We have a holy seventh day, Shabbat. We have a holy seventh month, the month Tishrei with its many holidays - Rosh HaShana, Yom Kippur, Succot, Sh'mini Atseret. We have a holy seventh year, the Shmitta year. But we do not have a holy seventh week. Or do we?
Actually, we do. It is the seventh week of the counting of the Omer. Historically, according to Torah, it is the week before the Torah was given at Mount Sinai.
The holiness of a major part of this week, let us name it "the seventh week," is noted by Jewish Law. We do not say Tachanun in our prayer services on the days 45 to 49 of the Omer; that is, on the last five days of the seventh week. This is because day 45 was the day the Jews arrived at Mount Sinai. The days 45 to 49 were days of anxious preparation for the giving of the Torah on day 50.
Jewish Law does not associate a special status to the first two days of the seventh week. However, recent history sanctified its first day - day 43 of the Omer. It is Yom Yerushalayim, the day the Temple Mount fell into Jewish hands. And to complete the week, its second day, day 44, was in fact also a holy day, even though this was not encoded in Jewish Law. The Jews were travelling to Mount Sinai on this day. Commenting on the first two verses of Shemot 19, Rashi states that while travelling from Rephidim to Mount Sinai, the Jews were already in the same state of repentance as they were after their arrival at Mount Sinai. The Mechilta brings the reason for the repentance. The Jews left Rephidim right after fighting a miraculous war with Amalek. Reflecting on the war, they came to realize that it was their sinful behavior that had enabled Amalek to attack.
Thus, taking ancient and recent history together, we can conceive of the seventh week as a week of sanctity. But can we indeed concatenate Yom Yerushalayim and the six holy days at Mount Sinai? Can events of our times be viewed on a par with events during the generation of Moshe Rabbeinu? Can the arrival of Jews at the Temple Mount be compared to the arrival of Jews at Mount Sinai? One who sees Yom Yerushalayim as a day that secular Zionists conquered the Temple Mount, will likely say no. One who sees the event as a climax of a generations-long historical return to Zion, and as a present from Heaven that boosted the process of our spiritual rebirth, will likely say yes.
World History and the Omer Period
The seventh day, the seventh year, the seventh month, the seventh week. What is this thing with the number seven? The number seven relates to the duration of world history. Every Shabbat, we declare that HaShem ?created the world six days? (sheshet yamim). Not "in six days", but "six days." The six days are the 6000 years history will last. The association of the seventh day of the week to the six "days" of world history informs us that there will be another day, another 1000 years, that will be qualitatively different. The seventh 1000 years will be the Shabbat of history.
The (first) 6000 years of world history are fifty generations of 120 years. Here we see another way the number seven relates to the duration of the world. Both in the counting of the Omer, and in the counting of the Shmitta and Yovel years, the number fifty is considered seven times seven plus one. The fiftieth is the holy completion of the seven times seven preceding it. The fiftieth day is Shavuot and the fiftieth year is the Yovel year. Likewise, the fiftieth generation of history, history's final 120 years, will be a Yovel generation, a prelude to the 1000 years that will follow. World history will respect the principle of Jewish Law that the Shabbat is to be welcomed early by adding time of the sixth day to it.
Not only will the fiftieth generation be like the fiftieth day of the counting of the Omer, the other days of the Omer arguably reflect corresponding generations of history, as well. Events during the 49 days before the giving of the Torah line up with events in historical generations. And so do the special days of the Omer period, Lag b'Omer, Yom Ha'atzma'ut, the day the Jewish state was declared, and Yom Yerushalayim. Here is a highlight.
Generation 20 saw the birth of Moshe Rabbeinu, the beginning of the redemption from Egypt. Day 20 of the Omer is the fifth of Iyar, Yom Ha'atzma'ut, the beginning of sprouting of the final redemption. From generation 21 onwards, the twelve tribes of Israel lived under the authority of the seventy members of the Sanhedrin for a number of generations. In the desert, "they arrived at Elim, where there were twelve springs of water and seventy date-palms."
