28 Apr SOME SEFIRA LESSONS

We are presently living
through the days of sefira.
For 33 days, we practice
trappings of mourning by
abstaining from weddings,
listening to music, and
refraining from cutting
our hair. So, it is vitally
important for us to reflect upon what we are
mourning about.
The Gemara in Masechtas Yevamos [62b]
informs us that we are remembering with
sorrow the tragic death of every single one of
Rabbi Akiva’s 24,000 original disciples. Not
only was it a complete wipe-out of his entire
academy, the Gemara reveals to us further
that of the 903 different types of death, the
disciples of Rabbi Akiva died from the most
painful of them all, namely of askara, a type
of diphtheria or croup.
Obviously, the reason to remember this is
to learn from their mistakes and not repeat
their sins. Hence, we must ask what they did
that was so horrible that every one of them
died and neither their holy Torah nor their
righteous Rebbe was able to protect them.
The Gemara in Yevamos tell us that their sin
was, “Mipnei shelo nahagu kavod zeh l’zeh –
That they didn’t give honor one to another.”
This is consistent with a Gemara in Kiddushin
[33b] which explains that criminality in the
area of kavod haTorah, Torah honor, is a

capital infraction. The Gemara says, “V’tov
lo yih’yeh larasha v’lo ya’arich yamim – A
wicked person will not enjoy good and will not
live long,” “Katzeil asher einenu yorei Elokim
– Like a fleeting shadow, who does not fear
G-d.” The Gemara then asks what is referred
to by a person who does not fear of G-d. It
then quotes the verse, “Mipne seiva tokum
v’darta pnei zakein v’yireisa mei’Elokecha –
Before one of hoary old age you should rise,
and [also] before the zakein, (which refers
to a sage, since zakein is a composite of zeh
kana chachma, one who acquires wisdom),
and you should fear your G-d.” Since fear of
G-d is linked directly to honoring a sage, the
Gemara says this is the fear of G-d which the
first posuk refers to when it says its omission
leads to a shortening of life.
We therefore see that the customs of mourning
during sefira should be used as a springboard
to discuss the overwhelming importance of
practicing kavod haTorah in our daily lives.
Very often, this manifests itself in how we
behave towards the Rabbi of our shul. For
instance, when the Rabbi gets up to speak, it is
totally unacceptable to open a sefer and learn
while he is talking. Rav Moshe Feinstein,
zt”l, zy”a, would caution his students that
when the Rabbi speaks between mincha and
maariv on Mishnayos or Shulchan Oruch,
they should be careful not to learn something
else in his presence.

I remember once attending one of my
children’s simchas for a Shabbos and the
Rabbi honored me with giving the sermon.
He told me that their custom was to give the
drasha after mussaf, at the end of davening. I
asked him why, since from time immemorial
the normal time for the drasha is right before
mussaf. He told me that the reason for this
change was in order that the people shouldn’t
feel that they are a captive audience. This
way, he told me, those who want to leave
could leave and those who chose to stay could
stay. When I heard this I was horrified. Could
you imagine a father picking himself up and
walking out before the Rabbi speaks? What
kind of weekly message would this send?
I always advise parents that they should
take their children every Friday night after
davening to say good Shabbos to the Rav.
This simple habit, when repeated until they
become bar mitzvah, will result in their going
to the Rabbi and showing respect hundreds
of times. This is an investment of huge
proportions. With such training, you have
a hope that later, when your children have
a question or a dilemma, they will go to the
Rabbi to ask his Torah advice.
It is very sad that too many younger shuls are
popping up without a Rabbi. What caused
such a phenomenon? After all, we know that
the presence of a Rabbi is so important that
if there is only money enough for a Rabbi
or a doctor, we should surely get a Rabbi
because he will assuredly procure a doctor.
This sad phenomenon of wanting a shul
without a Rabbi comes partially because
the children saw how much their father
complained about the Rabbi’s drasha or
walked out of a bar mitzvah before the
Rabbi rose to speak. It also comes from
the fact that there is among the yeshiva
intelligentsia, a lack of respect for the
simple pulpit Rabbi who doesn’t talk in the
lomdus of the yeshiva style.
We need to teach our children to honor
the shul Rabbi. The one who, on a regular
basis, warns them about the evils of lashon
hara, the dangers of smoking, vaping,
gambling, and addictive gaming. They
need to know that a Rabbi is there to
remind them often about the importance of
shalom bayis, kibud av v’eim, the dangers
of being a workaholic, and the wrongness
of conspicuous consumption.
Lack of kavod haTorah has crept into the
way the Rabbi is paid. In many shuls, the
janitor is paid more than the Rabbi and a
cleaning lady is paid more regularly because
in certain communities it’s easier to find a
good Rabbi than a good cleaning lady and
a reliable janitor. Those responsible for this
grievous situation console their conscience
by saying that the Torah is supposed to be
free. That’s why it was given in the midbar,
the desert. And it says, “Ha’mishtameish
b’saga chalof – And one who uses the
crown of Torah for gain will pass away.”
We must know that just like a doctor is
paid even though he’s doing the mitzvah

of hashavas aveida, returning a lost article
for they are restoring one’s health which was
like a lost article. Now, for hashavas aveida,
you’re not allowed to take money. However,
the doctor does get paid because he’s allowed
to take schar bitul, the money he lost since he
could have been doing something else while
he was helping you, and since he could have
been curing a non-Jew for which he is allowed
to take payment. Thus, he can take payment
from you as compensation for his time.
So too, the community must pay the rabbi
schar bitul compensation for the career such a
bright man could have been doing. After all,
he likely could have been a doctor, a lawyer, or
a corporate executive, and you should pay him
fitting compensation. In Europe, before there
was a Rabbi’s salary, the Rebbetzin was given
a monopoly on certain staple commodities
such as yeast and candles, to ensure that the
Rabbi had a wholesome livelihood.
It is absolutely essential that when we speak
at our Shabbos table, we should not say
anything denigrating about the Rabbi, such
as ‘He spoke too long,’ or, ‘The speech was
a rerun,’ or, ‘He’s out of touch.’ Besides the
fact that it’s clear lashon hara, it’s the opposite
of teaching our families the importance of
kavod haTorah.
I remember one Shabbos HaGadol of my
youth when I came home from yeshiva. I
was about to go learn with my chavrusa and
my father asked me where I was going. I told
him, “To Yossi, my chavrusa.” He told me in
no uncertain terms, “No you’re not. You’re
davening in the Sfardishe Shul so you’re
going to Rabbi Singer’s Shabbos HaGadol
drasha.” He was teaching me the importance
of honoring the shul’s Rabbi.
We all know the reward for talmud Torah is
k’neged kulom, equal to everything else, and
the Gemara in the beginning or Masechtas
Megillah teaches us that kavod haTorah is
even greater than learning Torah. May we
merit to show and inculcate this into our
children and in that zchus may we be blessed
with long life, good health, and everything
wonderful.