OU Israel Center TT 1231 page 33 The Shavuot 5777 Section TUE, May 30 • Erev Yom Tov • Candle lighting - 7:04pm (J'lem) 7:15pm - MINCHA followed by Shiur by Rabbi Sprecher - Ruth's Field of Dreams 8:15pm - Yom Tov Maariv Festive (meat) meal - advanced reservations only 130/140å per person - Call Ita Rochel 560-9125 to reserve 11:00pm Rabbi Yaakov Moshe Poupko Matan Torah in Major and Minor 12:00am Rabbi Dr. Tzvi Hersh Weinreb Torah Min Hashayim, the 8th Ani Maamin. What exactly do we believe when we believe in Torah min hashamayim? 1:00am Rabbi Neil Winkler Shavuot - It's all in the Timing 2:00am Rabbi Chanoch Yeres Angels arguing with HaShem and man 3:00am Rabbi Sam Shor how Sweet It Is, Cheesecake, Eretz Yisrael and Birkat HaTorah Refreshments throughout the night Walk to Kotel (4:00am) or mini-shiur followed by Vatikin Davening at the OU Israel Center - Megilat Ruth (4:45am) Remember: All are welcome to Davening & Shiurim Advanced registration REQUIRED for Leil Shavuot dinner Shiur on Yom Tov day (Wednesday, 5:00pm) by Rabbi Sprecher Mitzvot - Supremecy of Divine Reason
Transcript
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Shavuot @ the OU Israel CenterTUE, May 30 • Erev Yom Tov • Candle lighting - 7:04pm (J'lem)
7:15pm - MINCHAfollowed by Shiur by Rabbi Sprecher - Ruth's Field of Dreams
8:15pm - Yom Tov Maariv
Festive (meat) meal - advanced reservations only130/140å per person - Call Ita Rochel 560-9125 to reserve
11:00pm Rabbi Yaakov Moshe PoupkoMatan Torah in Major and Minor
12:00am Rabbi Dr. Tzvi Hersh WeinrebTorah Min Hashayim, the 8th Ani Maamin. What exactly do we believe when we believe in Torah min hashamayim?
1:00am Rabbi Neil WinklerShavuot - It's all in the Timing
2:00am Rabbi Chanoch YeresAngels arguing with HaShem and man
3:00am Rabbi Sam Shorhow Sweet It Is, Cheesecake, Eretz Yisrael and Birkat HaTorah
Refreshments throughout the nightWalk to Kotel (4:00am) or mini-shiur followed by VatikinDavening at the OU Israel Center - Megilat Ruth (4:45am)
Remember: All are welcome to Davening & ShiurimAdvanced registration REQUIRED for Leil Shavuot dinner
Shiur on Yom Tov day (Wednesday, 5:00pm)by Rabbi Sprecher Mitzvot - Supremecy of Divine Reason
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reviewShavuotGREENERY There is a time-honored custom to decorate theshul and one's home with greenery -grasses and branches (flowers areused, but original custom seems tobe branches) on Shavuot. Severalreasons are given for this custom.
Our sources tell us that Har Sinaibecame miraculously adorned withvegetation, the implication beingthat this was in honor of its functionas the venue for Matan Torah. This iswhy animals had to be specificallybanned, to prevent them fromgrazing.
Decorating with tree branches is areminder that the world is judged byG-d on Shavuot concerning the fruitof the tree (as stated in the secondmishna of Rosh HaShana). It isappropriate to pray on Shavuot forbountiful yields of fruit.
Moshe Rabeinu was born on 7 Adarand hidden for three months. He wasplaced in a waterproof basket,floated on the Nile, hidden amongthe reeds on the day that was tobecome Shavuot, 80 years later.
Bikurim baskets were adorned anddecorated in various ways. Shavuotis Yom HaBikurim.
CAUTION: Care should be taken thatthings look Jewish (and not other-wise - if you get the point).
DAIRY FOODS Shavuot is aYom Tov. On Yom Tov we have themitzva of Simcha. One of thetraditional forms of Simchat Yom Tovis festive meals with meat and wine.
Note for vegetarians and otherswho prefer not eating meat: Meat asSimcha (when we do not have a BeitHaMikdash) is subjective - if youdon't like meat, then you need nothave it on Yom Tov; if you enjoyeating meat dishes, THEN it is properto honor and enjoy Yom Tov in thatway. In fact - one's favorite dish takespriority for Simchat Yom Tov over ameat dish that one likes less (or notat all). In the time of the BeitHaMikdash, Simcha is associatedwith the korban called ShalmeiSimcha.]
Additionally, we all know of thecustom of eating dairy foods onShavuot. Some people will have adairy meal on Yom Tov night and ameat meal for lunch. This has acertain logic, since the nighttime ismore Shavuot-specific and the day ismore generically Yom Tov. Otherfamilies will have meat at night anddairy during the day. Still others willmake Kiddush and HaMotzi, havesome dairy dish (blintzes, perhaps),then bench. Following a short breakand a change in table covering, they
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will wash again with new LechemMishneh, this time for a meat meal.Each according to one's custom.