Generation 33 was the generation of Rabbi Akiva and Shimon bar Yochai, the author of the Zohar. It was the generation of the Mishna. It was the generation that the Torah was saved after it had been in great danger, after the destruction of the Temple and the defeat of Bar Kochba. Day 33 of the Omer is Lag b'Omer, the day we celebrate that, through the surviving students of Rabbi Akiva, the Torah was saved and the Mishna was written. In Israel, more than in the Galut, it is the day of Kabbala, the Yahrzeit of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai. Generations 41 and 42 were the generations of the Crusades and of wars in the Land of Israel. In the desert, in Rephidim, Amalek attacked.
The seventh week corresponds to the seven generations that gradually rebuilt Zion. See what happened in the generation that corresponds to Yom Yerushalayim, day 43. It was in generation 43 that the Jewish community in Yerushalayim was restored after the Crusades and centuries of wars between Christians and Moslems had wiped out Jewish life in the holy city. Generation 45 saw a wave of Aliyah, after the Spanish Inquisition. It is also the generation of the most definitive formulation of Halachah, the Shulchan Aruch. In generation 47, the Vilna Gaon sent his students to rebuild Yerushalayim, because, as he stressed, "in Yerushalayim there will be a remnant."
Generation 48 saw the rise of the Jewish state. In the Galut, Jewish scientists strived for the truth and established the torah of modern science. True science ripens the mind for true Torah, and it surely came to prepare us for the final giving of the Torah. Science led also to modern technology. How many olim came by plane? Generation 49 is our generation, it will still last about 117 years. Day 49 was the very last day before the giving of Torah. A day of double holiness. Our generation will complete the return to Zion.
Rabbi Tzvi Yehuda Kook taught us that "our statehood does not start from Ben Gurion's proclamation in the Tel Aviv Museum. Rather, it evolves from the holy words of the Ramban that we are commanded by the Torah to possess and dwell in the Land." Rav Kook cited the Ramban with insight. In the wake of the Amalekite Crusader and Moslem attacks of his time, the Ramban decided to act. He made Aliyah to a Yerushalayim that was virtually devoid of Jews. It was the Ramban's heroic pioneering work that was the beginning of the restoration of the holy city's Jewish community in generation 43. And that was the start of the final leap of the long redemption process that is called history.
The symbolism of corresponding numbers hides a deep connection between Yom Yerushalayim and the generation that saw the restoration of Jewish life in Yerushalayim. The holiness of Yom Yerushalayim does not derive from the events of our times per se. It derives from the sacrifices of the holy ones that returned to Zion in the last seven generations, re-establishing Jewish life where it had disappeared. It derives from an understanding that it is the Almighty who is bringing us back to Zion, just like he once brought us to Mount Sinai. In such a light, isn't Yom Yerushalayim an utterly worthy start of a holy seventh week?
The Holiday of the Future?
Shavuot is the only of the three major festivals that does not last a week, but only one day. If the seventh week would be a holiday, it would be to Shavuot what Succot is to Sh'mini Atseret. All major festivals would last a week. Why does the Torah "miss out" on this obvious improvement of elegance to the Jewish calendar?
There are two apparent reasons. The simplest reason is that the first day of the seventh week, day 43 of the Omer, did not qualify as a special day until the events of recent history. A deeper reason is the negative flavor of the days of the Omer. The Omer period was ordained because the Jews in Egypt were so close to spiritual death that they needed fifty days to recover. When the Jews reached freedom through the Sea of Reeds, in principle, the Torah could have been given right away. However, the Jews were not ready for that. They had not been able to throw off the spiritual lowliness of Egypt in just one week. Six weeks of step by step growth, through tests and teachings, were decreed. In the last week, the seventh of the counting of the Omer, the Jews "got it." They did what had been missing in the week they ate matzot: they prepared to receive the Torah. It might thus be that the week before Shavuot could not be part of the festival because, however holy the week was, it all should have happened at the time of Pesach.
Fortunately, the somber nature of the days of the Omer can be overruled. That is why we can celebrate Yom Ha'atsma'ut and Yom Yerushalayim, as well as Lag b'Omer. The long Galut had a purpose, it brought atonement. There is a tradition that rabbinical holidays are one-to-one related to Torah festivals. Hanukka is related to Succot, Purim is related to Shavuot. Pesach has no related rabbinical holiday, but, according to the S'fat Emet, it will get one in the future. Could it be that this future holiday will be the seventh week of the Omer? A holiday to give thanks for the historical process of redemption and the return to Zion? A new holiday to prepare ourselves to receive the Torah anew?
