ZION

We recently celebrated the holiday of Shavuot which literally translates to the Festival of Weeks. One reason for celebration is that it marks the period where we received the Torah. Why would we refer to this holiday as Shavuot and not Matan Torah (Gift of the Torah)? Why do we call it the Festival of Weeks? Shavuot is the holiday that comes at the end of a seven week period that begins on Passover. This seven week period is called the Omer. We are commanded to count the Omer from the second night of Passover for forty nine days. What are we counting? Why for forty nine days? What is so special about this commandment?

In temple times the Omer was a sacrifice of a measure of grain. Omer actually translates as ‘measure’. I once heard a Midrash (fable) that we offer a measure of grain to give thanks for the Mannah that fell from heaven when the Jews were in the dessert.  When we were hungry in the wilderness G-d provided for us and now we bring a sacrifice of grain as a thank you for that sustenance.

The Omer marks the time between the exodus from Egypt and receiving the Torah. The Zohar (classical text of Jewish mysticism) tells us that after living in Egypt for over two hundred years the Jews had slipped to the forty ninth level of spiritual impurity. One more level and they would not have been redeemed. When we left Egypt we were physically freed from bondage but we still had to climb to a higher spiritual level to receive the Torah.

Today we can still learn a valuable lesson from the Omer. In a time where thankfully we are physically free there are still a lot of things that enslave us. The seven weeks between Passover and Shavuot are a time where we try to attain higher levels of freedom and spirituality and prepare to receive the Torah. Our blessing over the Torah is ‘notein hatorah’, ‘who gives the Torah’ stated in the present tense. Hashem continues to give us the Torah year after year and it is up to us to prepare for it.

Chag Sameach,

Cantor Adam Stotland