Rabbi Yitzchak Breitowitz: The Key to Rectification during Sefirat HaOmer

Good evening Good evening everyone. I hope uh you're all well. I hope you enjoyed uh Lag BaOmer. Uh obviously uh for the vast majority of us who might have gone to Meron this year, if you're in Israel, uh this year we kind of had to stay at home. Uh but one has to remember that uh the spiritual connection that we have with the great spirit and holiness of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai does not depend on physical proximity, but rather in all spiritual matters, it is the spiritual connection uh which transcends uh differences, uh distances, it transcends geography, and therefore I hope that all of us will be able or were able to link with that koach of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai that we will hopefully talk about tonight. Uh even though it's uh at least in Israel, it's uh not Lag BaOmer anymore, but uh we're uh you know, just like all the holidays, have something called an Isru Chag, the day after the holiday, there is still a certain aura. I think we are in Isru Lag BaOmer and it's worthwhile to talk about Lag BaOmer a little bit. Um all of us know uh that Sefirat HaOmer has two distinct aspects, which on one level are almost contradictory. On one hand, the Torah mandates that we count a number of days within Pesach and Shavuot, and this is in anticipation of Matan Torah, and I think I've already spoken uh more than once of the idea that Pesach represents freedom, liberation from slavery, Torah represents or Shavuot represents submission to God, and on some level we sometimes think that submission is the opposite of freedom, uh but by having a uh period of transition between Pesach and Shavuot, the Torah is linking the two holidays. In fact, Ramban basically says that the counting of the Omer is regarded as a Chol HaMoed that is joining two different festivals, which in fact become one. Pesach, the holiday of freedom, Shavuot, the holiday of commitment, because there is a recognition that without submission to the will of God, I am in fact a slave. I'm a slave to my desires, to my emotions, to my ever-shifting moods. So freedom without Torah is simply animal liberation, and that is why our sages tell us that the korban that was brought on Pesach was Omer, which was a barley offering, and barley was commonly fed to animals in those days. Uh on Shavuot, the grain offering was wheat, which was human food, and the idea is the transition from freedom to Torah is the transition from animal liberation to human dignity. So on one level therefore, the whole counting is to link freedom and responsibility, which is a major issue even l'havdil in secular politics today, where people often say freedom is the only goal, and it's important to understand that as important as freedom is, freedom cannot be an ultimate purpose. You cannot say the purpose of my life is to be free, because that immediately raises a question, free to do what? Free to be what? Uh Eric Fromm, certainly happened to be Jewish, a disciple of Freud, but very very far from religious, used to make the point that we make a grave mistake when we define freedom as freedom from something. That's only a negative. Freedom has to be freedom towards something, and that is indeed what the counting of the Omer is. It is a freedom towards a goal, towards a purpose. Again, I've mentioned before as well, Tagore, the Indian poet's beautiful metaphor, and he was not speaking about Judaism at all, he was speaking about life, that a human soul is like a violin string that has beautiful music, but only when it's tied down across the bridge is that music able to be expressed. A loose string on the table will not be able to express anything, and that is the paradox of life, that it is only by connection and submission to something greater than ourselves do we achieve the true flourishing and realization of the human spirit. Now, seen in that light alone, the counting of the Omer ought to be a joyous, happy period. Quite logically, that's what it should be. We're looking forward to the Sinai revelation, to our mission statement, to our purpose, to our contribution to ourselves and to the world and to the universe and the So there is nothing intrinsic to the counting of the Omer that would render it a period of sadness in any way. And yet all of us know halachically that over the course of time this also became a period that was impressed with a certain degree of mourning and solemnity. Uh so the halacha is that during the Omer period, and it's a machlokes exactly what is the Omer period here, the counting of the Omer, remember, are 49 days. The mourning is observed for only part of that time. Some people start from the second day of Pesach and they go up until Lag BaOmer, and after Lag BaOmer they uh are no longer bound by the mourning restriction restrictions. Other people start Rosh Chodesh Iyar and they go until 3 days before Shavuot, with Lag BaOmer being a hiatus, and yet other people start after Rosh Chodesh, they go until Erev Shavuot, because they lose 2 days, and Lag BaOmer is a hiatus. There are other variations of minhagim as well, but those are the most common three variations. And what are you not allowed to do? We don't get haircuts, we don't make weddings, uh and the minhag is we don't listen to at least live music. If you want to listen to a cappella or you want to listen to recorded music, uh consult your local