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Dear
Naaleh
Friend,
This week's featured class is entitled Sefirat HaOmer - The Inner Count by Mrs. Shira Smiles
from the Naaleh series Greatest of Gifts: Sefirat Haomer and Shavuot. On Pesach night we were inspired by G-d's revelation of the Torah. By counting upward, as we work on ourselves, we ascend in greatness. We have the opportunity over the next 49 days to return to the level of matan Torah. Each person should determine where they need improvement in their service of G-d (Avodat Hashem) and spend each day developing and growing closer to Him. Click
on the image below to view the class now:
This week's
Torat Imecha Newsletter on
Parshat Acharei Mot
is available now below.
Click here for the printer friendly version, to share at your Seder table.
Be sure to visit the homepage as well, for many more inspiring Torah classes!
Don't forget to check out
Mrs Shoshie Nissenbaum's series of daily inspirational classes on Sefirat Haomer: click here to view now.
Shabbat Shalom!
-Ashley Klapper and the Naaleh Crew
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Make it Count: Introduction #1
Based on a Naaleh.com series by Mrs. Shoshie Nissenbaum
At the
seder
night we read in the
Hagadah
, "
Kol hamarbe l'saper b'yetziat Mitzrayim
harei zeh meshubach
." The more one tells over (
l'saper
) the story of the exodus the more praiseworthy one is. On the second night of Pesach we enter the second stage of
lispor
(to count) by counting the days of the
omer
. The words
l'saper
,
l'spor
, and
sapir
(a brilliant sapphire gem) are related. The more we tell over the story of the exodus and the more intent we invest in the mitzvah of
sefirat omer
, the more our souls are illuminated.
The Torah tells us, "U'sefartem lachem..." (And you should count for yourself) What does lachem mean? Rabbi Nosson of Breslov explains that every person creates his own sipur (life story). We might not be able to choose the setting and the various actors, but we can script our own responses. The story of our life is comprised of the decisions and the choices we make. U'sefartem lachem reminds us that each of us has the ability to turn the page and begin a new chapter in life. We have the power to change the direction of our story. It's our choice.
As we count the omer, we refocus on the purpose of life and what we were meant to accomplish. Before beginning to count we say, "Hineni muchan umezuman." (I am ready and prepared.) When Hashem called Avraham, he too answered with the word, "Hineni. Whatever you want Hashem, I am ready and prepared to do." When we recite the introductory prayer of the sefirat omer we can have in mind, Hineni - Hashem I am here, muchan u'mezuman - I am ready to offer my precious time to You. When we count the days we are giving our souls and our relationship with Hashem the time and attention it needs. It is as if Hashem invited us to be with Him, to show Him how much our relationship with Him means to us.
In the times of the Beit Hamikdash when the kohen offered up the omer sacrifice he would ask, "U'bah hashemesh?" (Has the sun set?) The Jewish people would answer, "Yes." He would ask, "Maagel yesh?" (Do we have a sickle?) They would answer, "Yes." What was this ceremony about? When we count the omer we affirm, "U'bah hashemesh," Hashem has given us another day to be thankful for. We have a sickle. We have the tools Hashem gave us to succeed in life. We can harvest. We can go forward and accomplish. The counting compels us to be grateful for what we have. It's not a countdown rather a count up. Thank you Hashem for day one, for day two.... Every day we add more and more awareness until we're ready to receive the Torah. Sefirat haomer guides us to work on our middot. Each day brings us closer to deeper self -awareness and change.
Hashem's light is endless and unlimited. Therefore He condensed it and channeled it down to the world through the seven sefirot: Chesed, gevurah, tiferet, netzach, hod, yesod, and malchut. Each week, one of the seven sefirot is strongest. The energy flowing through that specific channel pulsates very strongly. For example, the week of chesed is an opportune time to tap into the awesome energy of kindness by doing one small act associated with the middah. The Tomer Devora explains that chesed is expansiveness, giving, and love. During the week of chesed, a person can work on cultivating love for Hashem and his fellow man. Avraham Avinu was the quintessential channel for chesed which corresponds to the right arm. Gevurah denotes restraint. It defines borders and is associated with fear. We put borders around ourselves because we fear Hashem. Gevurah is represented by Yitzchak and is symbolized by the left arm. Tiferet is glory and corresponds to Torah study. It's the perfect balance between chesed and gevurah and the blending of expansiveness and restraint. It's called emet because the Torah is truth. Yaakov is the paradigm of tiferet as it says, "Ish tam yoshev ohalim." (He was the truthful man who sat in the tent and studied Torah.) It corresponds to the torso of the human body.
Netzach is victory and eternity. It's the midah that supports and upholds. The quintessential person who signified netzach was Moshe Rabeinu, who led the people and gave them the eternal Torah through which they could conquer the yetzer hara. It corresponds to the right leg. Hod is splendor and acknowledgement, hodaah and l'vadot to thank and confess. It's acknowledging Hashem's greatness and confessing one's place vis a vis Hashem. It's associated with Aharon Hakohen and the left leg. Yesod is connecting to Hashem and to good people and avoiding those who are evil. The paradigm of this is Yosef. He was willing to renew his relationship with his brothers although they betrayed him. Yet he drew a very clear border with the wife of Potiphar. This is yesod, having strong relationships when it's appropriate and cutting off when it is inappropriate. Malchut is royalty and humility. It encompasses all the middot and asserts a positive influence over them. This is David, the quintessential king who humbly served the nation and understood the entire gamut of the human experience.
