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Parshat Emor Weekly Dvar Torah the Juxtaposition of Lag B'omer

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Parshat Emor Weekly Dvar Torah the Juxtaposition of Lag B'omer Parshat Emor 20 Iyar 5775 /May 9, 2015 Daf Yomi: Kesuvos 96; Nach Yomi: Psalms 141 Weekly Dvar Torah A project of the NATIONAL COUNCIL OF YOUNG ISRAEL SPONSORED BY THE HENRY, BERTHA AND EDWARD ROTHMAN FOUNDATION ROCHESTER, NY,CLEVELAND, OHIO, CIRCLEVILLE, OHIO The Juxtaposition of Lag B’Omer Rabbi Lawrence Teitelman Mara D'atra, Young Israel of New Hyde Park, NY Part of the living legacy of Ezra ha-Sofer is not only the Biblical book that bears his name together with most of Divrei ha-Yamim (Bava Basra 15a), but also a series of innovations intended to strengthen religious observance among the Shavei Tzion, the returnees to Israel. Probably most famous are the Eser Takanos, Ezra’s ten institutions recorded in Bava Kama (82a-82b) that include extending Kerias Hatorah to Shabbat afternoons and expanding the pre-existing practice of leining on Mondays and Thursdays. Another of Ezra’s contributions is the requirement mentioned in Megilla (31b) to read Kelalos she-be-Toras Kohanim – the “curses” of Vayikra − i.e. the tokhecha in Parashas Bechukosai – before Shavuot, so that upon concluding the year we can leave behind anything undesirable and start the new year afresh and in a state of blessing. (The Gemara explains that, in certain respects, Shavuot is also regarded as a Rosh Hashana, the beginning of a New Year.) It may indeed be the case that this latter enactment of Ezra applied even when Jews completed the Torah on a triennial cycle and Parshat Bechukotai did not “naturally” fall on its own before Shavuot. The Tokhecha thus became a special reading before Shavuot just as we have Zakhor before Purim and Hachodesh before Pesach. Nonetheless, coupled with the current ubiquitous custom to finish the Torah on an annual basis, reading the Tokhecha before Shavuot in turn translates into Emor now being read in close proximity to Lag B’Omer, the thirty-third day of the seven-week Omer period. Presumably, this holiday associated with later personalities such as Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai was not on Ezra’s original radar. Yet, the juxtaposition of Lag B’Omer to the “Parashas Ha-Moados” – the Torah’s most comprehensive treatment of the festivals (encompassing Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, in addition to the Shalosh Regalim) − provides an interesting basis for comparison. Lag B’Omer is arguably the most enigmatic Jewish holiday... on a Hebrew calendar replete with holidays. The usual festival meal around the dining-room table is replaced with barbecues and picnics in the park. Instead of reciting Hallel and reading the Torah in the synagogue, the ritual practices for a Yom Tov, we build bonfires and play “bows and arrows” in the fields. We don’t get haircuts in anticipation of the holiday; we give haircuts on the holiday itself (or, according to Sefardic practice, on the day after). Yet, aside from these and other out-of-the-ordinary observances, Lag B’Omer presents a more fundamental point of curiosity: Here we are counting the days from the Egyptian Exodus to receiving the Torah at Sinai, from one defining moment in Jewish history to the realization of the other, only to interrupt it with a holiday of uncertain status and stature. Neither Biblical nor Talmudic in authority, Lag B’Omer seemingly distracts us from our apparent focus, the acclimation to the seminal event of Matan Torah. Perhaps, hi hi hanotenes, this is exactly the point. Our ability to internalize that Torah and to properly practice its precepts is dependent on our inter-personal relationships. Somehow, Rabbi Akiva’s students fell short in this department, “lo nahagu kavod zeh ba-zeh – they did not accord honor to one another.” This resulted in their untimely passing and, in remembrance of the tragedy, gave rise to the mourning aspect of the Omer. Precisely then, midway through this period, subsequent generations give pause on Lag B’Omer to strengthen friendships and communal bonds so that come Shavuot, we are positioned not only to commemorate the assembly at Sinai, but to see it re-experienced in our own midst. Vayichan sham Yisrael neged hahar – the Israelites assembled around the mountain – ke’ish echad be-lev echad – united in heart and in purpose. Dating back at least a thousand years to the era of the Geonim, the time-honored tradition to study Pirkei Avot between Pesach and Shavuot, is a similar case. On the one hand, Pirkei Avot – especially through its supplementary chapter Kinyan Torah – highlights our religious mandate to be fully immersed in rigorous Torah study. (See, for instance, the