THE DAYS OF – HAGALLAH – TRANSFORMATION

 

The Midrash teaches us that the other nations were offered the Torah however each of them rejected it because they found some of the  commandment to difficult to comply with. [For Ishmael it was the prescription against stealing, for Eisav it was the commandment not to murder]… However when it was our turn we in unison proclaimed: “We will do and then we will hear” – “Naasey vi-nismah”.

Since it wouldn’t be fair for all the nations to have commandments that they found very challenging and we, the Jewish nation, also did not have at least one commandments that was very difficult to accept, therefore, let us ask which mitzvah was a great challenge for us to adhere to? The Cassidishers commentaries (Sefas Emes and Even …) address this provocative question with an insightful response that expresses the greatest praise of our holy nation. The mitzvah of restraint – hagbalah – during the days just proceeding the giving of the Torah (Matan Torah) was a commandment that was very hard for our nation to comply with. Why? Because every Jew had such a great desire to come as close as possible to the loftiest levels of holiness as quick as possible, our willingness to follow the commandment and hold ourselves back during the days of hagbalah showed that we had the ability and willingness to unswervingly accept all the Torah.

Therefore the days of hagbalah were not just days of separation and preparation but they were actually days of inner growth in strengthening our “walls” of faith and acceptance of Hashem’s Torah and its timeline.

 The Catam Sofer in Parsha’s Yisro (19-23) reveals to us a profound thought provoking remez from within the pasuk, referring to the days of hagbalah, which ends “…bound the mountain and sanctify it”, so that no one would come closer than they were permitted. The word mountain in Hebrew is Har (Hai – Raish) with the surrounding letters, in the alphabet, of the Hai being a Dalet and a Vov and the surrounding letters of the Raish being a Kuf and Shin. These surrounding letters combine to spell out the word holy (Kadosh) – Kuf – Dalet – Vov – Shin.

From here we can learn a beautiful thought that all of the – “boundaries” – enactments that our Sages have “put around” the Torah are not there to restrict and limit us but actually serve expand and increase the boundaries of our kiddusha.

Chag samach.

REFLECTIONS AND CONNECTIONS – SPACE FOR EACH LETTER

            As we approach the time of the giving of our Torah, let us reflect that each and every Jew is said to be connected to an os – a letter – in the Sefer Torah, with both our inner perception and the outer reality in which we live being spun from its spiritual fabric. Since this week we are reading about the giving of the Torah let us try to broaden our understanding what possible additional insight can be culled from the halacas that there must be an adequate space between each os; and yet, on the other hand, all the letters of each word must be close enough so that they are not perceived as separated and apart?

         These halachos can perhaps be seen as having the following profound implications: ]

     We should always strive to allow the next person the proper distance for maintaining respect and independence, yet without sacrificing the closeness and connectedness that makes us areivim – responsible for one another. This is perhaps alluded to in these halachos between the Torah’s letters and spaces. Just as the letters must be close enough so that meaningful ideas can be communicated, we also need to be close enough to help and interact with one another; yet, just as the letters must be separate enough so that the distinction between them is not blurred or obliterated, so should we always respect our neighbors and acquaintances so as not to diminish anyone’s unique personality and identity.

The Need for Attitudinal Distance

Perhaps the parchment between each letter is analogous to the “attitudinal distance” that exists between each person. Just as the white parchment has no perceivable value, yet is crucial, so also is the need to respect the cultural and individual “space”/differences between people. This “territory” between us and others is the space/ place of opportunity for learning mutual respect, thus allowing each person to maintain his independent integrity. Through this, we will avoid our personal feelings and agendas spilling over into someone else’s borders, thereby allowing us to emulate the halacha of mukafos gevul. (Every letter of a sefer Torah must be surrounded by an area of white parchment – (Menachos 29a) and certainly a Torah scroll that is not in conformity with this requirement cannot be used until it is rectified.)

    Moreover, through accomplishing this, we will also be blessed with a greater appreciation of our own unique role and place in this world.

Indeed, so essential is this “space” that the Gemara teaches that Hashem gave Moshe the Torah as white fire and black fire, with the black fire representing the written letters while the white fire represented the spaces in between (Yerushalmi Shekalim 6:1). We can further see this aspect of the importance of the surrounding area in the teaching that if one, chas veshalom, sees a sefer Torah burning, one must tear one’s garments twice – one time in mourning for the written words and a second time because of the parchment (Moeid Kattan 26a).

[[[In a different context, one commentator offered this profound thought: “Consciousness is always surrounded by a border of unconscious experience that itself gives shape to consciousness.” Perhaps this can be recast as follows: Thought as expressed through the black letters of the Torah is always surrounded by white borders of unconscious experience that helps to give shape to our consciousness.]]]

             May this year’s Kabbalas Ha-Torah merit us once again of the miracle of having enough “space” for everyone one of us to prostrate ourselves in the holy Bais HaMigdash – may it be built soon in our days.

LAG BI OMER SECRETS OF BONFIRES, BOWS AND ARROWS

As we are approaching the awesome day of Lag Bi-Omer, in which myriads of Jews from all around the world will sing and dance ecstatically, [[especially when feeling connected to the mystical supernal pulsation the specially of prepared bonfires]], there is to ask: What is the possible underlying unifying power of this 33rd day of the counting of the Omer which draws together such an all encompassing diversity of Jews from all different “walks of life”?

