iyar 5761

Monthly Update Telling Tales Torah Readings Dates to Remember

by Rabbi E. Tauger

Iyar

A Month When We Internalize Spiritual Inspiration

The month of Iyar follows the month of Nissan and the holiday of Pesach, complimenting the spiritual thrust of the preceding month by introducing a converse approach to Divine service. Nissan and Pesach show that G-d will perform miracles on behalf of the Jewish people, redeeming them even though they are spiritually unprepared. For that reason, as the Torah relates, when Pharaoh gave the Jewish people permission to leave Egypt, they fled. Why was that necessary? At that time, the Egyptians were totally humbled. The Jews could have taken ample time to depart; the Egyptians would not have interfered. But for their own sake, the Jews hurried. They realized that the impurity in their hearts had not been refined and if they did not flee, they would not leave Egypt at all. Instead, they would be sunk in its impurity forever.

Reliving History

Each year, we relive this spiritual pattern. Pesach reflects a ray from above. Whether a Jew is prepared or not, he is elevated above his ordinary plane of spiritual experience and given a chance to leap forward in his Divine service. Perhaps that is why many Jews, even those who are otherwise not spiritually refined, feel motivated at the Seder.
But what happens after the Seder? Will the inspiration of that event fade into oblivion?
To prevent that from happening, the Torah instituted the mitzvah of counting the Omer. The Omer was a barley offering brought in the Temple on the day after the Pesach festival. For forty-nine successive days, including the entire month of Iyar, our people would - and still do - count the days of the Omer.
What is the spiritual message implied? Our Sages refer to barley as "animal fodder." Implied is that this sacrifice deals with the refinement of the animal side of our personalities. Now an animal is not necessarily bad, but it has little more in mind than eating, sleeping, and grazing in the sun. It is concerned with fulfilling its natural drives. It will not necessarily hurt others. It just won't think of them; it has one thought on its mind: what to do to satisfy its own wants.
Now we have a similar dimension within our personalities. In mystical terms, it is referred to as "the animal soul," i.e., the part of ourselves which wants to eat, drink, and have a good time. It is not "bad" or "evil." It just is self-oriented, with very narrow horizons.

Counting the Omer focuses on refining this element of our personalities, teaching the animal within us to willingly serve G-d. Usually, an animal's eyes are focused downward, but with effort, the animal within us can be taught to point its gaze upward. Empowered by the mitzvah of counting the Omer, the month of Iyar is directed towards this purpose, motivating us to internalize the spiritual inspiration we receive and make it part of our individual selves.

Elevating Emotion

Iyar teaches us to make this transformation and seek this deeper experience. Each day of counting the Omer is a renewed lesson in reorganizing our priorities and setting our goals on higher principles. We work on teaching the self-oriented aspects of our personalities, that there is an advantage in self-transcendence.
This lesson is enhanced by the kabbalistic conception of counting the Omer. According to the kabbalah, we have seven emotional qualities and each one is interrelated with the other. Seven times seven equals 49. Every day of counting the Omer is dedicated to refining a different one of our emotional qualities and directing it toward G-d. Generally, our emotions revolve around ourselves. After all, they are our feelings, the way we respond to our environment. Counting the Omer teaches us to focus our emotions outward, on relating to other people and on relating to G-d.

Seeing the Larger Picture

The motif suggested by Iyar is not insular. Although we are speaking of a person internalizing his spiritual experience, he is not excluding others. Instead, when his spirituality is internalized, it will endow his relationships with others with more genuine feeling. Words that come from the heart enter the heart. Hence, by bringing spirituality into his own heart, he will enable it to enter the hearts of all those with whom he comes in contact.
The effects of this approach will be cosmic. For from G-d's perspective, all the doors are open. He is waiting only for us to open the doors to our own hearts.
To explain: It is written: "As in the days of your exodus from Egypt, I will show you wonders," i.e., the ultimate redemption will reflect our people's first experience of liberation. The first redemption involved two phases: Nisan - taking the Jews out of Egypt, and Iyar - taking Egypt out of the Jews.

The ultimate Redemption will follow these two motifs and indeed, express them in a more consummate matter. As it is written: "The glory of G-d will be revealed" - i.e., the spiritual will become manifest - and "all flesh will see" - that revelation will become internalized within mankind as a whole. There is nothing preventing Him from revealing His oneness. He is merely waiting for us to create a setting where the elevation will be accepted and appreciated. That depends on the Divine service of Iyar, making spirituality part of our individual selves.

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Telling Tales

We would like to share the following story to highlight Iyar's emphasis on personal refinement:
When Reb Pinchas Horowitz first became a disciple of the Maggid of Meseritch, the Maggid advised him to study with Reb Zusha of Anapoli.
Reb Pinchas went to Reb Zusha and told him of the Maggid's advice. Reb Zusha humbly replied that he could not understand why the Maggid would send anyone to study with him, but that he would be happy to join as great a sage as Reb Pinchas in his intellectual endeavors.
"What should we study?" Reb Pinchas asked.
"Whatever you are studying" Reb Zusha replied.
Reb Pinchas took out a volume of Talmud and began explaining the following passage. When there are only nine people in the synagogue, there is an opinion that the ark of the synagogue can be counted to complete the quorum of ten necessary for prayer. The Talmud then asks: Is the ark a person? For no matter how holy the ark is, it is humans that are required to fulfill the quorum for prayer.
As Reb Pinchas explained this, Reb Zusha interrupted: "What does the Talmud mean: 'Is the ark a person?' Everyone knows the ark is only an object."
Reb Pinchas was puzzled; the question was obviously rhetorical. Didn't his partner appreciate that?
Reb Zusha continued: "Maybe the intent is that a person can be an ark in which the Torah is contained, a veritable repository of knowledge, but unless he is a person, unless that knowledge is integrated with his humanity, there is a question if he can be counted among the community."
Reb Pinchas understood that this was the lesson the Maggid had wanted him to learn from Reb Zusha, not how to augment his knowledge, but how to use his knowledge to refine himself and change his character.

