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Beit Midrash
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The Omer is different. The Torah says to start counting from the day after the Sabbath, which means the first day of Passover and for 7 weeks. The Torah emphasizes the Omer starts from Pesach and ends on Shavuot, but despite this, the first day of Passover and Shavuot are not part of the counting. The Torah gave the Omer three separate parts, a beginning,a middle and an end, the question is What does it mean?
Back to the story. Initial and middle portions of the story are the process, the steps from the opening to the end point. Sometimes the only goal is to reach the end and then we do not care what was in the beginning and what happened in the middle, as long as we get to the end. A good story is different. We understand the importance of the beginning to set the scene , and we want to get to the end, BUT the point is to enjoy the process in between. Only fools skip to the last page of the book!
This idea is also true for the Omer. There is a stage of leaving Egypt, a physical slavery to physical freedom . There is the final stage of the receiving of the Torah, building a spiritual level above the physical world, and there is the process. Some look at the days of the Omer as days of expectation for the Torah, we count the days and wait (impatiently) for Shavuot.
Although this explanation is true, the Omer has a deeper meaning. These days are not just days of expectation, but also days of work, of progress and process from the start point to end. In the process of leaving Egypt and becoming a nation we distinguish between the initial state which stands for itself, the goal at the end which stands for itself and the process. All of these are important and each one of these days has its meaning.
The Omer days are not only the days between Passover and Shavuot, but the days that allow us to go from Passover to Shavuot. We are not just waiting for the days to pass, but rather go through a process so we are able to receive the Torah.
Peninei Halakha 1. The Reason for These Customs
Chapter 3: Customs of Mourning during the Omer Period
Chemdat Yamim Moreshet Shaul: Twin Foundations
Based on Siach Shaul, Pirkei Machshava V’Hadracha p. 690
Rabbis in Midrash
Lessons
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P'ninat Mishpat P'ninat Mishpat: Complaints about Contractor’s Work – part II
(based on ruling 83037.1 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts)
(based on ruling 83037.1 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts)
Chemdat Yamim Moreshet Shaul: Twin Foundations
Based on Siach Shaul, Pirkei Machshava V’Hadracha p. 690
Based on Siach Shaul, Pirkei Machshava V’Hadracha p. 690
D'varim Judaism’s Social Vision
Re’eh
Giving is more than an act of generosity—it is an essential part of human dignity that belongs to everyone, rich and poor alike. The ultimate goal of help is to empower others to stand on their own.
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 9 - "Seeing is Believing" (parag. 21-30)
These paragraphs elaborate on the theme that seeing and knowing is better than any attempt to prove logically, and begins explaining the difference between Israel and gentiles.
Ein Aya Various Universal Stages of the Geula Process
Rav Kook examines the various stages of redemption, explaining how (in addition to the obvious oft-mentioned stages of ingathering the exiles, reviving the Hebrew language, army, state etc.) the messianic dream of world prosperity, the State of Israel and world unity can and are realistically and logically gradually coming true.
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 8- "Answering Questions on the Kuzari's Proof from Mass Revelation
How do we know that the "claim" of mass revelation to 2,000,000 witnesses at Mt. Sinai is really true? This important class answers all of the questions skeptics ask about this claim of the Kuzari.
