by Rabbi E. Tauger

Iyar

A Month When the Little Things Count

The month of Iyar does not have any "major" holidays. There are no festivals like Pesach, Shavuos, or Sukkos. On the other hand, it does play an important role in the cycle of the Jewish year and it contains two holidays - Pesach Sheni and Lag B'Omer - which convey significant lessons in our Divine service.

Counting Time

The mitzvah of Counting the Omer connects the holidays of Pesach and Shavuos. The Torah commands us to count 49 days beginning on the second day of Pesach until the fiftieth day which is the holiday of Shavuot. Now much of Nisan and most of Sivan is not associated with this mitzvah. In contrast, we count the Omer on every day of Iyar. Thus the theme of this mitzvah permeates this entire month.
The most obvious lesson of the Counting of the Omer is that time is significant. Counting every day encourages us to make every day count, to realize that each day and each moment is a gift granted to us by G-d with a particular purpose and intent.
An architect tries to make every element of the structure he designs functional. So, too, in G-d's creative scheme, everything that He brought into being has a purpose and goal, without which the world would not be complete. The same concept applies with regard to time. Each moment has a purpose and intent for which it was brought into being. In G-d's initial conception of creation, He planned a particular element of the world to be refined at this-and-this time by this-and-this person. Counting the Omer, taking note of the days, makes us sensitive to this Divine service with which these days must be filled.

Refining Our Emotions

This concept 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 forty nine. Every day of counting the Omer is dedicated to refining a different one of our emotional qualities and directing it toward G-d.
The seven emotions also feature in the master-plan for creation as a whole. For the Kabbalah teaches us that there are seven millennia of existence, each one reflecting one of these seven qualities. Every quality itself subdivides into ten divisions, indicating how the quality has an expression in each of the ten attributes which correspond to the ten Sefiros. These in turn subdivide into another set of ten and then another set, until there are a thousand sub-qualities - years - connected with each emotional quality. When seen in that context, the Counting of the Omer is a microcosm of creation as a whole. We proceed through the same seven qualities, with the intent of refining them and the elements of existence associated with them.

Pesach Sheni - A Second Chance

The message of Iyar is complemented by that of Pesach Sheni, the second Pesach. This holiday was instituted to allow those individuals who were ritually impure or far away from Jerusalem at the time of the Pesach holiday to bring the Pesach sacrifice a month later on the 14th of Iyar. To quote the Previous Rebbe, "Pesach Sheni teaches us that nothing is ever lost. We can always correct things." Indeed, even if a person intentionally failed to offer the Pesach sacrifice during the month of Nisan, he is given the opportunity of correcting the matter in the month of Iyar.
To relate this idea to the concepts mentioned above: We do not always succeed in doing what we are supposed to do. Although each moment of existence has a specific Divine intent, there are times when we fail to make that intent manifest. Pesach Sheni teaches us that if we are not successful the first time, we should not bow our heads in disappointment, but instead gird ourselves for further attempts.

Proceeding Together

One of the important elements of this effort is the awareness that we are not on a solitary trek. Instead, all of humanity is working toward these objectives together. On one hand, that's reassuring, because it means that we can derive strength and support from others. But it is also challenging, for when you proceed together with others, you must modulate your own pace to fit theirs.
This relates to the lesson of Lag B'Omer. One of the reasons we celebrate this holiday is that an epidemic which caused the death of 24,000 of Rabbi Akiva's disciples ceased on that day. Our Sages relate that the epidemic had been caused by the failure of these students to relate to each other respectfully. What was the source for this phenomenon?
Chassidus explains that each of Rabbi Akiva's disciples had his own personal approach to Divine service. Operating from within his own perspective, each of them perceived any approach different from his own as incomplete, an inadequate and inferior path. Since all were intensely involved in their own path of service, none of them would change. The tension between them began to escalate as the deep commitment every student felt to his own particular approach barred a proper show of respect for colleagues who followed a different path.
This teaches us a fundamental lesson: No matter how deeply we are involved in our own service of G-d, we must always be broadminded enough to appreciate that someone else may have a different approach. Although, from our perspective, his path may appear inadequate, our perception of his inadequacies may stem from our own limitations, and not from his. Furthermore, even if someone is indeed underdeveloped, his deficiencies need not prevent us from looking upon him in a favorable light. For every individual possesses a potential for growth. We should concentrate our efforts on helping him realize that potential, rather than merely accentuating his need to do so.

When G-dliness Is Revealed

Lag B'Omer also points to the culmination of the entire process, the era when "the entire earth will be filled with the knowledge of G-d." For Lag B'Omer also commemorates the passing of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, one of the foremost sages of the Talmud and author of the Zohar, the primary text of the Kabbalah. Rabbi Shimon, by revealing mystic teachings, enabled his students to perceive the Divine unity within our material world, to understand that physical existence is not the ultimate reality. Moreover, for Rabbi Shimon and his students, this was seen as actual fact, not as abstract theory.
In that vein, the Zohar tells us that Rabbi Shimon was told: "With your text, Israel will be redeemed from exile with mercy." For the redemption involves the awareness of G-dliness and precisely that awareness is enhanced by Rabbi Shimon's teachings. When these teachings are spread outward and shared by mankind at large, the setting will be prepared for Mashiach's coming.

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Telling Tales

Our Rabbis note that the name Iyar is an acronym for the phrase: "I, G-d, am your Healer." In that vein, we would like to share a story which expresses how healing can emanate from sources above the natural order:

A tall gentleman walked into 770 and asked to see the Rebbe. Rabbi Groner, the Rebbe's secretary, asked him who he was and the purpose of his visit.

