The 49 days of counting the Omer starts on the second night of the Passover as illustrated in the diagram on the Left
KABBALISTIC ASPECTS OF COUNTING THE OMER
You
should count for yourselves, beginning with the day after the day of
rest (Passover), when you bring the (measurement of barley) Omer wave
offering. Seven weeks shall be (counted and) completed until the day
after the seventh week - fifty days." (VaYikra 23:15-16)
SEFER YETSIRA NUMBERS 3, 7, 10.
Sefirah Yetsira on
page 1:1 says God created the
universe with number.
Does this mean a specific number or number generally? The answer is
yes, to both.
Specific numbers are 3 7 10. Each of these numbers have a legion of
associations with interesting examples.
Genesis tells us that
God created the world with the words “God said” 10 times.
We know the world was created in seven days, but with 10 expressions of
creation.
Ten is also the number of commandments given on Mt Sinai in Shavuot.
Three is represented by .”On the third day” Yisro19 :14. of
the third week of the third month”God gave the 10 Commandments.
10 represents the number of sephirot in the tree of life of which the
seven lower emotional sephirot are refined during the counting of the
Omer .
Question: Why are only the emotional, lower, seven of the 10 sephirot
refined and why are the upper three intellectual sephirot not included
in the refining process? .
THOUGHT
OR FEELING
One of the most confusing
aspects of life, is the establishment of the proper balance between
thoughts and feelings. In the establishment what we know. Is there some
atavistic combination of knowledge and feeling? The mitzvah of counting
the Omer holds a clue to understanding this aspect of life.
SACRIFICE
OF BARLEY OR WHEAT
The difference between
the spiritual quality of Passover and Shavuot is expressed by the difference
between the Omer sacrifice, brought on Passover, consisting of barley,
an animal food, and the sacrifice of the Two Loaves made on Shavuot
consisting of wheat, a food people eat.
The miraculous exodus
of Passover was unearned. We weren't up to the level of spiritual elevation
to which God raised us.
The revelation
of our freedom was symbolized by animal food. Animals were not created
to develop their potential and are not expected to do so; their levels
of development were implanted by God as part of their natures with no
potential for growth or change.
PASSIVE
PESACH OR ACTIVE SHAVUOT
The Exodus and the Redemption from Egypt were events that required no
input on our parts -- we passively experienced being freed from spiritual
bondage just as we experienced our physical release from Egyptian slavery
--. On the other hand, the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai required
our active cooperation and participation. We had to resolve to dedicate
ourselves to its observance in order to make its acceptance possible.
Receiving God's Torah was not something wonderful that could merely
happen to us. The acceptance of the Torah amounted to the establishment
of an eternal covenant.
FROM
PASSIVE TO ACTIVE
The passive spiritual inspiration of the Exodus is symbolized by animal
food, barley.
God had to provide us with the days of the Omer as a break between the
Exodus and the meeting at Sinai, so that we could have the opportunity
of refining ourselves to the spiritual heights needed . We changed from
the status of receiving the gift of freedom, dependant entirely on God's
constant support, to something we could merit and maintain through the
application of our own efforts.
The sign of the accomplishment of this transformation is God's willingness
to accept our offering of the two loaves of leavened bread on Shavuot,
the day of the receiving of the Torah; an offering of people food, bread
made of wheat -- the only time of year that leavened bread was allowed
on the Temple Altar. Passover is God-given like a parent giving to a
child and therefore childish; Shavuot is reached through our own hard
work and spiritual maturity.
The 49 Day Omer count
As you know on Shavuot we eat white cheesecake, blintzes and milky products. In the light of this , let us look at the creation of the Jewish People, from the time they escaped from Egypt, until they received the Torah on Mount Sinai. The action is heralded by the first commandment given to the infant Jewish people to create a lunar calendar. The word for Moon and the word for white, happens to be the same word, LAVAN. (click for more about the moon)
m
Important themes in the story of the Exodus, seem to be about Birth, death and blood. Not only the birth of the Jewish people and the birth of Moses, but also the birth of the Israelites’ new-born sons, who were destined to be killed by Pharaoh’s Decree, but many were saved by the defiance of the midwives Shifra and Puah who refused to kill them . Birth is always connected with blood and the Torah includes its share of blood, like the painting of the blood on the lintels, to avoid the death of the first born during the tenth plague,
The theme of blood again reveals itself during our Pesach seder, with a dipping of the maror or lettuce in the charoseth, which many sages suggest is a commemoration of Joseph’s coat being dipped in the blood of the lamb. Many sages suggest that the 4 cups of red wine also commemorate blood, ( 4, Daled or delet, usually implies a change of status). The final problem of the escape of the newborn nation was the crossing of the Reed Sea known as the Red sea because of the red reeds of the Sea.