Orthodox rabbi as to whether that would be permitted. But no matter how you describe it and no matter what the exact days are, this is a period of aveilus, a period of mourning, a period of a certain sadness, which on one level is inconsistent with the preparation for Kabbalat HaTorah, which is supposed to be joyous. But we are told that during this period of time, the 24,000 students of Rabbi Akiva died, and there's a machlokes, did they die in 1 year? Did they die over several years? But whether it was one time or several times, it was during the period of time between Pesach and Shavuot, and therefore we mourn the deaths of the talmidim of Rabbi Akiva. Now, one raises a question, uh granted, 24,000 deaths is a very very tragic event, but unfortunately, in our long and tragic history, we have experienced worse. The Holocaust, 6 million Jews, Crusades, pogroms, uh there was a larger loss of life. So why is it that we're making such a big deal about the students of Rabbi Akiva? And there's really two answers uh that I think you can give to this question. First, you have to understand that this is not just the numbers game. 24,000 students of Rabbi Akiva were basically transmission of Torah learning to the next generation. When they were killed and Rabbi Akiva was left with only five disciples, the whole existence of Torah in Am Yisrael was literally hanging on a thread. This was indeed worse than the Holocaust. Numerically, the Holocaust was much much greater, but by that time in the world, we had some yeshivas, we had people living in different countries. The absolute, God forbid, possible loss of Torah was much much greater in the aftermath of the deaths of the students of Rabbi Akiva, and if God forbid Torah learning would have been destroyed from Am Yisrael, one does not even know what the repercussions are. You know, the Chazal tell us that the world was created so that the Jewish people would keep the Torah and learn the Torah. If you don't have Torah learning, then Rachmana l'itzlan, God forbid, perhaps the entire universe would come to an end. So as a result, you really cannot just compare numbers, you have to look at what these 24,000 students represented. But more significantly, I think the reason why we focus on the 24,000 students is because Chazal gave us a definitive reason for their death, and therefore we have a particular message to contemplate. When we think about the other tragedies that have befallen the Jewish people, we're not prophets. We don't have definitive teachings of our rabbis as to why something happened. The Holocaust, people still debate exactly what is the divine message. So as a result, we can mourn, we can grieve, but we don't really know what it is we're supposed to rectify and fix. Masha ain't came with respect to the talmidim of Rabbi Akiva, it's not so much that we are commemorating or remembering a tragedy, but rather by focusing on the reason that is given for their deaths, we are able to rectify and make positive changes in our own lives, and thus the contemplation of this tragedy is especially meaningful and relevant because we have the mafte'ach, we have the key that can enable us to make a tikkun, to make a rectification. And the key, of course, is a statement in the Gemara Yevamot that the students of Rabbi Akiva died because they did not show proper kavod zeh lazeh, they did not show proper honor and respect to each other. And what does that mean exactly? Surely, I wasn't there, I'm not that old, but surely if we would be able to have a video of the students of Rabbi Akiva, I think it would be safe to assume that they weren't pushing each other out of line, they weren't calling each other idiots, they were not speaking lashon hara about each other. There is no doubt that the students of Rabbi Akiva followed the rules as later codified in the Shulchan Aruch. They followed all of the laws bein adam lechavero. They were not acting in a disrespectful, dismissive manner. So, what do Chazal mean they did not show kavod for each other? So, Rav Shimshon Raphael Hirsch offers a very beautiful insight. He says, "Kavod is not a matter of behavior, it's a certain matter of attitude. The shoresh of kavod comes from kaved. Kaved means heavy. Having kavod for another person doesn't mean being nice to them, and it doesn't mean being polite to them, because I could be nice and polite to somebody, but functionally consider them my inferior. Kavod is I look at another person and I see the godliness within them, and I see that they are weighty, they are significant, they have gravitas, that there is something worthwhile and good and radiant and holy about them. And that is the idea of kavod. And what Chazal are telling me, telling us is that although the students of Rabbi Akiva undoubtedly behaved politely to each other, for whatever reason, perhaps because they had such a great rebbe that they thought they didn't need each other, they just connected to Rabbi Akiva, they did not view each other as being worthy, they did not look at their colleague and say, "You're a person of heft, you're a person of gravitas, you're a person of significance, you're a person that is betzelem Elokim." And because of this, they were taken from the world. But here is the thing, they were not taken from the world as a punishment for sin. They were taken from the world because if they were supposed to be the transmitters of Torah to the next generation, if they did not have kavod