"I will put my Torah inside of them, and write it in their hearts." (Jeremiah 31:32)
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Moshe Lerman writes from Enav, Israel.
Actually, we do. It is the seventh week of the counting of the Omer. Historically, according to Torah, it is the week before the Torah was given at Mount Sinai.
The holiness of a major part of this week, let us name it "the seventh week," is noted by Jewish Law. We do not say Tachanun in our prayer services on the days 45 to 49 of the Omer; that is, on the last five days of the seventh week. This is because day 45 was the day the Jews arrived at Mount Sinai. The days 45 to 49 were days of anxious preparation for the giving of the Torah on day 50.
Jewish Law does not associate a special status to the first two days of the seventh week. However, recent history sanctified its first day - day 43 of the Omer. It is Yom Yerushalayim, the day the Temple Mount fell into Jewish hands. And to complete the week, its second day, day 44, was in fact also a holy day, even though this was not encoded in Jewish Law. The Jews were travelling to Mount Sinai on this day. Commenting on the first two verses of Shemot 19, Rashi states that while travelling from Rephidim to Mount Sinai, the Jews were already in the same state of repentance as they were after their arrival at Mount Sinai. The Mechilta brings the reason for the repentance. The Jews left Rephidim right after fighting a miraculous war with Amalek. Reflecting on the war, they came to realize that it was their sinful behavior that had enabled Amalek to attack.
Thus, taking ancient and recent history together, we can conceive of the seventh week as a week of sanctity. But can we indeed concatenate Yom Yerushalayim and the six holy days at Mount Sinai? Can events of our times be viewed on a par with events during the generation of Moshe Rabbeinu? Can the arrival of Jews at the Temple Mount be compared to the arrival of Jews at Mount Sinai? One who sees Yom Yerushalayim as a day that secular Zionists conquered the Temple Mount, will likely say no. One who sees the event as a climax of a generations-long historical return to Zion, and as a present from Heaven that boosted the process of our spiritual rebirth, will likely say yes.
World History and the Omer Period
The seventh day, the seventh year, the seventh month, the seventh week. What is this thing with the number seven? The number seven relates to the duration of world history. Every Shabbat, we declare that HaShem ?created the world six days? (sheshet yamim). Not "in six days", but "six days." The six days are the 6000 years history will last. The association of the seventh day of the week to the six "days" of world history informs us that there will be another day, another 1000 years, that will be qualitatively different. The seventh 1000 years will be the Shabbat of history.
The (first) 6000 years of world history are fifty generations of 120 years. Here we see another way the number seven relates to the duration of the world. Both in the counting of the Omer, and in the counting of the Shmitta and Yovel years, the number fifty is considered seven times seven plus one. The fiftieth is the holy completion of the seven times seven preceding it. The fiftieth day is Shavuot and the fiftieth year is the Yovel year. Likewise, the fiftieth generation of history, history's final 120 years, will be a Yovel generation, a prelude to the 1000 years that will follow. World history will respect the principle of Jewish Law that the Shabbat is to be welcomed early by adding time of the sixth day to it.
Not only will the fiftieth generation be like the fiftieth day of the counting of the Omer, the other days of the Omer arguably reflect corresponding generations of history, as well. Events during the 49 days before the giving of the Torah line up with events in historical generations. And so do the special days of the Omer period, Lag b'Omer, Yom Ha'atzma'ut, the day the Jewish state was declared, and Yom Yerushalayim. Here is a highlight.
Generation 20 saw the birth of Moshe Rabbeinu, the beginning of the redemption from Egypt. Day 20 of the Omer is the fifth of Iyar, Yom Ha'atzma'ut, the beginning of sprouting of the final redemption. From generation 21 onwards, the twelve tribes of Israel lived under the authority of the seventy members of the Sanhedrin for a number of generations. In the desert, "they arrived at Elim, where there were twelve springs of water and seventy date-palms."
Generation 33 was the generation of Rabbi Akiva and Shimon bar Yochai, the author of the Zohar. It was the generation of the Mishna. It was the generation that the Torah was saved after it had been in great danger, after the destruction of the Temple and the defeat of Bar Kochba. Day 33 of the Omer is Lag b'Omer, the day we celebrate that, through the surviving students of Rabbi Akiva, the Torah was saved and the Mishna was written. In Israel, more than in the Galut, it is the day of Kabbala, the Yahrzeit of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai. Generations 41 and 42 were the generations of the Crusades and of wars in the Land of Israel. In the desert, in Rephidim, Amalek attacked.