The confinement and slavery in Egypt, is compared by some, to the confinement
and gestation of a human infant. The Jewish people were born when they
left Egypt and their first commandment was to make a lunar calendar of
28 days, the period of the female cycle. Interesting then, that 10 lunar
months is the period of human gestation. 100 lunar months the approximate
time to puberty. 1000 lunar months the approx duration of a life. lifetime.
The number 28 also has its interesting connotations . There are 28 letters
in the 7 words of Bereishis, also seven weeks of the Omer. 28/7=4. The
4 cups of Pesach.
AMALEK
THE ORIGIN OF DOUBT
This relationship between doubt and the loss of spirituality is made
crystal clear by the Torah itself in the presentation of the aftermath
of the Exodus. As soon as the clarity of vision attained during the
splitting of the sea began to fade, the Jewish people were in trouble.
He called the place Massah U'meribah, because of the contention of the
Children of Israel and because of their test of God, saying, "Is
God among us or not?" Amalek came and battled Israel in Refidim.
(Exodus 17:7-8)
The Sages interpret the juxtaposition of this 'contention' with the
attack of Amalek as causal rather than circumstantial; it is our spirit
of 'contention' that made us vulnerable to Amalek's attack. Amalek is
always ready to pounce on the weakness of Jewish confusion and uncertainty.
As soon as Israel questioned whether the Presence of God was among them,
there was an opening for Amalek to attack.
EMOTIONAL UNCERTAINTY
If we ponder the nature of this uncertainty of the Jewish people regarding
God's Presence in their midst, we are bound to conclude that it was clearly
only emotional and not rational. (Another reason why we refine the 7 Emotional
Sephirot only) The Jewish people who doubted whether the Presence of God
was among them were living off the manna, drinking the waters that flowed
from the rock, and travelling with the Clouds of Glory, even in the midst
of their doubt. In their minds they must have known beyond the shadow
of a doubt that God existed and was watching over them as one would guard
a treasured child. The only way to explain their doubt is that emotionally
they no longer felt His Presence among them. They could no longer point
to the Divine Presence and declare, "This is my God."
THE 32 DAYS OF MOURNING before LAG B’OMER
Is there a connection with Sefer Yetsira 1:1 referring to the 32 paths
of wisdom?
LAG B’OMER
Thirty-three days following the first day of Passover, Jews celebrate
a "minor" holiday called Lag B'Omer, the thirty-third day of
the Omer. It is an oasis of joy in the midst of the sad Omer period which
is almost unnoticed by most contemporary Jews. .
The Omer days should have been days of joy, but instead, they are observed
as a period of semi-mourning. Weddings, music and haircuts are not permitted,
some do not shave during this entire period. It is on the sad side of
the Omer that we come across the holiday of Lag B'Omer, the one day during
this sad period when our mourning is halted, when sadness is forbidden
CONNECTION BETWEEN RABBI AKIVA, BAR KOCHBA
RABBI SHIMON BAR-YOCHAI
RABBI AKIVA
Why does the death of Rabbi Akiva's students, tragic as it was, merit
thirty-two days of mourning when greater tragedies in Jewish history have
occured,. Why is the death of Rabbi Akiva's students given so much more
weight?
What is the reason for sadness during what should have been a period of
joyful anticipation? One of the reasons , the Babylonian Talmud tells
us, [Yevamot:62:2] is that during this period, Rabbi Akiva's 24,000 students,
who lived in the Roman dominated Land of Israel, died from a mysterious
God sent plague. Why did they die? Because the Talmud teaches, "they
did not show proper respect to one another."