for each other, if they did not see the goodness and the godliness of each other, they were not properly situated to be the teachers of Torah for the next generation, and therefore they were taken away. Because a teacher, above all, must look at their fellow Jew, whether it's their students or their colleagues, with a sense of kavod. The Torah could not have been given to Am Yisrael, and it was not given to Am Yisrael till we were on the level of ish echad u'lev echad, one man, one heart. And so too in every generation, as we re-accept God's Torah, and as we re-transmit God's Torah to others, we have to be on the level of ish echad u'lev echad. And those who see divisiveness, those who foster polarization, and those who are even just indifferent to the godliness of others, cannot be the ones who hold on and maintain and transmit the heritage of Torah. And this is why the students of Rabbi Akiva died, and this is why we contemplate their death specifically during this period, because this is part and parcel of our hachanah for matan Torah. And that explains why it's not a contradiction, because otherwise one could raise the question, "I prepare for matan Torah, it's supposed to be a time of simcha and joy, and then you tell me I have to mourn the deaths of the students of Rabbi Akiva, which is sadness and tragedy." But the answer is, it's part and parcel of the same thing, because part of how I prepare myself for matan Torah is to try to work on achieving the level of ish echad u'lev echad. So, the issue of mourning the students of Rabbi Akiva is not a question of being sad, it's a question of contemplating why they died, and resolving in whatever way I can to overcome the failure that caused their destruction. Needless to say, and again, I think we've spoken about it numerous times, this sickness, this inability to see the good in the other, is a machalah, is a sickness that very much still exists within us to this very day. It is ma'akev, it holds back the geulah, it prevents the building of the Beit Hamikdash. It is a factor that is responsible for so much suffering in Am Yisrael and in the world. And this is a wonderful period of time when we can think about this. What can I do as an individual? Yes, I am only one person, but as Helen Keller once remarked in a similar context, "Yes, I am only one person, but I am one person. And as a person, I can do something in my family, in my community, in my shul, with my friends, to reach out to others. And one has to know, when I reach out to others, a great mitzvah. It's not that I am the repository of wisdom and they are worthless and I'm there to fill them up with my wisdom, but it must be in the context of mutual respect, in which I come to learn from you and not only to teach you. I come to benefit from what you have to offer me, as well as what I can potentially offer you. And when you have that mutuality of respect, then as Hamelech says, "As water reflects the face that you show it." I show the water a smiling face, I get a smile. So too, I see the godliness in you, and you will see the godliness in me. I am willing to learn from what you have to offer, you will learn from what I have to offer, and then we have achdus, unity, then we have shleimus, then we have togetherness. And then we are ish echad u'lev echad, and then we are ready for matan Torah. So now we come, or we're leaving Lag BaOmer. Now, Lag BaOmer is either the end of the mourning restrictions, or at least it's a heiyetes, or a break. So, some people will make weddings after Lag BaOmer, some people will make weddings only on Lag BaOmer, and they will not make a make weddings afterwards. And I don't want to get too much into the halacha, but Moshe Feinstein has a very interesting teshuvah. It's a worthwhile psak to be aware of. Let's imagine that I start my Sefirat HaOmer restrictions on Rosh Chodesh Iyar and I go until 3 days before Shavuot, and Lag BaOmer is a break for me, but I do resume the restrictions after Lag BaOmer, and my friend starts from the second day of Pesach and ends the mourning restrictions on Lag BaOmer, and he's getting married after Lag BaOmer, he's getting married the 34th day of the Omer, the 40th day of the Omer. I'm invited to the wedding. Now, for him and his kallah, there is no prohibition because they have ended their mourning restrictions. Am I allowed to go to a wedding that is not within the mourning period of the chasan and the kallah, but it is within my mourning period? So, Rav Moshe is mechadesh a very, very interesting psak. Rav Moshe Feinstein actually writes that there is no prohibition of going to weddings during Sefirah. The prohibition is to get married during Sefirah. The prohibition is to make a wedding, not to go to a wedding. And therefore as long as the wedding is permitted for the chasan and the kallah, so we're not talking about going to a non-religious wedding, we're talking about the chasan and the kallah kept the Sefirah laws up until Lag BaOmer, and if the wedding is permitted for them, I am allowed to attend as a guest and even though I'll be listening to music, but this is music that is part of a mitzvah and therefore it's permitted and Reb Moshe even says, I would be allowed to take a haircut and a shave if otherwise I would look disrespectful because the whole issur is the making of the wedding or the getting married, it is not going to the wedding itself. So that's an important halakha for people to be aware of