The accompanying illustration is a reflection of what we’re going through these days during the Counting of the Omer, when we count each day (for seven full weeks) from the Exodus on Passover until the giving of the Torah on Shavuot. There are times in life when progress has to be slow. Precious and sacred things are built gradually, one level at a time. We climb rung by challenging rung because not everything can be achieved in one leap.
The Kabbalists explain that during the Omer, we refine seven inner traits, one each week:Chesed (the capacity to give), Gevurah (the ability to set boundaries), Tiferet (the ability to balance the first two), Netzach (which means both endurance and eternity), Hod (the ability to show gratitude), Yesod (which integrates the previous traits and connects to the foundation of our being), and Malchut (which connects to the sovereignty of God—and to our own dignity, the way we act in the world).
(This, of course, is just a rudimentary explanation; each trait contains infinite depth and layers of meaning.) But we don’t have to be great scholars to advance during these days, step by step. With every day counted, we refine our character and become better versions of ourselves so that by the festival of Shavuot we are truly ready to receive the Torah.
The Holy Fire of Lag Ba'Omer
Friday May 16 is Lag Ba'Omer, the 33rd day of the counting of the Omer and the yahrzeit (anniversary of death) of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai. All over the world, Chabad organizes parades for children on Lag Ba'Omer. This year, these parades will be another vehicle for expressing our prayers for the hostages, for our soldiers, and for all the Jewish people.
Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, whose yahrzeit is marked with huge bonfires, was the author of the Zohar, the book of Kabbalah, Jewish mysticism. Even if we personally are not capable of studying and understanding this facet of the Torah—we recognize that it exists. The Torah is far deeper than we could ever imagine. Similarly, the people around us (and we ourselves!) also have, deep inside, a layer that is secret and holy.
Part of this secret, holy dimension of our nation revealed itself after October 7, 2023. We have discovered, beneath the surface, endless, hidden resources of power, resilience and unity. Bar Yochai taught that if we study the hidden Torah and discover more about ourselves and the treasures within us, we will be redeemed from exile and released from all of our suffering. May we merit to see it soon.
Restraint … and Repair
It’s no secret that delaying gratification is one of humanity’s greatest challenges. Every time we succeed in restraining ourselves, we repair something significant in the world. Our Sages explain that Adam’s sin was his inability to restrain himself from eating from the Tree of Knowledge.
The Torah touches on this idea in last week’s parashah in the command that we wait three years from the planting of a tree before eating its fruit: “When you enter the land and plant any tree for food… three years it shall be forbidden for you, not to be eaten.” These three years act to curb a person’s natural tendency to grab the fruit right now, and to thereby repair humanity’s first fundamental sin.
Even those of us who aren’t farmers and don’t plant trees can find meaning in this mitzvah, and try to train ourselves to act with restraint.
For instance: developing patience as we wait for a small child to grow up, curbing our irritation while waiting in line at the supermarket or in a traffic jam, and refraining from mindlessly scrolling on our phone or giving in to any other bad habit.
Every time we succeed in restraining ourselves just a tiny bit more, we repair something in the world and bring it closer to its rectification.
To accomplish this task, we don’t need to wait three years — even three seconds is an accomplishment. Take a deep breath and try it. Good luck!
Seniors’ Week
Last week, we read in the parashah: “You shall rise before the aged and show deference to the old; you shall fear your God, I am the Lord.”
About a decade ago, Uri Orbach z”l, then pensioner affairs minister, initiated a wonderful program that called for a special Shabbat to honor seniors. In Israel, many programs are held to honor the seniors in our community: elderly community members are called up to the Torah and schoolchildren visit old age homes and the homes of elderly people.
When he established this initiative, Uri Orbach addressed the Knesset saying, “We all know that, sadly, seniors usually only make headlines when bad things happen, for example, elder abuse.
This week we will have the opportunity to focus on the tremendous contribution of seniors to our society and to their life experience. For this program, we won’t require a special budget — only awareness and loving attention.”
So, pick up the phone and call your grandmother. Look around at the elderly people in your community and appreciate every wrinkle and every year of the lives they’ve lived.
Translated by Yehoshua Siskin, Janine Muller Sherr
Want to read more by Sivan Rahav Meir? Google The Daily Thought or visit sivanrahavmeir.com