Besides some of the better known explanations, such as that on this day the great Tanna – Rebbi Shimon bar Yoci revealed the core esoteric teaching of the Torah know as the holy Zohar, that this 33rd day of the Omer is known as the attribute (seferiot) of hod within hod – which is best exemplified through Aahron HaCohen who loved and pursued making peace, and that the custom of having bows and arrows alludes to the rainbow which is a reminder of the Eternal covenant made after the Mabul, we will attempt to add an additional layer of the uniqueness of this special day by trying to “pull back any bow strings of indifference” and instead focus our “trajectory” on harmonizing and unifying our relationships with others.

Another possible deep symbolism of the bow and arrow could be understood by the following: Picture a loving father with his four year old son, whose has never seen or learned about how bows and arrow work. The father tells the son to look towards the east and in the distance there is a bulls eye target which he will hopefully hit with the arrow in his hand. Then the father places the arrow against the string on the bow and pulls it back very tightly. Before letting go of the arrow and string his puzzled son ask him: But father you said the arrow was going to go east toward the target, and it is instead west further away from the target. The father then explains that in order to reach the distant target it is first necessary to give the arrow the flying power which comes through tightening the string first and only then letting go.

This cute story is one of the profound facts of life that before we can reach our goals – ie the bulls eye target – we often are – what looks to us – sent in the wrong direction. For example some  people who want first have to become poor first even though this is not what they want. However the trials of poverty prepare such a person to be more generous when they finally attain wealth. And so it is in every area of life, often our loving Father in heaven, who knows what is truly best for us, if we are worthy, only gives us what we want after we become prepared to use these blessings in the right way.

Perhaps an additional allusion to the bonfires on this awesome day is to remind us that just as the powerful downward pull of gravity cannot diminish a rising flame, how much more so does the downward pull of “spiritual atrophy” remains powerless against us, as long as long as we stay ignited with the “transcendent fuel” of our holy Torah.

Last but not least, let us ask ourselves: Why Lag Bi Omer, the 33 day is seen as such a pivotal position in the counting of the Seferia? One possible reason is because each day of these 49 days can be seen as an opportunity to enhance and refine our medios thereby engendering a “good” heart (in Hebrew – Lev Tov is also exactly the numerical value of 49 (32 = Lev and 17 = tov).

May we all merit through this awesome transitional period of time spanning Pesach until Shavous to  focus on seeing and appreciating the good virtues (necuda tova) that can be found within every person, thereby hopefully bringing closer the final geula soon in our days.

CONNECTING SEFIRAS HA-OMER AND YOVEL

 

The holy Torah, our guide book through life, gives us not only direction but the fuel/energy to strive towards our goals and aspirations, yet we find almost a complete parsha ( Behar 25: 1 – 55) dedicated to commanding us on each seventh (Shemita) and the fiftieth (Yovel) years to cease from many halachic forms of “effort”. These lengthy periods of cessation from certain halachically defined activities, for the uniformed would naturally appear to be the antithesis of productive effort. However, as contradictory as it may appear on the surface, these macrocosmic periods of “applied restraint” are the most valuable times for growth and development. This is because there is no higher goal and purpose in life than achieving a level of “pro-active submission” in following the will of   G-d. “Cessation of self-determination” during these times reveals the Divine radiance on earth, thereby crowning Hashem as King of the universe.

Even though we are not presently privy to the full revelation of the Torah as revealed through the Shemita and Yovel, we have been given the privilege weekly through the Shabbos and during the yearly period referred to as Sefiriot HaOmer to make the pro-active proclamation that we are willing to defer and or redirect our self interests.

What application today in our own lives can we derive from the awesome transformational power of  Shemita and especially Yovel? All Jews have holy souls that have been sent down into this world garmented in physical bodies and surrounded by an environment that is ideal for each one of us in order to help rectify and elevate the creation. During our lifetimes we are given various experiences of which some are pleasant and some are very challenging, however all of life’s events are perfectly crafted to serve a purpose for our benefit. If we could but for a moment have a glimpse at our lives from the Heavenly realm, from that prospective the allotment that has been given to us as our portion in life would be seen as tailored made and artfully fitted to help us reach and fulfill our potential. From that panoramic view, there would be no more questions or doubts. Each stage of life and each unique situation whether “traveling” through the “wilderness of experience” or “submitting” to each period of “encampment” would be seen as what it really is: a golden opportunity to achieve rectification and purification.

This ‘ladder’ of development and transition both in the microcosm as well as the macrocosm is a fifty level cycle that we experience yearly through the counting of the Sefiras HaOmer leading up to Matan Torah. Just as each day represents a different combination of attributes, whose interplay allows for refinement of our midos, so also on a macrocosmic level, when the majority of  the Jewish nation are living in Eretz Israel, there is a fifty year cycle culminating in the Yovel year, which is a special gift from G-d, that allows us to transcend the bonds of nature. Perhaps this then can be a deeper connection between the Yovel and Shavous. They can be seen as a (reflective) mirror image of each other, in that Yovel releases indentured bodies from physical bondage thereby allowing for a renewed bonding with the soul, whereas the time of Seferia releases us from our mental and emotional attitudinal bondage allowing for a renewed bonding with the Creator through His Torah.

Just as we draw closer with baited breath to this Yom Tov of Matan Torah so also may we merit soon to hear the long awaited shofar of the final geula.