that if your friend is getting Well, of course, this year it'll probably be a Zoom wedding so you you have less of a problem, although you still may have music, but even if you were to attend the wedding as a live guest according to Reb Moshe, you would be allowed to do so even if your um aveilus even if your mourning restrictions extend after Lag B'Omer. But be it as it may, Lag B'Omer all of a sudden becomes a festive day, a joyous day, a break in the aveilus of Sefirah. Why is that so? What is the great significance of Lag B'Omer, the 33rd day of the Omer? So I'm going to give you three reasons, interestingly enough, uh two of the reasons uh have their source in our religious tradition and one of the reasons was the secular Zionist take on Lag B'Omer, which is very very interesting. Lag B'Omer uh became kind of a festive day in the secular Israeli Zionist calendar for reasons that are a little different than our mesorah, which is very very interesting, kind of a redefinition of Lag B'Omer. In fact, um with apologies to Charles Dickens, who wrote A Tale of Two Cities, you could actually describe Lag B'Omer as a tale of two Shimons. And again, I I don't want to take credit for that. Those are very brilliant uh essay written by Rebbi Yehuda Oppenheimer and I've also seen this in some other sources as well. The religious take on Lag B'Omer is it is the day that the great Tanna, Rebbi Shimon bar Yochai, Rashbi, died, departed from the world. And uh the question is obvious, of course, uh why would you celebrate the day that he departed from the world? Normally the death of a great tzaddik is a tragedy, is something sad. So the tradition is that on the day that Rebbi Shimon bar Yochai departed from the world, he revealed the great mystical secrets which are the foundation of the Zohar and that was the day that great holiness and great insight and great wisdom came into the world and as a result we celebrate what Reb Shimon bar Yochai gave us. Now, that is the source of the celebrations in Meron. Uh Meron in a normal year has close to a quarter million uh Jews who go to Meron to pray at the grave of Rebbi Shimon bar Yochai and that's basically it's called Hilula d'Rashbi. Hilula means the celebration of Rashbi, Rebbi Shimon bar Yochai, and it's based on the idea that Reb Shimon bar Yochai died on Lag B'Omer and revealed the teachings of the Zohar. Now, to be totally intellectually honest, I have to tell you that it's not entirely clear that there's a basis for this idea. What is the source that Rashbi died on Lag B'Omer? It is not in Chazal, it's not in the Gemara, it's not in the Medrash. The source are the writings of the Ari. Actually, the Ari zal did not write anything, but the Ari's writings are the writings of his disciple, Reb Chaim Vital, and in one of the most important uh writings of the Ari called the Pri Etz Chaim, which discusses the holidays Kabbalistic teachings about Shabbos and Yom Tov, it mentions that the Ari zal used to go to Meron on Lag B'Omer and pray by the kever of Reb Shimon bar Yochai. Again, the Ari zal lived in Tzfat and if you know the geography, you'll know that um you can walk from Tzfat to the old city of Tzfat to Meron in around an hour hike, you know, go down the mountain, go up the mountain, you're in Meron and the reason why he celebrated is because Yom shemeis bo, Rebbi Shimon bar Yochai, because it was the day that Rebbi Shimon bar Yochai died. That is the source of the tradition that Lag B'Omer is the yahrtzeit of Rebbi Shimon bar Yochai. But the reason why that's problematical is in the earliest manuscript editions of the Pri Etz Chaim before printing, it does not say Yom shemeis bo, Rebbi Shimon bar Yochai, it says Yom simchat. In other words, shemeis is three letters, shin, mem, samach. But the original word seems to have been simchat, which is four letters, shin, mem, ches, samach, the day of the rejoicing of Reb Shimon bar Yochai. Now, that's a little bit of an ambiguous phrase, but that just might mean the day that he revealed the Zohar and not that he died that day. In later editions, the ches got dropped. So what was originally vocalized as simchat became shemeis. So the question becomes uh is shemeis an interpretation of simchat or does it or is it a mistake? So the truth of the matter is uh you can debate and people are debating whether the Ari zal's position was that Reb Shimon bar Yochai actually died or did not die on Lag B'Omer. Nevertheless, it is more or less mekabel in Am Yisrael that this is the yahrtzeit of Rebbi Shimon bar Yochai and we rejoice because it was a time of great great simcha. Uh and that is the celebrations of Meron, which I say in a in a normal year can attract a quarter million people of all types, Chassidim, Misnagdim, many many Sefardim, many Chilonim, many secular Jews who are not religious also come to participate in the simcha and be'ezrat Hashem next year we should be zocheh, those who are able to do it who want to do it should be able to go there in in in person. Now, in 1948 and even before 1948, the Israeli Zionists wanted to find another meaning in Lag B'Omer, which again is historically very specious, and they connected it to another Shimon who was a great student or at least a follower of Rebbi Akiva and that is Shimon ben Kosiba who led a great revolt against the Romans around 65 years after the destruction of the Temple. Rebbi Akiva named Shimon ben Kosiba bar Kochba, the son of a star, because the Mashiach