Contained in this week’s Torah portion, EMOR is,
among other things, a list of God’s “appointed seasons” or holy times. God outlines when
and how we are to observe festivals
and holy days. We are told the exact days of the month, the duration of the festival or observance,
and the appropriate sacrifices or offerings. Among the items in Emor are the
rules for Shabbat as well as the rules for Passover. Throughout this section we
keep hearing the phrase “Kol Melechet
Avodah, Lo Ta-ah-su.” Translated,
this means “All manner of work you shall not do!” Well, why not?
Because it is God Time! We are instructed to separate “havdil” the mundane, from the holy. The
Torah commands “a time out” for holy time because it isn’t YOUR time, it is GOD’S TIME…giving
your time is an offering of sorts,
not unlike the offerings brought to the mishkan for sacrifice!
Just think of how many times you’ve heard the
phrase “Time is Money.” If you ask most
working folk to name their most valuable
and limited asset...the words “gold”
and “silver” don’t usually jump to the forefront…no, the answer is usually TIME. What is the true meaning of sacrifice? Giving up that which you hold valuable! Ironic how so few people, Jews and Gentiles
alike, are willing to give up “their time” for God. The holy times are not just while the
Israelites are in the desert. No, this
is forever. “Chu-kat olam l’doro-tay-chem
b’chol mosh-vo-tay-hem.” This is an eternal statute throughout your
generations in all your dwelling places.
After the rules pertaining to Passover, we
encounter twelve verses describing the counting of the Omer; What, you may ask, is an Omer? And why do we need to count it? Simply put,
an Omer is a sheave of barley, which
is the first grain harvest in Israel. This measured sheave or Omer was brought to the Temple for a
forty-nine day period commencing with Passover and culminating on the 50th
day with a holy day we now call Shavuot. Shavuot means ‘weeks’ and occurs seven weeks after Pesach. On the 50th
day, two loaves of bread are offered up to God.
This is the first day of the wheat harvest and the two loaves are
symbolic of the first fruits of the wheat harvest.
I am not an agronomist, but I do know that
barley was considered a lesser grain, and wheat was the major grain in the diet
of our ancestors. Without a good wheat
harvest, their lives were in peril. Too much water isn’t good for wheat, so in
our daily prayers we switch from praying for rain to praying for dew instead.
From Passover forward, the fruit trees in Israel start producing… and their
first fruits were presented as an offering on Shavuot as well. Passover and
Shavuot are also connected spiritually. While Passover freed us from physical
bondage, it is the giving of the Torah at Sinai on Shavuot that redeemed us
spiritually.
Judaism’s customs and religious seasons are
deeply connected with agricultural seasons. So how do we, as modern Jews, infuse
spiritual meaning into this week’s agricultural biblical passage? First, let’s strip away all the noise of
modern life and step back in time. The outcome of the season’s wheat harvest is
still up in the air… your very existence is at stake. That being the case, you
might then find these fifty days between Passover and Shavuot to be pretty tense!
So what IS a modern person to do over this
seven-week period of time, other than say a blessing at sunset, announce the
number of the day of the Omer and cross your fingers that you won’t need to buy
wheat from CHINA?
Well, the rabbis suggest working on YOUR OWN
potential INNER GROWTH, those aspects and characteristics over which, you CAN
exercise some control! Think of it as “49
days to a better you!” These character
builders are called Middot, and 48 of them can be found in Pirkei Avot, the Ethics
of the Fathers. How convenient… 48 for a
49 day period! I won’t list all of them,
but here are some highlights: Keeping
small talk to a minimum. Learning contentment
with one’s lot. Having a Good
Heart. Cleaving to friends. Having a perceptive heart. Spend time absorbing knowledge and adding to
it. Working on trying to concentrate on
studies, and learning how to ask and answer.
Imagine taking on one of these every day for 48
of the 49 days of the Omer!
I know what you are thinking. Your life is SO BUSY, how would you EVER
remember to Count the Omer or study a Middah
a day? DON’T WORRY. You can download all sorts of apps to help
you. Go to Neohasid.com and get an Omer counter for your website or I Phone. You can get a Counting the Omer Widget for your Android, or go to Jewish I Phone Community.org to find any
number of Jewish Apps.
I know we are already more than halfway through
Sefirat Ha Omer, Counting the Omer,
and time is at a premium, but when it comes to improving your spiritual health,
it is NEVER too late! Shavuot is just a
few weeks away, so do a little spiritual “spring cleaning!” Remember, between Passover and Shavuot is the
perfect opportunity and TIME to get your sheaves together!
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Rose
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