement from Eretz Yisrael, leading to exile and destruction that has lasted until this very day.

The intensification of the hatred of the Gentile nations towards us is a result of our neglect of the Torah way of life. If we discount miracles and Divine supervision upon us, there is no way out of our present difficulties – other than to return to our eternal sources, not only in our individual lives, but also in turning Israel into a truly Jewish state, to the point that it will be clear to all that Israel is a state with the Torah values of the nation chosen by G-d to bring Him to the world.

With G-d's help, the day is not far off when Israel will do teshuvah, and we will all be connected to the G-d of Israel, His Nation, and His Land. May it be that we will all merit, very soon, to see the salvation of His nation and inheritance, with compassion and not in judgment!

Emuna: Rabbe Shimon bar Yochai, Lag BaOmer, and the Special Message

by Rav Netanel Yosifun, Rosh Yeshivat Orot Netanya, yeshiva.org.il, translated by Hillel Fendel.

This was written four years ago, but it is still perfectly timely… The main "minor" difference is that there were no Lag BaOmer bonfires on Mt. Meron that year because of Corona, while the reason there will be no bonfires there this year is because of Hizbullah missile threats.

Every year at this time, the holy nation of Israel is busy studying and engaging with the legacy of the holy Rabbe Shimon bar Yochai (Rashbi), master of the Zohar, whose yahrtzeit (date of passing) is on Lag BaOmer (the 33rd day of the Omer period). 

There are those who ascend on this date to Meron in the Galilee to study his teachings and dance and sing in his honor. Others sit around traditional bonfires near their homes and speak of his greatness and light. All recount the wondrous story of his salvation in the cave from his Roman pursuers, and how he cured the world when he came out.

This year, because of Corona, we cannot make the trip to Meron, nor can we even dance in large groups around the fires. Still and all, the beautiful light of Rabbe Shimon will ascend and shine with holy Divine spirituality, possibly helping us to discuss his stories and profound teachings in even more depth.

In fact, this is a good time to take a look at another story, slightly less familiar, which reveals another angle regarding what Rashbi learned when he came out of the cave. That is to say, while the Babylonian Talmud recounts that after 12 years of hiding in the cave, Rabbe Shimon was informed by the Prophet Elijah that the Roman decrees had been canceled – the Jerusalem Talmud has a slightly different account. As follows (in free translation): 

Rabbe Shimon said, "Let's go out and see what sound there is in the world." He went and sat at the entrance to the cave. He saw a hunter, laying traps for birds. R. Shimon then heard a Heavenly voice saying "acquitted," and the bird was saved. R. Shimon said to himself, "If a bird has Heavenly providence, how much more so do humans" – and he left the cave… and purified Tiberias.

The traditional story is that Rabbe Shimon was encouraged from Above to exit the cave, while in the Jerusalem Talmud, he takes his own initiative to get up and go out to see what's happening in the world, to see what "voice" he can hear. 

This is a profound allusion to the "esoteric Torah" that Rasbhi brought to the world from his cave. He listens for the sound. A spiritual voice is hiding in the physical world, and we have to listen to the world's deep spiritual quality, as in "from my flesh I will see G-d" (Iyov (Job) 19,26). The entire physical creation sings spiritual praise to G-d, and He speaks through it – and it is this that Rabbe Shimon and the Zohar come to reveal. Hashem speaks to us via our reality! In this context the Kabbalists are the students and the successors to our Prophets, in that they are attentive to G-d's voice that continues to echo throughout the expanse of the world. (And the Kabbalists' tradition is that the Kabbalah they received dates all the way back to Elijah the Prophet.)

It is intriguing to note that R. Shimon said here that he will go out to "see" the "voice in the world." Voices are heard, not seen! But this is precisely the crux of the matter: Just as at Mt. Sinai, where "the nation heard the sounds" (Sh'mot 20,15) - they heard sounds of spirituality with their physical ears - R. Shimon constantly reveals to us the special nature of the Stand at Mt. Sinai also in our own physical reality. He helps us see the spiritual voices as if they are a physical reality. 

And behold, Rabbe Shimon bar Yochai comes out and sees a hunter placing traps, but when a voice sounds in the skies that the bird must be free, it is saved – and from this he learns about G-d's supervision and concern for the world, and that on Him everything is dependent.

But this is quite strange. After all, every Jew knows there is Divine Providence and that everything depends on G-d's will – so what was the great message inherent in the story of the bird that R. Shimon did not know before?

The answer could be a simple one: What Rashbi learned from the bird was that G-d was signaling to him that the danger from the Romans had passed for him. 

But possibly the Gemara is teaching us something deeper. In fact, that which is generally accepted in Jewish thought today, and appears to be simple to every Jew, was not always that simple. Even the Rambam holds that Divine Providence is not specific for each individual, but instead is general. That is, G-d ensures that there are and will be sheep, birds, etc., but not what will happen to each one of them. 

Actually, the ones who taught and imbued in Israel the idea that G-d watches over and controls every single detail and individual, no matter how small, were those great Torah giants who were steeped in Kabbalah and the teachings of R. Shimon bar Yochai. And this is what the Jerusalem Talmud comes to teach us: "When Rabbe Shimon came out of the cave, he came out to teach us that Hashem watches over us in every detail, up to the very last one."

The fact that so many people already know this idea shows us just how prevalent Torat HaSod, the Torah of Kabbalah, has become. Of course, in every pure dispute among Torah scholars, both positions are "the word of the living G-d" – but still, the fact that the idea of personal Providence has come to be so accepted is remarkable; in a certain respect, it is one of those important concepts that are already like a Halakhic norm. It is something that gives us comfort and support, and causes us to embrace God's care and providence, as a son embraces his father.

