27 Apr ACHREI MOS – THE TEST IS THE PURPOSE

Hashem told us
that the mon must
be eaten the same
day it falls. No one was permitted to
leave mon over for the next day. Dasan
and Aviram disobeyed and they left mon
over for the next day. It rotted and became wormy, “and Moshe became angry
with them” (Shmos 16:20). The Meshech
Chachmah asks why Moshe was angry
with them. It is true that Dasan and Aviram committed an aveirah when they left
mon over for the next day, but inadvertently they sanctified Hashem’s name
because everyone saw that nothing is
gained by leaving mon over for the next
day (since it will surely spoil). Now, no
one will do so again. So why was Moshe
upset with them? The Meshech
Chachmah explains that the problem
was that Dasan and Aviram removed the
test from the Jewish people. The nation
was living in a desert where nothing
grew and there was nothing to eat, other
than mon. It was an extremely difficult
test, to finish the mon each day and not
leave anything over for the morrow. Nadav and Avihu’s sin eliminated that test.
Therefore, Moshe was angry with them.
“Az Yashir Moshe” literally means,
“then Moshe will sing…” The gemara
(Sanhedrin 91) teaches that this is the
source for techiyas hameisim (resurrection of the dead) from the Torah. Why is
tecehiyas hameisim alluded to specifically here? Rebbe Yechezkel of Kozmir
zy”a answers that when the sea split, the
nation reached extremely high levels of
emunah. As Chazal say, “Even a maidservant saw prophecies, greater than Yechezkel ben Buzi.” To believe in Hashem wouldn’t be a test for them anymore.
But there must always be a test, so they
were told about techiyas hameisim. They
never experienced techiyas hameisim,
and therefore this was their test; to see
whether they would also believe in techiyas hameisim. When Sarah Imeinu was
ninety years old (and Avraham was one
hundred) she gave birth to Yitzchak.
Rashi writes, “Many barren women were
also remembered [and bore] children, together with Sarah… and there was a lot
of joy in the world” (Bereishis 21:6).
The Rebbe of Ruzhin zy”a asks, why
was it important for other barren women
to have children too? These women were
idol worshippers. Why should we care if
a miracle happened to them, which enabled more idol worshipping children to
come to the world? The Rebbe of Ruzhin
explains that Avraham Avinu and Sarah
Imeinu devoted their lives to teach people about Hashem. When Avraham was a
hundred and Sarah was ninety, they miraculously had Yitzchak. This proved to
the world that their teachings were true
and that there is a Creator. But this also
created a great problem because now believing in Hashem would be easy. The
test of emunah would be eliminated.
Thus, at this time, many barren idol worshippers also gave birth to children.
Now, there was once again room for error, since it wasn’t only Avraham and
Sarah who were having children. Even
idol worshippers were having children
which made it look like a natural phenomenon. The test of emunah continues
on. The Rebbe of Ruzhin concluded,
“Every miracle has something that obscures it so Free Will continues.” The
gemara (Sanhedrin 41) teaches that eidim (witnesses) are only believed when
there is potential to disprove them. Every yid testifies to Hashem’s existence,
as it says “you are my eidim, says Hashem” (Yeshaya 43:10). The Sfas Emes
teaches us that in every yid’s life, there
must be an element which counters and
tries to disprove his testimony. These are
the hardships of life. If a person’s life is
perfect (he and his family are wealthy,
healthy, and they have nachas, etc.)
Hashem’s presence is obvious in his life;
his testimony isn’t challenged, and it
therefore doesn’t carry weight. The primary eidus is when there are conflicts
and questions, and yet he believes in
Hashem. The hardships of life can rouse
questions in people’s minds. If they can
remain steadfast with their emunah even
then, it is a testimony to Hashem’s existence. It is an eidus despite the opposition.
Sefiras Ha’Omer
The days of Sefiras Ha’Omer are very
high days; a time for spiritual growth.
The Omer begins on the second day of
Pesach, when a barley offering was
brought in the Beis HaMikdash, and
ends on Shavuous when the shtei halechem, two breads made from wheat were
sacrificed. Barley is animal fodder, while
wheat is for human consumption. The
Aruch HaShulchan (489:3) and other sefarim teach that that this indicates that
during the days of the Omer we elevate
ourselves from the level of being like an
animal to being a human being. How
does one become a greater human being?