is described as a star that comes out of heaven and Rebbi Akiva actually believed that bar Kochba was Mashiach and Rebbi Akiva lent his tremendous stature to the bar Kochba revolt and bar Kochba initially was quite successful. Bar Kochba recaptured from the Romans more than 900 villages and settlements. And there is archaeological evidence that under the guidance of Rebbi Akiva, they began to lay the foundations of a third Temple in Jerusalem. But Hadrian retaliated with overwhelming force. Almost half I mean this is quite astounding. Historians are still wondering why is Hadrian so concerned about a backwater rebellion in the province of Judea? But Hadrian sent, this is just astounding, 50% almost 50% of the entire army of the whole Roman Empire to squash this rebellion. And it was devastating. In terms of numbers, in fact, this was the fall of Betar. In terms of numbers, the numbers of Jews that were murdered in Betar were much greater than even the number that were killed in the aftermath of the Churban Beis Hamikdash. And by the way, our tradition has it that the fall of Betar also occurred on the 9th of Av. 65 years apart. From the year 60, 70 is the Churban and 65 years later is 135, the fall of Betar. But more than the loss of life, all of those stories that we read about the Roman persecution of Judaism, you're not allowed to teach Torah, Rebbi Akiva is tortured to death, his flesh is being flayed by iron combs, all of that was not in the aftermath of the Churban Beis Hamikdash. After the Churban Beis Hamikdash, as devastating as that was, Jews were still allowed to learn Torah and keep mitzvos. But after the Churban of Betar, Hadrian abolished Torah teaching, mitzvah observance. Jews were banished from Jerusalem for over 200 years. The city was turned into Aelia Capitolina, a city that was a shrine to Jupiter and only once a year Jews were allowed to come to Jerusalem, circle the walls from the outside on the 9th of Av. And that is why it became an ancient custom that some observe even today. Then on the 9th of Av, you walk around the walls of Jerusalem either on ground level or some people go on top of the walls, although you cannot go all the way around across the ramparts. But that is an ancient minhag Yerushalayim that dates from the time of Hadrian in the aftermath of Bar Kokhba. The secular Zionist movement saw Bar Kokhba as heroic. Saw Bar Saw Bar Kokhba kind of an anachronistic flashback as someone who was no longer the galus Jew who submitted to the but the Jew that was heroic, the Jew that was willing to fight back, the Jew that waged war against the enemy. Now, how they got that connected to Lag BaOmer is historically very specious, but they wanted to connect Lag BaOmer to the story of Rabbi Shimon Bar Kokhba. Now, the truth of the matter is the Bar Kokhba revolt is still a very controversial part of Jewish history. Do we look at it as heroic? Do we look at it as an example of courage and strength? Or do we look at it as a foolish mistake with tragic consequences? But be it as it may, I think it's a beautiful encapsulation of kind of the major divides in Israeli society. A tale of two Shimons. Shimon bar Yochai, the epitome of spirituality, Torah learning, holiness, and Shimon bar Kokhba, militarism, heroism, might is right. And perhaps the fact that Lag BaOmer represents these two ideas maybe is a reminder that each side needs to appreciate what the other has to offer. The Bar Kokhba aspect must appreciate the spirituality of Shimon bar Yochai. And as I mentioned I think in connection with Yom Ha'atzmaut, the factor that celebrates Rav Shimon bar Yochai must also appreciate those who build up the land of Israel, the state of Israel in a physical way, whether it's by military service, whether it's by cultivating the land, whether it's by building the infrastructure that enables Torah to flourish and the Jewish people to have a homeland to go back to. So, in a sense, one could actually say that this tale of two Shimons might be the key. If we could integrate the two Shimons and appreciate both of them, we will have achieved much that Lag BaOmer is supposed to teach us and elevate us. But I had mentioned there are three ideas of Lag BaOmer. So, one is the religious connection to Rav Shimon bar Yochai. The other is the made-up historical connection to Bar Kokhba because as I say, uh even if you celebrate Bar Kokhba, there's no particular reason why it would be Lag BaOmer, but that was the kind of the day that was uh chosen by the Zionist movement and that is indeed the teaching in the typical Israeli public school. If you go to a mamlachti school, where they do teach about the holidays in a non-halakhic way, Lag BaOmer will be described as the festival commemorating the courage of the Bar Kokhba revolt. That is how it is taught in a secular school. But there is a third teaching uh that is very very significant, which is perhaps the best known, and that is Lag BaOmer was the cessation of the tragic deaths of the students of Rabbi Akiva. Meaning they were dying and Lag BaOmer they stopped dying. Now, obviously it doesn't mean they stopped dying because everybody was gone. If that would be the case, that would not be any celebration. But apparently there were some students who didn't die. Meaning to say it stopped at a certain point. And Lag BaOmer was the cessation of the magefa. Now, whether it resumed after Lag BaOmer or whether it permanently stopped, that would