What connects the three holidays? If we look in the siddur we see that as
part of Sefiras Ha'Omer we have a description of each day that we count.
Starting with Chesed of Chesed on the first day and ending with Kingship of
Kingship. Each of the seven Midos are repeated seven times giving us a total of
49. It is like a seven storey building with seven steps on each level. To get
from the first floor to the top we have to add on to what we already have. The
only way to rise the 49 levels is by consciously developing all the Midos to
their maximum in order to be able to receive the Torah. The Ushpizin of Sukkoth
again brings this into focus. On the first night Avraham Chesed and David
represents kingship. After completing the cycle of 7 Midoth, we are ready for
Simchas Torah, the high point of Sukkoth.
(The Mictav MiEliyahu, Book 2, page 110 explains the Ushpizin). Submitted by:
Zechariah Simon Pellman
A Lesson from
a Date - Shavuoth by Rabbi Yehudah Prero
Shavuoth, is the
holiday on which we celebrate the giving of the Torah to the nation of Israel.
Upon examination, one would find that the Torah usually lists exactly what day a
holiday begins. For example, by Pesach the Torah tells us (Vayikra 23:6) that
"On the fifteenth day of this month is the Festival of Matzos." However, come
Shavuoth we find something different. The Torah writes (Vayikra 23: 15) "and you
shall count for yourselves from the day after the Shabbos . . . you shall count
50 days and you shall bring a new Mincha offering to Hashem . . . and you shall
convoke on this very day - there shall be a holy convocation for yourselves."
Why does the Torah not tell us the date of Shavuoth? Why does the Torah force us
to calculate 50 days from the start of our counting of the Omer to figure out
when Shavuoth is?
The Torah is composed of two parts: The written law, the Torah as we see it
written in Tanach, and the Oral law, the elaborations, explanations and
clarifications of that found in the Tanach, which we have nowadays as the
Talmud. G-d gave both the Oral and the Written law to the nation of Israel at
Sinai. The Oral law was transmitted from generation to generation until the
point where the Sages were worried that we would forget it. They preserved it
first as the Mishna, which was a concise, systematic compilation that was to
serve as a memory device for later generations. However, later generations began
to forget even more, and the Sages determined that writing down even more was
necessary. Today, we have this as Gemora. Hashem gave these two parts of the
Torah, as mentioned, to us at Sinai. That we acknowledge and believe that G-d
gave the Torah in its entirety to us at Sinai is essential.
It is to illustrate how central a role the Oral Law plays that the Torah does
not mention the date of Shavuoth. The Torah terms the starting date for the count
of the 50 days "macharas HaShabbos," "the day after the Shabbos." The Oral law
tells us that this is the second day of Pesach, the "Shabbos" referred to in the
verse being the first day of Pesach. The Tzedukim, Sadducees, who did not give
credence to the Oral law, explained this verse differently. They explained it to
mean literally the day after Shabbos. So, they began counting from the first
Sunday after Pesach. (See I: 16)
When we celebrate Shavuoth on the day that we do, we are simultaneously
affirming our belief in the Oral law. After all, it is only with the
clarification that the Oral law provides that we know when Shavuoth falls.
Shavuoth, the holiday on which we celebrate the fact that we have the Torah, is
the day on which we acknowledge that we received all of the Torah, both oral and
written. (See II: 12) To be sure that we recognize the entirety of the Torah,
G-d omitted the exact date on which we celebrate from the written Torah. Only by
relying upon the Oral law can we celebrate Shavuoth in its proper time. This
Shavuoth, we should all merit inspiration by the realization that G-d entrusted
us with an amazing gift: the Torah.
What connects the three holidays? If we look in the siddur we see that as
part of Sefiras Ha'Omer we have a description of each day that we count.
Starting with Chesed of Chesed on the first day and ending with Kingship of
Kingship. Each of the seven Midos are repeated seven times giving us a total of
49. It is like a seven storey building with seven steps on each level. To get
from the first floor to the top we have to add on to what we already have. The
only way to rise the 49 levels is by consciously developing all the Midos to
their maximum in order to be able to receive the Torah. The Ushpizin of Sukkoth
again brings this into focus. On the first night Avraham Chesed and David
represents kingship. After completing the cycle of 7 Midoth, we are ready for
Simchas Torah, the high point of Sukkoth.
The Torah is composed of two parts: The written law, the Torah as we see it
written in Tanach, and the Oral law, the elaborations, explanations and
clarifications of that found in the Tanach, which we have nowadays as the
Talmud. G-d gave both the Oral and the Written law to the nation of Israel at
Sinai. The Oral law was transmitted from generation to generation until the
point where the Sages were worried that we would forget it. They preserved it
first as the Mishna, which was a concise, systematic compilation that was to
serve as a memory device for later generations. However, later generations began
to forget even more, and the Sages determined that writing down even more was
necessary. Today, we have this as Gemora. Hashem gave these two parts of the
Torah, as mentioned, to us at Sinai. That we acknowledge and believe that G-d
gave the Torah in its entirety to us at Sinai is essential.
What is Shavuoth?
Shavuoth: Three name of the holiday