We say “Moter H’adam min habeihema
ein” what makes the person better than
an animal is “ein” his ability to say ‘no’
to temptations. The Sefer HaChinuch
(mitzvah 306) writes, “We are obligated
to count from the day after [the first]
Yom Tov of Pesach until the giving of
the Torah to show our great desire for
this desired day, like a slave who counts
the days until he will be freed. Counting
demonstrates a person’s strong desire to
reach this time. “The famous question is,
if the purpose of counting the Omer is to
show our anticipation towards Shavuous
when we receive the Torah, shouldn’t we
count the days that are left until Shavuous? Why do we count the days that
passed?… [Instead of counting, today is
thirty days of the Omer, we should count,
“another twenty days are left until Shavuous,” as this is the way people count
when they are looking forward to something in the future?] The Chidushei
HaRim zy”a answers that each day we
count how many levels we’ve raised ourselves from being like an animal to becoming a greater human being. We count
the days that passed, because each day of
improvement makes us more fitting to
receive the Torah. The Ramban writes,
“The days of the Omer are like Chol
HaMo’ed. Chol HaMoed is the days between the first and last day of a holiday,
similarly, Sefiras Ha’Omer is between
Pesach and Shavuous.” (Vayikra 23:36)1
The Chidushei HaRim writes, everything that happens to man throughout his
lifetime, are dependent on the days of
Sefirah. Therefore, one should be careful
to use these days wisely. The Torah connects the holidays to agriculture. Pesach
is “chag ha’aviv”, when the grains growing in the fields reach their full height.
Shavuous is “chag ha’katzir”, when the
crops have finished baking in the sun,
and are ready to be cut. The Maharal explains that one shouldn’t think that the
holy Yom Tovim were established for
agricultural purposes. Rather, what happens to the crops alludes to what is happening with the soul of man. Just as the
crops reach perfection between Pesach
and Shavuous, similarly, man is also
growing spiritually during this period of
time. It is a time for growth, and therefore we should strive to be involved in
this process. The Chida writes (in the
name of Rabbeinu Efraim) that the fifty
hooks that connected the covering of the
Mishkan represent the fifty days of the
Sefirah, when the Jewish nation become
attached to their father in heaven2 . The
Torah was given on the fifty-first day after yetzias Mitzrayim (see Tosfos Avodah Zara 3. and Maharshah). So why do
we celebrate Shavuous on the fiftieth
day? The Maharsha answers, on the fiftieth day we were potentially ready to receive the Torah, because it took fifty
days for the Jewish nation to purify
themselves from the impurities of Egypt.
Therefore, we celebrate on the fiftieth
day because the main thing is fear of
heaven, and this was attained on the fiftieth day. The Or HaChaim explains the
passuk, “v’sipartem lachem” to be from
the word “sapir” which means sapphire
stone. He writes, “Chazal say that the neshamos of Bnei Yisrael are like the
luchos… The luchos were made from
sapphire stone [and similarly, every
Yid’s neshamah shines like a sapphire
stone]…. But because of sins, the souls
become dirty and lose their shine….
Therefore it says “v’sipartem lachem”.
By counting the Omer they will shine
again like sapphire stones.” (Vayikra
23:15) The Mishnah
teaches, “Resha’im
are in Gehinom for
twelve months…
Reb Yochanan ben
Nuri says, ‘[They
are in Gehinom]
from Pesach until
Shavuous.’” Why are they in Gehinom
specifically at this time? It is known that
Gehinom isn’t a revenge, or a punishment with no purpose. The punishments
of Gehinom purify the soul, to enable
him to go to Gan Eden, because one may
not enter Gan Eden while wearing
clothes sullied with sins. The Chidushei
HaRim zt”l teaches that when Reb Yochanan ben Nuri said that the atonement
of Gehinom is from Pesach to Shavuous,
his intention wasn’t to limit the time period of Gehinom. Gehinom can be
throughout the year. He was saying that
the process of getting purified in Gehinom is similar to what occurs with the
Omer, between Pesach and Shavuous.
Just as we become purified by the Omer,
this is also what occurs in Gehinom. We
derive from this that when a person
serves Hashem during the Omer, he will
not need the purification of Gehinom,
because he already purified himself in
this world. Why is the Omer counted
specifically at this time of year? The Rishonim say that the yetzer hara becomes
stronger in the summer months, when
the sun shines brightly and the world becomes warmer. We count the Omer in the
beginning of the summer and this helps
us overcome the yetzer hara. (This is
also the reason we read Pirkei Avos at
this time of year.) It can be compared to
a child who is vaccinated shortly after
birth so he won’t become ill. Similarly,
at the beginning of the summer
HaKadosh Baruch Hu gives us Sefiras
Ha’Omer to strengthen us, so we won’t
become ill and sin. When counting Sefiras Ha’Omer, one should daven that the
merit of this counting should purify him.
In particular, one should have kavanah
when he says the tefillah Ribono Shel
Olam, which is written after the sefirah,
and pray that he become purified and
holy before Hashem. It is written “Arami
Oved Avi”. The Or HaChaim teaches
that this passuk is referring to the yetzer
hara, which strives to destroy the neshamah At first, the yetzer hara comes with
weak forces. But as the person becomes
older, the yetzer hara become stronger,
until “v’yehi shem l’goy gadol atzom
v’rav” he becomes very strong. The
counsel is to daven to Hashem to save us
from the yetzer hara. Similarly, Reb
Shlomo Kluger explained the passuk
(Tehillim 42) “When will I see the face
of Hashem?” “Haysa li dmati lachem yomam v’layla” through continuous tears
and prayers.