"I am a doctor from South America." the visitor replied, "and I would like to meet the man who can perform life-saving miracles from thousands of miles away."

The man was an obstetrician. A Jewish woman had entered his hospital to give birth, but he had immediately realized there were severe complications. He called the husband aside and told him that a major decision had to be made. Either the baby could be delivered, which would kill the mother, or the infant could be sacrificed to save the woman. The decision was the father's, but he had to make his choice quickly.

The father wept, not knowing what to do. Then a Jewish woman standing nearby, hearing the man's anguish, approached and gently asked if anything could be done.

The husband told her the choice that he had to make, and confessed that he simply didn't know what to do.

The woman answered that there was a great tzaddik in New York who could work wonders. She then took the initiative and called the Rebbe's office. When Rabbi Groner was told the story, he said he would consult the Rebbe, and that the person should call back soon.

The Rebbe told Rabbi Groner to find out if the mother-to-be would accept the mitzvah of taharas hamishpachah (family purity).

When the man called back and was given the Rebbe's reply, his sister-in-law (who was with him) promised that she would see to it that her sister kept the mitzvah.

When the Rebbe received this assurance, he told Rabbi Groner that the husband should instruct the doctor to deliver the baby, and that both mother and child would be safe.

The happy results so surprised the physician that on his next trip to the U.S., he made it a point to visit 770.

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Torah readings of the month

Parshas Tazria-Metzora

This reading combines two parshiyos that both focus on the phenomenon of tzaraas which afected the bodies, clothes, and homes of the Jewish people. On their flesh, it produced a condition similar to leprosy. And on their clothes and homes, it produced brightly colored blotches.
Maimonides explains that tzaraas "is not a natural phenomenon, but a sign and a wonder within the Jewish people to warn them against undesirable conversation."
Why is this phenomenon no longer present? It is explained that positive spiritual influences and negative ones are equally balanced. In this era when positive spiritual influences are not openly revealed, negative influences are also less evident.
Darkness, however, will soon give way to light and from this period of hiddenness, we will proceed to the light of the Redemption when the observance of all the Torah's laws will be renewed.

Parshas Acharei-Kedoshim

This reading also combines two parshiyos, each containing a multitude of mitzvos. Among the mitzvos in Parshas Acharei is the mitzvah to cover the blood of an animal after it is slaughtered. Concerning this mitzvah, Maimonides states: "When a person covers the blood, he should not cover it with his feet, but instead with his hands, a knife, or a utensil, so that he will not treat it with disdain and regard the mitzvos with scorn. For the mitzvos in and of themselves are not worthy of honor. Instead, [the honor is] due He, blessed be He, who commanded us to observe them and [thus] saved us from groping in darkness and thus granted us a lamp to straighten crooked paths and a light to illumine the upright ways." This - and all other mitzvos - are intended to give mankind a path to rise above preoccupation with material concerns and bring out the essential spiritual potential we possess.

Parshas Kedoshim contains the mitzvah: "Love your fellowman as yourself." The commentaries ask: "How is it possible for a person to love another person as oneself? Everyone has a fundamental self-interest!
Among the resolutions offered is that every Jew has a G-dly spark that surpasses his individual identity. When it comes to his personal self, there is no way that he can love another person as his own self. But from the standpoint of this G-dly spark, there is a commonality, for the same spark lies within both persons. A person can love his fellowman as himself, because the two are essentially the same.

Parshas Emor

Our Sages explain that the opening verse of our Torah reading teaches us that parents are responsible for the education of their children. Our Rabbis explain that education is far more than the communication of information. Instead, education is primarily character-building, tuning into the inner nature of our children, reinforcing their positive traits, and training them to rise above their negative tendencies.
A parent's success will not be determined by how much his child knows or even by what he will accomplish in the world, but by what type of person he or she is.

Parshas Behar-Bechukosai

This reading also combines two parshiyos. The first begins: "And G-d spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai, saying...," and continues to describe the laws of the Sabbatical year. Our Rabbis ask: "Why does the Torah associate the Sabbatical year with Mount Sinai?"
In resolution, our Rabbis explain that with this expression, the Torah is teaching us that on Mount Sinai, the Jews were given not only the general concept of the Sabbatical year but all its particulars. Moreover, they continue, the fact that the Torah makes this association teaches us not only about the Sabbatical year, but about all the mitzvos: All their particulars were given on Mount Sinai.
The association with Sinai conveys more than a historical point. Associating the mitzvos with Sinai means that every individual mitzvah a person performs-whether it be putting on tefillin, lighting Shabbos candles, eating kosher, or helping a person in need-is more than an isolated good deed. It is an extension of the revelation at Sinai.
On Mount Sinai, every person had direct contact with G-d. They all heard Him speak and felt His presence. When we perform a particular mitzvah, we may lack the external trappings of the Sinai experience, the thunder and lightning that the people perceived, but the fundamental dimension of what happened there - the establishment of a bond with G-d's essence through Mitzvos - continues to prevail.
The second reading begins: "If you will proceed in My statutes." One might think that there is no room to proceed when it comes to Chukim, "statutes," mitzvos that transcend logic and understanding. For once one has stepped above intellect, one might think that there is no further place to go. This Torah reading teaches that even in this realm, there is constant room for advancement.

Parshas Bamidbar

This Torah reading focuses on the census of the Jewish people. A census is the ultimate equalizer. Everyone, from the greatest to the most humble, counts only as one. This points to the element within our personalities, our G-dly soul, that stands above our individual selves and exists within all equally. There are some smarter, stronger, and more successful than others, but no one is more G-dly. Taking a census highlights this element of our being and brings it to the surface.

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