COUNT DOWN OR COUNT UP? This Shabbat will be the 42nd day of the Omer. Six of the seven weeks from Pesach to Shavuot will have passed. The Sefer HaChinuch (Spain 13th cent.) poses an obvious question. If the Omer count represents the time that the Israelites, having left Egypt, anticipated receiving the Torah on Mt Sinai, why do we count up? Wouldn’t it be more appropriate to count down? 40 days until Shavuot…39, 38, 37… Maimonides (d.1204) compares the count to two people, deeply in love, who have been parted. They are anxiously counting off the days to when...
INVISIBLE BARRIERS When one of my teachers wanted to emphasise that he disapproved of something, he would pound the table with his fist and exclaim: lo mit an oleph! The English equivalent would be, “No, with a capital N!” The origin of this Yiddish phrase is that the Hebrew word, lo, can imply either ‘No’ or ‘Yes.’ If it’s spelled lamed aleph, it means No! If it’s spelled lamed vav, it means ‘It is his!’ or ‘Yes!’ Our parasha this week describes the potential sale of property. It refers to “the house in the city” and goes on to say,...
A MEETING OF MOADIM Look carefully at the Sefer Torah when it is being lifted up in shul this Shabbat. You will see that the parchment is slightly more worn. Why? Because the scroll is being opened more frequently to this section. This week’s parasha contains the readings for the second day of Pesach and the first two days of Succot. The special times of the year, beginning with Shabbat and continuing with Pesach, Omer, Shavuot, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Succot and Shemini Atzeret, are listed and described. The key word used to introduce this section is Moed, which is...
SELF HELP Tzeddaka or Charity is a cornerstone of Judaism. But equally important, is how it is administered. In this week’s parasha we learn that when a farmer harvested his crop, he was obliged to leave a corner of the field (pe’ah) for the poor. When he came to reap the grain, if one or two stalks fell to the ground, they had to be were left for the poor. That was called leket. And stray sheaves that were forgotten and left in the field were also the property of the poor (shichecha.) In times when agriculture was the mainstay...
WEARING TWO HATS The high point of the year for the High Priest was Yom Kippur. On that day, he would perform the entire Temple service. In fact, he would change, no less than five times, from his elaborate gold garments to simple white garments made from linen. Why? Rav Hisda in the Talmud (Rosh Hashana 26a) quotes the proverb, ein kategor na’aseh saneygor, “the accuser cannot become the defender.” Gold is a reminder of the sin of the golden calf. When the High Priest enters the Holy of Holies it would not be appropriate for him to wear items...
THOUGHTS ON THE HAGGADA “And G-d will pass over the opening” (Exodus 12:23) We are told in the Haggadah that in every generation we should try and picture ourselves as if we are leaving Egypt. The Chassidic writers point out that this is not simply an exercise in imagination. We too, can benefit in some ways from the blessings of the Exodus in the same way as our ancestors did. According to the Midrash, the Jews of the Exodus were not especially spiritual. Indeed, some of them were as involved in idolatrous practices as their Egyptian hosts. Yet, G-d took...
WHY IS TODAY CALLED SHABBAT HAGADOL – ‘THE GREAT SHABBAT?’ The first reference to this name is found in Siddur Rashi (p.171.) The calculation is made that the Exodus took place on a Thursday. Hence, the 10th Nisan that year would have been a Shabbat. This was the time that the Israelites were commanded to take a lamb, the deity of the Egyptians, keep it in their homes for four days and slaughter it. Siddur Rashi cites Midrashim that the Egyptians were seething with rage at the action of the Israelites. However, they became smitten with sickness and afflictions and...