depend on the different customs. Those who stop mourning after Lag BaOmer say Lag BaOmer was the end of the magefa. Those who continue say Lag BaOmer was an interruption in the magefa, but unfortunately it did continue afterwards. So, I want to explore a little bit what would be the spiritual significance of the magefa stopping on Lag BaOmer. Why Lag BaOmer? So, here I need to draw a little bit on some Kabbalistic teaching. We know that one of the central teachings of Kabbalah is that God interacts with the universe on all of its many many levels through the medium that is called the 10 Sefirot. Sefirot are not separate entities, but they are various channels and pipelines through which God interacts with the universe. And they represent different aspects writes that the Sefirot can be analogized to different colored glasses. If you have a blue glass, a red glass, a green glass, so you pour water in a red glass, then the water looks red from the outside. But it's the same water, but it's perceived in a different way because there's a different manifestation. So, Sefirot are by all means not a denial of the unity of God. It is a unity of God, but perceptually there are going to be different manifestations. Now, obviously we're going to cover this in a very simplistic way, but uh you'll see how it connects to the Omer. So, the 10 Sefirot are divided into two groups. You have the first three Sefirot, which are called the mukhin. Mukhin are the brains of God. They are the mental operations of of of the uh of Hakadosh Baruch Hu. And then you have the behavioral manifestations, which are called the midot. So, the first three Sefirot go by the name keter, crown, chokhmah, wisdom, binah, understanding, and they refer so to speak to the internal deliberations within God as to what he wants to do in the world. The analogy to human thought processes are keter refers to will. In other words, a person If a person wants to create something, so the very first stage in his creating something is the will to create. That will is a very mysterious. That will is hidden. It emerges from the subconscious. A will, a desire. Then there's chokhmah. That is the first flash of what I want to do. I want to build a house. Then there's binah, which is the development of the house. You think about the blueprint, what it will look like. Keter is will. Chokhmah is the initial flash of an idea. Binah is the development of the idea. In the Kabbalah of the Ari, chokhmah is a male attribute, just like the sperm, the little seed that comes out. Binah, which is the development of an idea, is the feminine aspect. Just as a woman takes the sperm and when it fertilizes her egg in her body, it gets developed into a fetus, into an ultimate human being. So, that's called the mukhin. That refers to God's deliberative states. But then there's an expression of those states in behavior and emotion. And the Just to enumerate them, the lower seven Sefirot chesed, loving kindness, gevurah, inner strength, tiferet, beauty, netzach, eternity, victory, endurance, hod, glory, yesod, foundation, and the last is malchut, kingship. Now, we'll come back to this in a moment to give a little more flesh on the bones, but keep in mind that the mekubalim related every single week of counting of the Omer to a particular sefirah of the lower seven Sefirot. So, the first week of the Omer, which of course is the week of Pesach itself, is said to be the week of loving kindness. The second week of the Omer is said to be the gevurah, the the the week of strength. The third week is tiferet. I Every week is connected one of the Sefirot. Now, let's think about this a little bit. The way to understand the seven lower Sefirot is to understand that they comprise two triads with a final receptacle of the net result of those triads. Let's take Hesed, Gevurah, Tiferet, which are called the Gimel Be Shanas, the first three of these spheres, the lower seven spheres. Hesed is kindness, compassion, giving. On one hand, all of us turn to God, and we want God to shower us, to give us mercy, to give us rachamim, to give us love. So, Hesed is a wonderful thing. That is the essence of what God is. God is essentially Hesed. And that is why it is number one. But Hesed can have a destructive force. Too much Hesed, the light of God could be so strong that we could be shattered and destroyed by an abundance of God's light. And therefore, the middah of Hesed has to be counterbalanced with restraint and withholding. Otherwise, we get blinded. Otherwise, we get shattered. Otherwise, we get obliterated. And therefore, just as you have thesis, antithesis, and synthesis, so too you have Hesed, which has to be balanced with restraint and withdrawal. And in human relationships, it's the very same thing. On one hand, you know, I have Hesed. I'm kind, compassionate. But I also have to have towards my children discipline, restraint, and boundaries. Too much Hesed, I become burnt out. Too much Hesed, my kids lose their teeth from all of the chocolate. So, Hesed has to be balanced with withdrawal and constraint, both in terms of my own burn out and in terms of what my own children or students or spouse needs in life. So, the middah of Hesed is the impulse of giving. And the middah of Gevurah is the impulse of withdrawal. And all of life is this balance. When do I give? When do I hold back? Too much Hesed is destructive. Too much Gevurah is cruel. And therefore, Hesed and Gevurah need to be balanced