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.

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 33^rd 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 33^rd 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.

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.

The rain  washed down the windshield in torrents undeterred by the wipers. The driver wiped his bleary eyes and the world swam. Only a few more miles, he thought and I will be able to deliver the medicine from the pharmacy and go home.  He glanced at the directions scribbled on a wrinkled paper.  Here’s the turn.  There’s the house.  He wearily unlatched the car door, hitched his jacket over his head and moved quickly through the spring storm to the front door.  As the door bell rang, he heard   the sound of small feet running in his direction.

The door opened and he blinked to adjust his eyes to the dim light inside.  He looked and nearly giggled, “It’s nighttime, he thought, “do you know where your children are?”  If you don’t , they are probably here tiptoeing one behind the other in a long uneven line, following a man carrying a candle near to the ground, squinting as he stoops down and peers into the back of a sofa cushion.   No one paid attention to the stranger at the door, except for one small boy who seemed to be motioning him to join in. The young delivery man stood there awkwardly staring at this odd sight, early memories stirring deep within him.

What could he be thinking – this stranger? What could he understand of this Jewish law and time honored custom of (bedikas chumetz) – the searching for any grain product, such as bread and cake that has leavened. Now, we know what it is all about, we are used to it, we understand it – or do we?

It is  (Erev Pesach) the evening before Passover.   We have just spent weeks cleaning our homes from top to bottom, making certain that not one crumb of (chumetz) leavened food remains anywhere in our realm.  We have scoured  every crevice, turned each pocket inside out and emptied our children’s secret treasure troves of cookies and pretzels.  And just  as we have begun to feel that unique once- a -year feeling, that sense that we really have managed to rid ourselves of every crumb — at that  moment – we assign someone to secretly hide (the custom being ten) pieces of chumetz throughout our homes and possessions. Then specifically in the darkness of  the night we make a candle light “search”– and as we find each piece, we carefully sweep it triumphantly away with the help of a feather and a wooden spoon into a guarded place.

Why are we doing this?  Is it merely symbolic?  What is going on?

What would this soggy stranger think, if we told him that we were regaining our freedom with those ten pieces of bread?

Yet, it is actually true.  The night of bedikas chumetz,  like every other meaningful event in life has three components, the person, that is ourselves,  place and time.  The Creator is referred to as (HaMakom) the Place, because there is no place devoid of His Presence.  However (Hashem) G-d has made room for us and allows us and our possessions to exist in His world. When we do bedikas chumetz, we are proclaiming that  it is His world and we are his invited guests.  When we accept this upon ourselves and fulfill the commandment that requires us to relinquish even a kosher, ordinarily permissible possession , that is when we begin to taste freedom.  This is because it is difficult to pull away from the lures of this world which can enslave us, and addict us and remove our freedom of choice. But when Hashem directs us to do so, and we comply, He provides us with the ability to let go.

The third component of this event is time which  plays the major role in our Pesach preparations.  It is only time that separates chumetz from matzah, for they both start with the same ingredients, flour and water.  Chumetz, leaven, is created through a process of fermentation that causes pockets of air to form in the flour and water mixture, expanding the dough and making it grow large.  Like dough, egos can also be inflated.  The leavening agents can be power, vanity or fame, together with the flattery that catalyzes them into a bubbling brew that pumps up our sense of self importance. One extra moment can mark the difference between leavened and unleavened –one moment can be enough to transform  the mixture of flour and water from permissible matzah into forbidden chumetz. And it only takes but a moment of time for us to feel achieved and

congratulate ourselves for our accomplishments, thus improperly taking personal credit for that which Hashem has given to us.

So as we make our bedikas chumetz or any other mitzvah, we should try to do so with the un-self conscious innocence, inspiration and joy of a child.

Now with a better understanding of the need for the bedika let us ask but why search in the darkness of night? We might think that it is not such a good idea as evening symbolizes the powers of the (sitra achra) powers of darkness, however, on this special night, we are given the assignment and ability to enter its realm on a “search and destroy mission”.  In those moments, that (ner) candle is a supernal spiritual beam that is able to penetrate deeply to expose any sign of ego inflation. In the esoteric tradition the Ner represents a vessel for the (shefa) the holy influence that channels the Divine Radiance thereby illuminating any dark or hidden places, allowing us find, identify and remove any impurities thereby preparing us to receive  the special (kiddusha) holiness that permeates  the night of Passover.

One final thought on the multifaceted value of the bedikas chumetz. The ideal way to perform this minhag is to allow some member of the house or close friend to hide some small portions of bread or mezzonos. Many have the custom of  placing ten pieces for esoteric reasons and also to insure the finding of some chumetz in an already thoroughly clean home.  But this practical reason is not necessarily the only explanation.

This hunt for chumetz is a joint mitzvah that gets everyone involved in an effort to accomplish this task. So in the years when my children were young, we would use this night to send a not-so-subtle message to them.  Chumetz  would be put in places where old battles were fought.  So, for the child who would leave his shoes in the middle of the room for others to trip over, chumetz would be put in those shoes.  For another

child, a messy closet was the battle ground and she would find a piece of chumetz there.  We would all end our bedikas chumetz laughing over things that frustrated us during the year. Pesach is a time of unity and what better way to nurture this idealistic state than making a bedika  from within and without.

This captivating ritual of bedikas chumetz,  one of the many heart warming mitzvoth of Pesach, transforms a mundane cleaning process  into a sacred and mystical rite. This creates the atmosphere in which Pesach is renewed each year – And as Pesach is renewed – so are we. As for the young delivery man who was standing at the entranceway, may that glimpse into the Pesach experience be just the right “prescription” for his transformation.

(La Shana Haba bi-Jerusalem) – May this coming year we all be reunited in Jerusalem.