The seventh week corresponds to the seven generations that gradually rebuilt Zion. See what happened in the generation that corresponds to Yom Yerushalayim, day 43. It was in generation 43 that the Jewish community in Yerushalayim was restored after the Crusades and centuries of wars between Christians and Moslems had wiped out Jewish life in the holy city. Generation 45 saw a wave of Aliyah, after the Spanish Inquisition. It is also the generation of the most definitive formulation of Halachah, the Shulchan Aruch. In generation 47, the Vilna Gaon sent his students to rebuild Yerushalayim, because, as he stressed, "in Yerushalayim there will be a remnant."
Generation 48 saw the rise of the Jewish state. In the Galut, Jewish scientists strived for the truth and established the torah of modern science. True science ripens the mind for true Torah, and it surely came to prepare us for the final giving of the Torah. Science led also to modern technology. How many olim came by plane? Generation 49 is our generation, it will still last about 117 years. Day 49 was the very last day before the giving of Torah. A day of double holiness. Our generation will complete the return to Zion.
Rabbi Tzvi Yehuda Kook taught us that "our statehood does not start from Ben Gurion's proclamation in the Tel Aviv Museum. Rather, it evolves from the holy words of the Ramban that we are commanded by the Torah to possess and dwell in the Land." Rav Kook cited the Ramban with insight. In the wake of the Amalekite Crusader and Moslem attacks of his time, the Ramban decided to act. He made Aliyah to a Yerushalayim that was virtually devoid of Jews. It was the Ramban's heroic pioneering work that was the beginning of the restoration of the holy city's Jewish community in generation 43. And that was the start of the final leap of the long redemption process that is called history.
The symbolism of corresponding numbers hides a deep connection between Yom Yerushalayim and the generation that saw the restoration of Jewish life in Yerushalayim. The holiness of Yom Yerushalayim does not derive from the events of our times per se. It derives from the sacrifices of the holy ones that returned to Zion in the last seven generations, re-establishing Jewish life where it had disappeared. It derives from an understanding that it is the Almighty who is bringing us back to Zion, just like he once brought us to Mount Sinai. In such a light, isn't Yom Yerushalayim an utterly worthy start of a holy seventh week?
The Holiday of the Future?
Shavuot is the only of the three major festivals that does not last a week, but only one day. If the seventh week would be a holiday, it would be to Shavuot what Succot is to Sh'mini Atseret. All major festivals would last a week. Why does the Torah "miss out" on this obvious improvement of elegance to the Jewish calendar?
There are two apparent reasons. The simplest reason is that the first day of the seventh week, day 43 of the Omer, did not qualify as a special day until the events of recent history. A deeper reason is the negative flavor of the days of the Omer. The Omer period was ordained because the Jews in Egypt were so close to spiritual death that they needed fifty days to recover. When the Jews reached freedom through the Sea of Reeds, in principle, the Torah could have been given right away. However, the Jews were not ready for that. They had not been able to throw off the spiritual lowliness of Egypt in just one week. Six weeks of step by step growth, through tests and teachings, were decreed. In the last week, the seventh of the counting of the Omer, the Jews "got it." They did what had been missing in the week they ate matzot: they prepared to receive the Torah. It might thus be that the week before Shavuot could not be part of the festival because, however holy the week was, it all should have happened at the time of Pesach.
Fortunately, the somber nature of the days of the Omer can be overruled. That is why we can celebrate Yom Ha'atsma'ut and Yom Yerushalayim, as well as Lag b'Omer. The long Galut had a purpose, it brought atonement. There is a tradition that rabbinical holidays are one-to-one related to Torah festivals. Hanukka is related to Succot, Purim is related to Shavuot. Pesach has no related rabbinical holiday, but, according to the S'fat Emet, it will get one in the future. Could it be that this future holiday will be the seventh week of the Omer? A holiday to give thanks for the historical process of redemption and the return to Zion? A new holiday to prepare ourselves to receive the Torah anew?
"I will put my Torah inside of them, and write it in their hearts." (Jeremiah 31:32)
--------------------------------------------------------
Moshe Lerman writes from Enav, Israel.