with a mediating principle. And the mediating principle is Tiferet, number three. Tiferet is beauty. Beauty is the proper balance and reconciliation between Hesed and Gevurah, both as reflected in human behavior and ultimately as reflected in God's interaction with the universe. We don't want too much rain. It'll flood us. We certainly don't want too much drought. There's a certain balance that needs to be achieved. But the balance that is achieved on the divine level is a function of being connected to the balance we achieve as individuals and as a nation. God is our shadow, says David Hamelech. Just as the shadow goes wherever you go, so too Hashem responds to how we behave. So, Chagat, Hesed, Gevurah, Tiferet, is the first triad that represents two opposite forces that need to be reconciled and balanced, both on the divine level through our prayers, our mitzvahs, our good deeds, our ahavat Yisrael, and in our human behavior. But then there is a second triad that represents a different type of conflict. Even if I as an individual have properly balanced the giving impulse and the containment impulse, I have the Hesed and the Gevurah that are balanced by Tiferet, there is another problem that I face. Often, even a person who has properly balanced these spiritual imperatives will be defeated by factors external to themselves. This may be the lack of support from their family, bad friends, a negative environment, economic pressures. Life often defeats us. The vicissitudes of life may be overwhelming. Netzach is the capacity to achieve victory, endurance, and eternity over the external experiences and people in your life who can defeat you and drag you down. That is the quality of Netzach. And Netzach is so necessary because it's not enough to have the right perceptions and the right ideas. We also need the strength and the resilience and the courage not to be crushed by those factors outside of our own personalities. But just as too much Hesed can be destructive and it needs to be balanced with Gevurah, too much Netzach can be destructive. Because as you cultivate and intensify your ability not to be affected by others, the great danger is you become a steamroller, ignoring other people in favor of your dreams. Imagine, for example, that you've decided you want to get up every morning at 4:00 and learn Torah for 3 hours before davening. But if you're a single person, you have a roommate. And you wake up loudly, and you prepare yourself, and your roommate says to you, "Gee, I really would like to sleep a little longer." And you say, "How dare you interfere with what I'm doing? I'm doing mitzvahs." But you understand that to ignore other people is not an act of righteousness. It's an act of callous disregard for kavod habriyos. So, the same way Hesed needs Gevurah, Netzach needs to be balanced with another quality, which is called Hod. Hod is radiance, seeing the good of the other, stepping back, understanding that the other person also has legitimate needs and a legitimate viewpoint. So, Netzach is the idea, "I will do what I need to do no matter what." Hod is the idea of stepping back and seeing the other. But you understand the problem. Too much Netzach, you're a steamroller. Too much Hod, you abandon your dreams and your aspirations in favor of just deferring to other people. So, the same way Hesed and Gevurah have to be balanced with a mediating principle called Tiferet, beauty, Netzach and Hod have to be balanced with a mediating principle called Yesod. Yesod is the balance between not being discouraged, not being broken, not being crushed by the views of others, but it allows you to balance being receptive to what they stand for. So, in the seven spheres, we have two triads, Hesed, Gevurah, Tiferet, which is the giving and the containment impulse. And then we have uh not being crushed by others, but being deferential to others, which is the Netzach, Hod, Yesod. And once again, these work on the divine level, they work on the human level. And the divine level is influenced by the human level. And when all of these things are balanced, coordinated in the proper way, we now have the seventh sphere, which is Malchus, God's kingship is fully revealed in the world with all the proper colors, in all the proper proportions. There is balance. There is harmony. There is symmetry. Things are working the way they are supposed to be working. A world of kindness with appropriate boundaries. A world of courage with appropriate deference and respect for the needs of others. This reveals the Malchus of Hashem. That is why the Zohar says that Malchus is an empty vessel because Malchus is nothing more than the conduit through which all of these balancings flow because it happens automatically when things are in the proper proportion, God's name is glorified. Obviously, there's a lot more to talk about here, but let me just point out that the Kabbalists identify a great personality from the Torah or from the Tanakh who exemplifies in his life the highest of each of these seven spheres. So, the week of Hesed is the week of Avraham Avinu, who lived a life devoted to loving kindness. The week of Gevurah is the week of Yitzchak, who exemplified inner strength and conviction. The week of Tiferet, beauty, is Yaakov Avinu, who harmonized the middot of Avraham and Yitzchak. Netzach, not being crushed by the vicissitudes and challenges of life, is Moshe Rabbenu, who led an unruly nation and stayed the