Lag B'Omer is celebrated on the thirty-third day because on that day the
plague ended and Rabbi Akiva's students stopped dying.
BAR KOCHBA. THE REVOLT
The Second Temple was destroyed by the Romans in the year 70 C.E. Jerusalem
and the surrounding countryside lay in ruins from border to border. Scores
of thousands died in the fierce fighting and subsequently from persecution
and starvation; thousands more were sold as slaves and forced into exile
Around 135 C.E. a Jewish military leader arose named Bar Kosiba.
Rabbi Akiva (Jerusalem Talmud: Ta'anit 4:15) renamed him Bar Kochba (son
of the stars-- "a star will go forth from Jacob." ) in fulfillment
of the prophecy. Bar Kochba succeeded in organizing a fighting force to
rid the Land of Israel of the hated Romans. Thousands rallied to his cause,
including Rabbi Akiva the greatest Talmudic scholar of all times
PROCLAIMING THE MESSIAH
if the revolt succeeded, Rabbi Akiva believed that they could bring about
the Messianic Era.
To Bar Kochba and his officers, all seemed to be in readiness. Rome was
rotten and corrupt. The pagan foundations of Rome were crumbling. Many
Romans were in search of a religious alternative and
many captive nations strained at the yoke -- rebellion was in the air.
Bar Kochba trained an army capable of igniting the powder keg of rebellion
and Rabbi Akiva lit it with one of the most dramatic proclamations in
Jewish history -- he proclaimed that Bar Kochba was the long awaited Messiah.
Once more did a Jewish army score miraculous victories against overwhelming
odds
The rebellion raged for six years. Bar Kochba's army achieved many initial
victories, he destroyed the Roman legions one after the other.
In desperation Hadrian imported legions from all over the world to fight
the Jews.
BAR KOACHBA'S DOWNFALL
But two events turned the tide against Bar Kochba. It is believed he murderer
Rabbi Elazar, suspecting him of revealing the secret entrances to the
fortress at Betar.
Out of the blue, the great plague descended and struck Akiva’s students.
The dream collapsed. The Talmud tells us that "Rabbi Akiva's students
didn't show proper respect one for the other." Precisely what this
phrase refers to, we do not know. With greatness comes heightened responsibility
and with greatness comes a magnification of reward and punishment. .
With the students died the Messianic hope of that era and for thousands
of years to come. Bar Kochba was not a false messiah but a failed messiah.
In the terrible war which followed, Bar Kochba and his army were destroyed
in the great battles defending the fortress city of Betar. The war had
been a catastrophe.
It would be 2,000 years before there would be a Jewish fighting force
again.,The hope of the Jew for redemption was to be delayed for at least
two thousand years.
. The mourning of Omer is not for the students alone, but for the failure
of the Jewish people to bring about the Messianic Age, for the fall of
Jewish hopes and Jewish Messianic ambitions.
SHIMON BEN ZACHAI
Yet, on that very Lag B'Omer day two thousand years ago, a new hidden
light of hope emerged. In the midst of defeat, the great sage, Rabbi Shimon
Bar-Yochai revealed to a small number of students the secrets of the mystical
Zohar.. The Zohar's living tradition has kept that hope alive down to
this very day. On Lag B'Omer the plague stopped, the dream was delayed,
but it was not destroyed. It was to be nurtured through the generations.
There are frightening
parallels between our own age and the age of Rabbi Akiva and Bar Kochba.
Following a frightful Holocaust, we experienced a restoration of Jewish
independence -- once more did a Jewish army score miraculous victories
against overwhelming odds. Following the destruction of the great European
centers of Torah scholarship, we witnessed the rebuilding of yeshivot
in America and in Israel. We experienced a great revival of Torah study.
The teshuva movement has brought about a return to Torah for so many who
strayed. Jerusalem and the Temple Mount are in our hands.
. Once again, the Jewish people has been entrusted with a great and frightful
opportunity. Once again we have been given the potential to recreate a
Jewish civilization of Torah greatness in our own land. Will we succeed
or will our efforts be aborted because of our own failures, our own inability
to respect the differences within the Torah community and unite the Jewish
people to our cause?