Jewish Holidays

The Torah refers to Jerusalem as “the place which God shall choose,” but does not inform us as to where this place is or what its name is. By concealing the Holy City from us and forcing us to seek her out, God aimed at endearing Jerusalem to us.

R Yehuda said, “How pleasant are the doings of this nation (Rome). They have built marketplaces, bridges, and bathhouses.” R' Yose kept quiet. R' Shimon ben Yochai responded, saying, “Everything they have built, they have built for their own good.”

We bind the Festival of Freedom, which commemorates our Exodus from Egyptian bondage, with Shavuot, which celebrates our spiritual freedom - receiving the Torah at Sinai. By counting the Omer we declare this period to be a single and complete unit.

The essential message of Passover is that the Almighty dominates and rules over His creation, while Shavuot focuses upon God's role as king. Both these traits find expression in the Omer counting, which is reckoned both according to days and weeks.

The students of Rabbi Akiva are aware that there is an obligation to give one's life in a time of religious persecution, but they are surprised at the fact that Rabbi Akiva fulfills the commandment of “Shema” even while being tortured to death.