course, no matter what. Aharon, who is the lover of peace, the pursuer of peace, represents Hod, seeing the glory of the other. So, you'll notice that four and five is Moshe and Aharon. Number six is Yosef, who is said to combine the Netzach and the Hod. That's why Kabbalistically it's out of chronological order. Yosef was first, but in Kabbalah, Moshe is four, Aharon is five, and Yosef represents the synthesis, culminating in the seventh week, the last week of the Omer, the week of David Hamelech, who represents Malchut of Hashem, the ultimate expression of God's kingdom on Earth. So, now, let's take this a little further. I'm sure many of you have studied the idea that it's not only each week that is connected to a Sefirah, but because there are seven days in each week, each day is connected to a Sefirah as well. So, for example, the first day of the Omer is called Now, there's the second night of Pesach. It is called Hesed she be Hesed, the day of kindness that is situated in the week of kindness. Hesed she be Hesed. The second day of the Omer is called Gevurah she be Hesed, which means every Sefirah has all 10 Sefirot in it, or for our purposes, all seven in it. Meaning, just like there's a Hesed, Gevurah, Tiferet, Netzach, Hod, Yesod, Malchut, within Hesed, there is Hesed, Gevurah, Tiferet, Netzach, Hod, Yesod, Malchut. And this can get very, very complicated, because what exactly would the difference be between the second day of the Omer, which is called the Hesed It's called Gevurah of Hesed, and the first day of the second week, that is called the Hesed of Gevurah? And although, you know, it's pretty late in the Omer, there's some beautiful calendars and sefarim, in English and in Hebrew, that try to explain in a practical one-sentence or two-sentence way what the unique configuration of day and week is supposed to represent. So, what is the Hesed of Gevurah? What is the Gevurah of Hesed? What is Tiferet of Yesod? All of these different things. So, now, though, let's ask ourselves, based on this kind of linking, linkage between day and week, what is Lag BaOmer on those two coordinates? So, last night, when we counted Lag BaOmer, we said, Hayom shloshim yom, right? Today is 33 days, she heim she she heim arba shevuot, they are four weeks, ve chamisha yamim, and five days in the Omer. Now, it's a little confusing. You think when you cuz because since you said four weeks, you think you're in the fourth week, but you understand when you finished four weeks, you're actually in the fifth week. So, Lag BaOmer is the fifth day of the fifth week in the Omer. Now, how would you describe that in terms of Sefirot? Hod. It is the day of glory she be Hod in the week of glory. What is the middah of Hod, and who does it correspond to? The middah of Hod corresponds to Aharon. And Hod she be Hod is a double dose of Aharon. Hod is the middah of receptivity to the other. Hod is seeing the goodness of the other. Hod is letting the other person shine instead of you trying to get the credit narcissistically. And this was the middah of Aharon, because unlike Moshe Rabbenu, whose task was to push the agenda, that was Moshe's task, Netzach, Aharon was the ohev shalom, rodeph shalom. So, this actually means on Lag BaOmer, the spiritual aura that comes down from Shamayim is the aura that enables me to be mistabek, to attach myself to the middah of Aharon Hakohen. That is the koach of Lag BaOmer. Now, if the students of Rabbi Akiva died because they did not see the kavod in each other, Lag BaOmer enabled them to transcend their limitations. And when they were liberated from the spiritual affliction that didn't enable them to see the kavod of the other, the plague went away as well. Maybe it came back the next day, that's a machlokes, but be chol hapachot, when you have the middah of Aharon, if the mageifah comes because I don't see your kavod, I don't see your worth, and Lag BaOmer is a koach that gives me the ability to see your worth, if I tap into it, I become liberated from the mageifah. So, that would be the spiritual significance. You know, this is a message that once again can be very, very relevant to this time. We live in a time where the world is facing a plague of sorts, the coronavirus, devastating, dangerous. It's changed our lives in all sorts of unpredictable ways. Even the people who, baruch Hashem, didn't get sick, but the quarantines, the economic devastation, the social isolation, the disruption of everyday life. Unfortunately, unlike the deaths of Rabbi Akiva, where we're given a definitive reason, we don't have a definitive reason here. But if we do connect the idea, at least as a possibility, that just as in the days of Rabbi Akiva, a mageifah comes to the world because we don't show proper kavod to each other, then perhaps the hashpa'ah of Lag BaOmer can help us as well. That if we open our hearts to absorb the middah of Aharon Hakohen, lover of peace, pursuer of peace, ohev es habriyot, one who loves God's creatures, and bring them to the Torah, perhaps we, too, can be liberated from the mageifah that is destroying us. So, the message of Lag BaOmer is very, very, very powerful. Again, I hope and I pray that all of Klal Yisrael and all of the world should see the refuah, should see the yeshuah of Hashem very, very soon. And may all of this be a precursor to the ultimate yeshuas Hashem of Mashiach Tzidkenu, Binyan Beit Hamikdash, that we should be zocheh bimheira veyameinu, amen. Thank you.