famous injunction in 6:4, Kakh hi darkah shel Torah ... u-va-Torah ata amel.) Yet at the same time, compared to Kodashim/Taharos or even the “yeshivishe masekhtos” of Nashim/Nezikin classically studied in Batei Medrash, Pirkei Avot makes for relatively light learning. Indeed, when Rema (Orach Chayim 292:2) formulates the custom of Pirkei Avot, he avoids the usual verbs associated with Torah-study – lilmod, leshanen, la’asok – but rather the seemingly scaled-down lomar: ve-nahagu she-lo likboa midrash bein Mincha le-Maariv aval omrim Pirkei Avot ba-Kayitz – “and the practice is not to establish [regular] study between Mincha and Maariv [of Shabbat afternoon], but we say Pirkei Avot.” Paradoxically perhaps, the opportunity to engage with Pirkei Avot in a manner that may be a departure from our typical mode of study and digest its ethical teachings, ultimately strengthens our resolve and ability to continue the Mesorah of Talmud Torah which is the essence of Avot. Parshat Emor entails various dimensions of holiness – the kohanim (people) the moadim (time), and the menora and mishkhan (place) – which by the definition of Kedusha, represent some sort of containment, even exclusivity. The Omer – and in particular, Lag B’Omer – allows us to look beyond those boundaries and in the process, fortify that which is enclosed within. Shabbat Shalom Lag Ba'Omer Rabbi Moshe Rabinowitz Rabbinic Intern, Young Israel of Flatbush After diligently counting 32 days of the Omer we arrive at the 33rd day, commonly known as Lag Ba’Omer. On Lag Ba’Omer, regardless of which custom one keeps in relation to the laws of mourning during the S’fira period (The 49 days between Pesach and Shavuos), it is a day of celebration. Why do we celebrate on Lag Ba’Omer? In order for us to understand the celebration we must first understand why there is this period of mourning. Our sages explain that over 2000 years ago there lived a great sage, one of the greatest sages that ever lived, his name was Rabi Akiva. Rabi Akiva was unique among the sages in that he began his meteoric rise to greatness at the age of 40 having studied little Torah before that time. The Talmud in Tractate Yevamos (62b) tells us that Rabi Akiva had 24,000 students. They were the greatest sages of their generation; they just had one flaw, that they did not respect each other properly. The Talmud tells us that because of this flaw they were punished and they all died in a plague. The plague occurred between Pesach and Shavuos, and during that time each of Rabi Akiva’s 24,000 students suffered a painful death. That is why this period is a time of mourning. The day of Lag Ba’Omer is special because on this day the students of Rabi Akiva ceased dying. There are two opinions regarding this; either, the plague had ended, or provided a brief respite amidst the plague which resumed afterwards. Regardless of whether the plague ended on Lag Ba’Omer or continued through to Shavuos, it resulted in the death of all Rabi Akiva’s students. In that case what celebration is the cause for celebration? The answer is alluded to in that same portion of the Talmud. “Rabi Akiva said: If a man studied Torah in his youth, he should also study it in his old age; if he had disciples in his youth, he should also have disciples in his old age.” The Talmud explains that after this tremendous tragedy befell Rabi Akiva. He went on to teach five more students from whom disseminated the Oral Torah as we know it today. The celebration of Lag Ba’Omer is not so much that the students of Rabi Akiva ceased dying; rather it is a celebration of Rabi Akiva’s strength to persist and ensure the continuity of Torah. Lag Ba’Omer is also a time to remember a vital teaching of Rabi Akiva, a lesson which was internalized by his five new students which prevented them from meeting the same end as their predecessors. The lesson is that of Veahavta Lireiacha Kamocha. Rabi Akiva teaches us that the words in the Torah “Veahavta Lireicha Kamocha” you shall love your fellow as yourself, is the “Klal Gadol BaTorah”, great rule of the Torah. What Rabi Akiva meant, according to many commentaries, was that in order to fully acquire Torah and be a disseminator of Torah one must behave in the proper manner to one’s colleagues. If you can’t do that then it is not befitting for you to be a disseminator of the Torah, it is not suitable for you to be a link in the chain of Klal Yisroel’s mesorah. Rabi Akiva’s first students neither internalized this lesson nor practiced it therefore they couldn’t be the disseminators of Torah for that generation. However, Rabi Akiva’s five later students took this lesson very much to heart and were successful in becoming integral links in the great chain of our mesorah.
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