This is in the merit of my Rav, R. Mayer Pasternak, and his family. I am sure that I can speak for my community that it is good to have them back.
The Counting of the Omer
“Immediately when the children of Israel left Egypt and passed the Sea of Reads, they came to Moses our Teacher with a contention: ‘Behold, you assured us that when we leave Egypt we would immediately receive the Torah like the verse says ‘Take out this take from Egypt so that they serve G-d on this mountain’ (Exodus 3:12) and if so, where is this mountain and where is this Torah?’ But Moses answered to them ‘It is impossible for a nation that until now was enslaved physically and spiritually to a harsh king and a hard nation-state – Pharaoh and Egypt – to immediately be prepared and ready for receiving the Torah and to reverse itself in an instant to be the chosen nation and kingdom of priests. Before it all, you need a number of preparatory weeks, that in this time you will labor in preparation of the soul and purification of its traits. And through this you will ascend from the level of a servant into order to be fitting for receiving the Torah.’… And for this reason it became a custom for all the generations after them, that also us, receivers of the Torah anew each year in the holiday of Shavuos, need to prepare to stand to receive the Torah by way of perfecting our traits…” (Emes L’Yaakov on Pirkei Avos, introduction, by Rav Yaakov Kaminetsky, translated by me)
Thus the time of counting the Omer is a time of self improvement, character refinement, and spiritual growth. There are customs to learn Pirkei Avos or specific concepts based on Avos 6:6.
However, if this is a time of growth, I believe that there is a great deal that one can learn about growth, how to grow, from the presentation of Sefiras HaOmer.
Let us start with the name ‘Omer.’ An Omer is a specific measurement of barely. While it is true that mitzvos have numerical quantities like Chanukah candles must burn for half an hour or one must drink a Revi’is of fluid for each of the four cups, none of these mitzvos are called by their measurement. (For example, we don’t refer to the four cups as Revi’is Cosos or something along those lines.) Yet regarding Omer it is called by its measurement. The Nesivos Shalom (I don’t remember where) asks why?
He gives an answer but I would like to give my own. I believe that by singling out the mitzvah of the Sefiras HaOmer, which corresponds to spiritual growth, by referring to it by its measurement, the Torah is teaching us that growth must be measured. We can’t do it all at once, it must be done in steps. (I highly recommend people see a one minute video by Aish HaTorah which really brings this idea home. http://www.aish.com/movies/highh.asp)
Another idea we can learn about growth comes from an insight of Rav Soloveitchik on the halacha of counting. (http://vbm-torah.org/archive/halak65/25halak.htm)
The BaHaG (The Baal Halachos Gedolos, an extremely old halacha book written around the year maybe 700 CE by a Gaon who’s name has been forgotten) says that if one forgets to count one night, one can count the next day without a blessing and can count all subsequent nights with a blessing. And since we make a blessing on each night, each night must be its own separate mitzvah.
But if counting during the day is done without a blessing, and thus not a mitzvah, why count at all during the day? And why would such counting allow one to count later nights with a blessing?
“Rav Soloveitchik introduces another concept into the discussion: the simple act of counting. If a person forgets one whole night and day of the omer and then picks up the count on the next night, his count was, for instance, 26, 27, 29, 30. That is not a normal way of counting. Even if every night of the omer is a separate mitzva, this mitzva must be considered counting, a steady progression. Counting the omer is a mitzva act, but that mitzva act must entail simple counting! That means that one number must follow the next without skipping. This is the reason that the Behag says that if one forgot to count at night he should count during the following day - to make sure that his counting on the next night will be normal counting, one number after the other. Counting during the day after missing it at night is not a fulfillment of a mitzva. It is still relevant, though, because it allows you to retain a simple count so that the next night you are able to fulfill the mitzva. The Torah's expression "temimot tihiyena" - "they should be complete" - teaches us that the count must be a constant progression. The simple act of counting must be complete, without skipping. Therefore, he explains, when one misses a day, he cannot continue counting with a blessing. He is not counting. When he counts normally, though, every night is its own mitzva.” (www.vbm-torah.org/3weeks/mf.htm)
Based on this, we can say growth must be cumulative. It is not enough to work on one area, say laziness, and then move on to say not gossiping. At the very least, while no longer working on laziness, we must continue to guard ourselves to make sure that we don’t lapse into being lazy. And probably the best thing to is to always be working just a bit, moving forward just a tiny step, in each area which we have already worked on.
