Yeshiva
Beit Midrash
- Torah Portion and Tanach
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- Emor
- Shabbat and Holidays
- Sefirat Haomer
- The Meaning Sefirat Ha'omer
These words in our Sedra describe the Sefirat Ha-Omer ritual which is currently underway; it began on Pesach & concludes on Shavuot. This is quite an unusual Mitzva, this series of counting, a practice that historically started on a celebratory note, but which has become tinged with sadness, as we mourn the loss of Rabbi Akiva’s 24,000 students – who died during this same period - & observe semi-mourning practices in their memory.
One of the more perplexing aspects of the Omer relates to the rules of counting. Traditionally, the rabbi or the shaliach tzibbur counts first, with a bracha, we all answer "Amen," then each of us counts individually with our own bracha. But why isn’t it sufficient to be yotze with the leader’s rendition, as we do for Kiddush & other prayers?
Furthermore, the halacha says that if we forget to count on any one night, then we cannot continue counting with a bracha (tho we do continue without saying the bracha). This is because the 49 days of counting are one "set."
But if they are a set, then why don’t we just make one bracha at the beginning of the count, on the first night, & then say a closing bracha on the last night? Why are there 49 separate brachot recited?!
And if you counter that each bracha is self-contained & a mitzvah in & of itself, then why do I forfeit my bracha on day 29 just because I forgot day 28?! Make up your mind, please: is this an individual, or a communal Mitzva?
The answer, of course, is "Yes; they are both!" We count as individuals, but within the greater majority. We learn this from the two seemingly contradictory words in the pasuk above: Lachem, for you, i.e. individually; & T’mimot, complete, i.e. one ongoing comprehensive package encompassing the entire 49-day period.
That is the law, the rules, unusual as they may be. But there is also a beautiful philosophy behind them. Judaism recognizes the uniqueness of every single person; none of us was created "by accident," we each have our own strengths & abilities, something special that Hashem chose to bestow upon us & only us.
But, at the same time, we are part of a greater entity, the entire body of Am Yisrael, & we must bring our talents to the community & to the world. When "me" becomes "we," we truly count &, in turn, are counted upon.
Rabbis in Midrash
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Hosha'ana Rabba FLYDUBAI & HOSHANA RABBA- ANI VAHU HOSHIA NA- I & HIM SAVE US
"Ani vaHu Hoshia Na", "I and Him, Save Us". We don't just pray to Him, but we also pray to and for ourselves that we should emulate and educate our children to have that instinctive altruism with which He created the world. President Trump seemed amused about Yaniv Hayon, our PLUMBER who confidently worked with G-d like Superman (he learned from a pilot on a TV show!) to save 174 lives on the Dubai hijacking, but we in Israel are totally accustomed already 78 years to our plumbers, teachers, garbage-men, rabbis, farmers & doctors being Hashem's shlichim! This is what Zionism is about.
Moreshet Shaul Hashem Is your Shadow – part I
Based on Siach Shaul, Pirkei Machshava V’Hadracha p. 420 – an address from 1941
P'ninat Mishpat A Non-Contractor in Changing Times – part I
(based on ruling 85128 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts)
Moreshet Shaul Our King on Rosh Hashana, Our Father on Yom Kippur.
Based on Aroch Siach, p. 221 (Rav Shaul Yisraeli)
