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    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.