And during this difficult period of Corona, when we see how a tiny little virus can have such a revolutionary effect on the entire world, our faith that G-d watches over us down to the last detail is only strengthened! Even the wizards of Pharoah's Egypt, when they saw the plague of lice come upon them, understood the situation: "This is the finger of G-d!" (Sh'mot 8,15)

Behar: Easy Money?

by Rav Haggai Londin, Rosh Yeshivat Hesder Holon, yeshiva.org.il, translated by Hillel Fendel.

What do we learn from the prohibition on paying and taking interest? 

This week's Torah portion of Behar (Vayikra 25,1-26,2) deals with several societal mitzvot, such as the Shmittah (the seventh-year fallow) and Yovel (Jubilee) years, the redemption of lands, and the ban on taking or paying interest. One of the words for interest is neshekh, from the same root as neshikha, bite. One who takes interest takes a "bite" from the live flesh of his borrower. 

The Torah's prohibition on interest stems from a spiritual principle: One must not make easy profits at the expense of the weakness of the other. When a person lends money and charges interest, he is taking advantage of the borrower's neediness in order to make money off him. The profit here is not from creative work, but only on the "time" that the money is in the hands of the borrower. 

Our Sages teach us here an important principle: The equation Time is Money is wrong; the correct one is Work equals Money! When one works and makes a profit, the work itself is productive, and the money is just a result – as opposed to one who lends money, where there is no productivity.

We did not come into this world in order to make easy money. Rather, we are here to create. We are here to form relationships with each other, where no one takes advantage of anyone else – and thus we constructively build the reality around us, for ourselves and others. This is also the reason why we have the mitzvot of Shmittah and Yovel: so that we can press restart on our social frameworks, and ensure that the gaps between people are not too large. If we succeed, the opportunities for one to take advantage of others are limited. 

These are important principles to remember all year round, but they are all the more critical especially now, during the Counting of the Omer! This period is a time in which historically, R. Akiva's students were not sufficiently sensitive of their colleagues – and so we must make doubly sure not to repeat those mistakes today. It is therefore customary to study Pirkei Avot during these weeks, because the Mishnayot of Avot serve as an introduction to the laws of monetary matters, teaching us how to behave properly in our dealings with our fellow man.

What Would Have Happened Had Rabbi Akiva's Students not Died?

by Rav Dov Lior, former Chief Rabbi of Kiryat Arba/Hevron, yeshiva.org.il, translated by Hillel Fendel.

We are in the midst of the Omer period, during which we mourn for Rabbi Akiva's 24,000 students who died during the short period from right after Passover up until Lag BaOmer, the 33rd day of the Omer. This coming Shabbat is the last one this year on which we practice customs of mourning, because next Shabbat is already the eve of Lag BaOmer and therefore we are permitted to shave and the like in honor of the Sabbath.

The Talmud tells us the reason for the deaths of R. Akiva's students: "Because they did not behave with respect towards each other." This can only be understood in the framework of their great stature, just like in the case of the deaths of the two sons of Aharon HaCohen, Nadav and Avihu. The Torah states that the latter were felled "when they came close to G-d" (Vayikra 16,1), and the 19th-century Netziv of Volozhin explains in his classic HaAmek Davar commentary as follows (paraphrased): 

"They sinned when they came close to G-d" – and a sin in G-d's palace is much worse than one who sins outside the palace. That is, they were on a very high level and their sin was similarly on a high level, in that it was 'close to G-d,' and therefore their punishment was immediate and severe." 

The same is true for the students of R. Akiva: There is no doubt that it was only because of their great stature and intense closeness to G-d that their sin was punished so quickly, practically in one fell swoop.  

Why do we continue to mourn over an event that took place so many generations ago? There are plenty of people who have died tragically over these past 2,000 years ago whom we do not mourn today! Why are R. Akiva's students different? 

The answer involves something that is relevant to all generations, including ours. The Gemara says (Yevamot 62): 

"During the time that Rabbi Akiva's students died, the world was spiritually desolate - until Rabbi Akiva came and taught his five students in the south, namely: Rabbi Meir, Rabbi Yehuda, Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, Rabbi Yossi and Rabbi Nechemiah. These students [who were later ordained and authorized to teach Torah after all the other Sages were executed by the Romans] became the pillars through which the Torah was handed down to future generations – to the extent that until the Sages said that a Mishnaic ruling without the name of a Sage attached to it is from the words of Rabbi Meir. The other students were equally praised – and all of them perpetuated their teacher R. Akiva's teachings."

Let us try to imagine that R. Akiva was not left with only these five students, but also with the thousands who died within one period. Picture to yourself that they would have merited to continue studying and teaching Torah on their very high level! It could very well have been that they would have perpetuated such an amazing legacy of Torah, that the Torah level in our own generation would have been like that of the Baalei HaTosafot [renowned medieval-age scholars of the Talmud]!

As such, when we still mourn their demise today, it is not just for them that we mourn, but for the loss that the honor and study of Torah suffered over the ages, and is still suffering from today! We mourn and express our sorrow regarding the decline suffered by the world of Torah.

As such, from an ethical standpoint, it is particularly incumbent upon those who have the wherewithal and ability to study Torah, to do so with great alacrity and dedication. We must feel the responsibility to increase Torah study and the number of Torah students in every place - in Israel as well as abroad. And in the merit of the resulting increase in Torah, we pray that we will merit, all of us together, to see G-d's salvation upon His nation and His inheritance.