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Torah readings of the month

Parshas Tazria-Metzora

These two Torah readings focus on the concept of ritual purity and impurity. Our Rabbis explain the distinction between the Torah's prohibitions and its laws of impurity as follows: Prohibitions guard against evil that our minds and hearts can appreciate. The laws of impurity, by contrast, protect against a dimension of evil which we cannot comprehend. As the Midrash states: "It is a statute which I (G- d) ordained, a decree that I instituted." Although the evil associated with a prohibition can be appreciated more readily, there is a more severe dimension associated with impurity. For since the evil associated with impurity is not easily discerned, it is much more difficult to guard against and to eradicate. To cite an example, when a person eats non-kosher food, he has performed a transgression and must repent. Nevertheless, even before he repents, he may enter the Temple and bring a sacrifice. Casually coming into contact with an impure substance can change an individual's personal state and isolate him from holiness. For example, were a person to touch a dead lizard, he would be forbidden to enter the Temple or partake of a sacrifice. Moreover, just as ritual purity is a quality which cannot be grasped by our mortal intellect, it affects the levels of our souls that transcend reason and understanding. It has an effect on the dimensions of our being that are connected to G- d above the level of logical thought.

Parshas Acharei-Kedoshim

These two Torah readings focus on the concepts of holiness. Parshas Acharei contains a description of the Yom Kippur service, the spiritual worship carried out on the holiest of the year. And Parshas Kedoshim begins with the charge: "Be holy," and continues to explain the source for man's potential to live a life of holiness: "I, G-d your L-rd, am holy."

But both readings also include a variety of commandments involving matters that are ostensibly not holy, e.g., the prohibitions against theft, lying, gossip, intermingling species of animals, eating produce before the plants which bear it mature, and the guidelines for marital relations and the foods we eat. Implied is that the holiness the Torah asks of us is not otherworldly, but instead anchored in the day-to-day routines of life. Judaism does not want us to be angels, but rather holy men and women, people who live in touch with material reality and control our involvement with it, rather than letting it control us.

Within every element of existence, there is a G-dly spark. Being holy means seeking to tap that G-dly energy instead of becoming involved with the entity's material nature.
G-d invested Himself in the material realm, infusing sparks of holiness into every material entity. What He desires is that we uncover those sparks by using the material entities for His intent.

Parshas Emor

The name of this week's Torah reading, Emor, means "speak," highlighting the power of our words. Our Sages state: "Lashon hara (malicious gossip) kills three: the one who speaks, the one who listens, and the one who is being spoken about." We can understand why the speaker and the listener suffer. They have committed a serious transgression. But why should the person spoken about be affected?
In resolution, the mystic sages of the Kabbalah explain that speaking about a person's negative qualities provokes their expression. Although the person might not even be aware that he is being spoken about, the fact that his character flaws are being discussed fans the revelation of those qualities.
The converse is also true. Consistent mention of the good a person possesses-and within every person there are unfathomed reservoirs of good-will facilitate the expression of that good in the person's conduct.

Parshas Behar-Bechukosai

Behar, the name of the first of the two parshiyos read this week means "on the mountain." More particularly, as the verse continues, it refers to Mount Sinai, on which the Torah was given.
Mount Sinai represents the synthesis of pride and humility. On one hand, it is "the lowest of all the mountains," a symbol of humility, and yet it is a mountain, exemplifying pride and power. It is the fusion of these two opposites which made Sinai, "the mountain of G-d," the place which G-d chose to manifest His presence and convey His teachings.
The Torah read ing, however, is not named Behar Sinai, "On Mount Sinai"; it is called Behar, "on the mountain." The qualities of pride and forti tude are emphasized, but not the modulating influence of the humility of Sinai, "the lowest of all the mountains." In resolution, it can be explained that the phrase Behar Sinai, "On Mount Sinai," refers to a person who reminds himself of the need to subdue his self-importance. The very fact that these efforts are necessary indicates that his humility does not entirely encompass his being.
When, by contrast, a person has totally sublimated his identity to the mission with which G-d has entrusted him, he does not need to remind himself of the need to be humble; self-concern is of no importance to him. This is the intent of the name Behar, "on the mountain" - that a servant of G-d stands proud, firmly rooted in the power endowed by the strength of his purpose.
The second of the Torah readings, Bechukosai, focuses on the theme of self-transcendence. The message of the two readings are complementary.
When the strength of Behar stands upon the self-transcendence of Bechukosai, one uncovers deeper and more powerful reserves of strength than one normally possesses.
Conversely, the self-transcendence of Bechukosai is possible only when a person possesses the inner strength of purpose needed to make the required efforts.

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Dates of the Month

Iyar 2 - The Birthday of the Rebbe Maharash
Iyar 13 - The Yarhzeit of the Rebbe's brother, Reb Aryeh Leib
Iyar 14 - Pesach Sheni
Iyar 18 - Lag B'Omer

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