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"Blowin' in the Wind!"

03/30/2021 01:10:54 PM

Mar30

Rabbi Reuben Israel Abraham, CDR, CHC, USN (ret)

On the second day of Pesach (Passover) we read the following: “And from the day on which you bring the Omer Hatenufah (the Sheaf of Elevation Offering),…you shall count off seven weeks.  They must be complete: you must count until the day after the seventh week --- fifty days…” (VaYikra 23:15-16) We began the period of Sefirat HaOmer (the Counting of the Omer) on the second night of Pesach and will conclude it on the day before Shavuot.  With this in mind, it stands to reason that Pesach and Shavuot are connected: the beginning of this period starts with Pesach, the liberation from the slavery of Mitzrayim (Egypt) by the outstretched arm of HaShem, and it culminates fifty days later with Shavuot, the giving of the Torah by Hashem to B’nei Yisrael at Har Sinai (Mount Sinai).  During the forty-nine days of Sefirat HaOmer, we are engaged in the process of preparing ourselves to receive the Torah from Hashem.  Rabbi Natan of Breslov writes that the forty-nine days of Sefirat HaOmer correspond to the forty-nine gates of teshuva (repentance/returning).  He teaches that the reciting of Tehillim (Psalms) each day opens one of the gates of teshuva each day.  Therefore, he says, it is extremely important to recite Tehillim each day during Sefirat HaOmer. (Kitzur Likutei Moharan, 63:2) Perhaps the following Chasidic parable will help to explain why:

Yashka the farmer worked exceedingly hard to prepare his field for corn planting in the Spring.  His hands were scarred and bloody from gripping the leather reigns in order to keep his mighty ox walking in a straight line while plowing each furrow, and every muscle in his strained back “cried out” in pain.  When the field was finally ready for planting, Yashka lovingly placed each seed in the ground as if it were a valuable gem.  When all was said and done, Yashka would then pray for the blessing of rain that would trigger the seed’s germination and subsequent growth.

Yashka gained tremendous satisfaction from weeding the furrows of the stout young corn plants.  He believed that seeing the lush green stalks made all of his hard work worthwhile.  He looked forward to the expected bumper crop of corn, but, alas, his joy was short-lived.  As soon as the fertilized corn flowers turned into baby seed cobs, the expected crows appeared.  The minute he saw and heard the cawing black-feathered menaces descend upon his corn field, Yashka ran out of his thatched-roofed house with his pitchfork in hand and attempted to chase the crows away.  However, no sooner would he leave the field after chasing them away, the crows would then reappear.  After being disgusted at the number of times his attempts to remove the crows failed, Yashka erected a scarecrow in the middle of the field.  This worked for a couple of days, but as soon as the clever birds realized that this straw-filled figure wearing Yashka’s old hat and shirt was both lifeless and harmless, they once again descended upon the cornfield.

After a moment’s thought, Yashka came up with a new idea.  His cornfield was exposed to prevailing breezes from all four directions.  He carved a special flute out of a reed and put it on the scarecrow’s mouth.  When the wind would blow every fifteen minutes, it would pass through the flute and make such an amazing loud sound spanning a three-octave range that it scared the crows away each time.  Because the flute “did its job,” Yashka was able to reap a full crop of golden yellow corn.

In this Chasidic parable, Yashka’s plowing and preparation of the field for planting is symbolic of how we prepare for Pesach.  The days the corn grew between the planting of the seed and the harvest of the ripened corn are symbolic of Sefirat HaOmer.  Yashka’s corn harvest is symbolic of our receiving the Torah.  The crows are symbolic of the worldly temptations which try to keep us from fulfilling our spiritual destiny.  The scarecrow is symbolic of our being unable to rise above those temptations.  The prevailing breezes which passed through the flute stuck in the scarecrow’s mouth are symbolic of our rising above those temptations by reciting Tehillim in the effort to become fully prepared to receive the Torah.  For by receiving the Torah and thereby bringing it into this world, we, Am Yisrael (the People Israel), have also brought into this world both material and spiritual abundance not only for us but for all people everywhere.

In Pirkei Avot (Ethics of the Fathers), a tractate of the Mishnah which is read every on every Shabbat between Pesach and Rosh Hashanah, we find the following: “…for you can have no freer man than one who is engaged in the study of Torah.” (Pirkei Avot 6:2) When we received the Torah, we became a truly free people.  May this Pesach of 5781 bring a year of abundance, freedom, and peace not only to Am Yisrael but to all people everywhere.

 

Fri, March 29 2024 19 Adar II 5784