By exploring the 49 middot throughout the seven weeks of the omer, we can prepare ourselves to become a fitting vessel to receive the Torah.
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Rebbetzin's Perspective IV
Class 4
Based on a Naaleh.com shiur by Rebbetzin Tziporah Heller
Question:
What should a woman do if she is willing and eager to support her husband in Torah but her husband is not the learning type? He can be home as little as someone who's spending his time in the beit medrash, but he prefers to go to simchot, shmooze, or just exercise. It would seem that she loses out in both worlds. How can a woman feel meaning in such a marriage?
Answer:
The Rambam says about the tribe of Levi that they weren't given a portion in the land of Israel because they were meant to dedicate themselves exclusively to Hashem. Yissachar was like a donkey carrying a load. He was bound completely to the Torah. Yehuda was the rosh yeshiva of the tribes, the one who brought Torah to Egypt. But there was only one Levi, one Yissachar, and one Yehuda. That doesn't mean the other tribes were less important or less part of the Jewish nation.
In the early twentieth century, being a ben Torah was despised because society had become more materialistic and the nature of Jews is to be influenced by their surroundings. I heard first hand from an alte Mirrer, a very credible person, that not one of the yeshiva students in the Mirrer yeshiva married a girl from Mir because they had no status. What had status was making money, being a professional or owning a profitable business. After the Holocaust, Eastern European Torah institutions were devastated. The ones that survived needed a personality like Rav Aharon Kotler to restore their dignity. There was no concept of kolelim in America. There were observant people who kept Shabbat with great self-sacrifice, but young married men studying Torah full time was an unheard of phenomenon. Rav Aharon Kotler pioneered a revolution in Torah. We went from a position where there were no Leviim or Yissachars and hardly any Yehudas to a position where everyone had to be one. But there was never a plan that there be only three tribes. Each of the tribes was meant to contribute their own unique portion to Klal Yisrael.
Your role as a wife is to appreciate your husband's praiseworthy points. If he's a schmoozer find ways to channel it for the good. Invite guests to your home who would appreciate someone to talk with whether it's the elderly Russian widower or the new baal teshuva. Going to simchot is a great mitzvah. Picture the Amoraim and the Tannaim who juggled myrtle leaves and danced joyously before the bride and groom. If your husband is successful financially, encourage him be a Zevulun by supporting Torah scholars or others in need. Your role and place in olam habah is to appreciate your husband for what he is. Find his yetzer tov and give him credit for it. Yes he should be koveah itim (learn Torah every day) and yes he should find opportunities to do good but it's not your place to decide what it should be. Your role as a wife is to be a helpmate by enabling him to reach his highest, most elevated self.
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Life is ephemeral. But the life force is eternal. So we are taught to believe and so we know in the innermost recesses of our being. Yet there is a constant connection between our physical lives on this earth and our spiritual lives, both here and in the next world. How they are connected forms the basis for much discussion on the verse in
Acharei Mos
that exhorts Bnei Yisroel "to observe My decrees and My laws, which man shall carry out and by which you shall live,
vechai bohem
, - I am Hashem."
What does Hashem mean that we should live in the mitzvot?
Rashi
explains that when there is a life and death decision, except in a few well defined circumstances, life overrides death even when it means transgressing a commandment, since death would preclude the opportunity to perform future mitzvot.
Rabbi Frand suggests that we each must find our defining purpose, our raison d'être. What makes us tick, what brings us joy, what is our passion? That essence should be in the performance of mitzvot and in our connection to Hashem. Our thrill in life should come from Torah,
chesed,
and mitzvot rather than from shopping or the latest fad. The
Yalkut Lekach Tov
cites Reb Chaim of Volozhin in interpreting
vechai
bo
hem
as living
in
the mitzvot. Immerse yourself in the mitzvot so that you are completely surrounded by the aura of holiness and the atmosphere of
Gan Eden
they create around you. Mitzvot create spiritual energy and a spiritual reality that has an effect on the upper realms. That energy frees the holy light from above and lets it come down to surround us and help us perform more and more mitzvot. Thus, one mitzvah is the source of the performance of another mitzvah.
By involving ourselves completely in the mitzvot, we are actually living in the reality of
Olam Haba
, the eternal hereafter says Rabbi Pincus. As long as we continue focusing on the mitzvot, we maintain that connection to Hashem and we are creating the reality of
kedushah
in this world. The trick is maintaining the focus and the passion.
Even when you do not actually feel the enthusiasm, act the part, verbalize the desire, and you will succeed in creating the passion and fire you desire suggests Rabbi Y. Hillel. He offers a five step formula to attain the level of
vechai bohem
. First, physically perform the mitzvah. Second, include a verbal element. Study the laws of the mitzvah or recite a verse associated with it. Next, intend to perform the mitzvah because it is Hashem's will. Further, engage mindfully in doing the mitzvah. Finally, perform the mitzvah with joy rather than viewing it as a burden.
The key ingredient, says Rabbi Himmel, is preparation. Just as we cannot cook a proper meal, or teach a lesson, or achieve anything meaningful in this physical world without proper preparation, so must we prepare ourselves physically, mentally, and emotionally to connect to our Maker through the mitzvot. Whatever joy we bring to our mitzvah observance in this world, says the
Netivot Shalom
, will create our portion of true and everlasting joy in
olam haba
.
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The Halachik Essence of Sefirat HaOmer
Rabbi Michael Taubes |
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