Biography of Rav Yaakov Kaminetsky http://chareidi.shemayisrael.com/archives5761/vayakhel/features2.htm
Have a good Shabbas,
Mordechai
The Counting of the Omer
“Immediately when the children of Israel left Egypt and passed the Sea of Reads, they came to Moses our Teacher with a contention: ‘Behold, you assured us that when we leave Egypt we would immediately receive the Torah like the verse says ‘Take out this take from Egypt so that they serve G-d on this mountain’ (Exodus 3:12) and if so, where is this mountain and where is this Torah?’ But Moses answered to them ‘It is impossible for a nation that until now was enslaved physically and spiritually to a harsh king and a hard nation-state – Pharaoh and Egypt – to immediately be prepared and ready for receiving the Torah and to reverse itself in an instant to be the chosen nation and kingdom of priests. Before it all, you need a number of preparatory weeks, that in this time you will labor in preparation of the soul and purification of its traits. And through this you will ascend from the level of a servant into order to be fitting for receiving the Torah.’… And for this reason it became a custom for all the generations after them, that also us, receivers of the Torah anew each year in the holiday of Shavuos, need to prepare to stand to receive the Torah by way of perfecting our traits…” (Emes L’Yaakov on Pirkei Avos, introduction, by Rav Yaakov Kaminetsky, translated by me)
Thus the time of counting the Omer is a time of self improvement, character refinement, and spiritual growth. There are customs to learn Pirkei Avos or specific concepts based on Avos 6:6.
However, if this is a time of growth, I believe that there is a great deal that one can learn about growth, how to grow, from the presentation of Sefiras HaOmer.
Let us start with the name ‘Omer.’ An Omer is a specific measurement of barely. While it is true that mitzvos have numerical quantities like Chanukah candles must burn for half an hour or one must drink a Revi’is of fluid for each of the four cups, none of these mitzvos are called by their measurement. (For example, we don’t refer to the four cups as Revi’is Cosos or something along those lines.) Yet regarding Omer it is called by its measurement. The Nesivos Shalom (I don’t remember where) asks why?
He gives an answer but I would like to give my own. I believe that by singling out the mitzvah of the Sefiras HaOmer, which corresponds to spiritual growth, by referring to it by its measurement, the Torah is teaching us that growth must be measured. We can’t do it all at once, it must be done in steps. (I highly recommend people see a one minute video by Aish HaTorah which really brings this idea home. http://www.aish.com/movies/highh.asp)
Another idea we can learn about growth comes from an insight of Rav Soloveitchik on the halacha of counting. (http://vbm-torah.org/archive/halak65/25halak.htm)
The BaHaG (The Baal Halachos Gedolos, an extremely old halacha book written around the year maybe 700 CE by a Gaon who’s name has been forgotten) says that if one forgets to count one night, one can count the next day without a blessing and can count all subsequent nights with a blessing. And since we make a blessing on each night, each night must be its own separate mitzvah.
But if counting during the day is done without a blessing, and thus not a mitzvah, why count at all during the day? And why would such counting allow one to count later nights with a blessing?
“Rav Soloveitchik introduces another concept into the discussion: the simple act of counting. If a person forgets one whole night and day of the omer and then picks up the count on the next night, his count was, for instance, 26, 27, 29, 30. That is not a normal way of counting. Even if every night of the omer is a separate mitzva, this mitzva must be considered counting, a steady progression. Counting the omer is a mitzva act, but that mitzva act must entail simple counting! That means that one number must follow the next without skipping. This is the reason that the Behag says that if one forgot to count at night he should count during the following day - to make sure that his counting on the next night will be normal counting, one number after the other. Counting during the day after missing it at night is not a fulfillment of a mitzva. It is still relevant, though, because it allows you to retain a simple count so that the next night you are able to fulfill the mitzva. The Torah's expression "temimot tihiyena" - "they should be complete" - teaches us that the count must be a constant progression. The simple act of counting must be complete, without skipping. Therefore, he explains, when one misses a day, he cannot continue counting with a blessing. He is not counting. When he counts normally, though, every night is its own mitzva.” (www.vbm-torah.org/3weeks/mf.htm)
Based on this, we can say growth must be cumulative. It is not enough to work on one area, say laziness, and then move on to say not gossiping. At the very least, while no longer working on laziness, we must continue to guard ourselves to make sure that we don’t lapse into being lazy. And probably the best thing to is to always be working just a bit, moving forward just a tiny step, in each area which we have already worked on.
Biography of Rav Yaakov Kaminetsky http://chareidi.shemayisrael.com/archives5761/vayakhel/features2.htm
Have a good Shabbas,
Mordechai
posted by Mordechai18 at 7:22 PM
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