There are many "reasons" for thecustom of dairy dishes on Shavuot.Some of the reasons might haveproduced the custom, while othersmight be merely additional symbol-isms after the fact. Furthermore,some reasons explain why we eatdairy, while others make sense onlyin the context of having BOTH dairyand meat dishes.
The pasuk in Shir HaShirim (4:11)alludes to Torah as "honey and milkunder your tongue". Some mixhoney and milk - yogurt or sourcream do well - to match the pasuk.Interesting to note the switch fromthe more common milk & honey asapplied to the Land of Israel.
To commemorate the first Shavuotcelebrated in the Midbar when ourancestors ate only dairy dishes. Thisis because eating kosher meat afterreceiving the Torah requires muchpreparation... (Like a Baal T'shuvasubsisting on cottage cheese andyogurts until he gets new pots anddishes and kashers his kitchen, etc.)
Mount Sinai is called Har Gavnunim(T'hilim 68:16) and the word GAVNU-NIM is similar to G'VINA (cheese).
The numeric value of the wordCHALAV (milk) is 40, alluding to theforty days and nights Moshe spenton Har Sinai receiving the Torah.
Having both dairy and meat dishesas mentioned above requires strictattention to the laws of separation ofmilk and meat. These laws, of course,are based on the Torah's prohibitionof "meat in milk" as presented by thephrase "Do not cook a g'di in itsmother's milk". This phrase (twice)follows, in the same pasuk, thecommand to bring Bikurim to theBeit HaMikdash. Shavuot, as thebeginning of Bikurim-bringingseason, is Yom HaBikurim. Therefore,we eat both dairy and meat dishes,with proper attention to thestrictures of halacha, specifically onShavuot.
Halachically (especially when han-dling food with our hands), it isimproper to use the same loaf ofbread for both meat and dairy mealsbecause of the food residue thatmight adhere to the bread.Therefore, a dairy meal and a meatmeal will require two loaves ofbread, reminiscent of the TwoLoaves offering of Shavuot. (In otherwords, this reason is primarilyassociated with the Two Loavesoffering, the dairy aspect issecondary. And this doesn't reallytake into account having LechemMishneh - two loaves - at each mealanyway.)
Some suggest that having a dairydish and a meat dish is like the "twocooked foods" of the Pesach Seder.Shavuot is not only its own Holiday;it is also the culmination of Pesach -
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hence, "two foods" on Shavuot aswell as Pesach.
According to our tradition, MosheRabeinu was born on the 7th of Adarand was successfully hidden by hisparents for three months. It was onthe future Shavuot that baby Moshewas placed in the basket on the riverand found by the daughter of Par'o.Tradition further tells us that Mosherefused to nurse from an Egyptianwetnurse. Hence, Miriam's sugges-tion that Yocheved, Moshe's mother,be hired to nurse him. He, fromwhose mouth all of Israel learnedTorah, could not drink "mother'smilk" from a non-Jew. We rememberthis with dairy dishes on the day ofMatan Torah. (Even though mother'smilk is not dairy, the symbolism isthere.)
It might also be suggested that theday of the receiving of the Torah islike the birth of the Nation of Israel,and we have milk to symbolize thespiritual infancy of the People ofIsrael.
The Torah commands us to bring inthe Beit HaMikdash a MinchaChadasha LaShem B'Shavu'otei-chem. The initial letters of thisphrase spell the word MEICHALAV -"from milk".
How about this: Sources tell us thatBnei Yisrael refused to drink milk oreat dairy at all, fearing that milk wasEIVER MIN HACHAI, limb from a
living animal (forbidden to allpeople). It was receiving the Torahand its explanations that clarified theissue and taught them that milk waspermitted. We celebrate thisdiscovery of our ancestors with dairydishes on Shavuot.
Be it cheese blintzes, 1% cottage,yogurt with honey, cheesecake,lasagna, or ice cream - dairy disheson Shavuot provide us with muchfood for thought as well as culinarypleasure.
Tikun Leil Shavuot LearningTorah all night is a praiseworthypractice, IF it will not ruin yourdavening in the morning or spoilyour Yom Tov. It isn't for everyone.Used well, it is a special way ofpreparing to receive the Torah anew.Some add that our learning all nightis a TIKUN (repair) for the fact thatBnei Yisrael slept on the night beforeMatan Torah and had to beawakened for the Event. In theory,that wasn't the best indicator of theexcitement that should have beenfelt be the people.
Megilat Ruth Many com-munities read Megilat Ruth onShavuot morning before Torahreading. (Outside of Israel it is readon the second day).
Some communities read it in theafternoon.
A recent trend in Vatikin (pre-sun-
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rise) minyanim (in Israel) is to read itbefore davening.
When read from a kosher megila(Minhag Yerushalayim), the readingis preceded by the brachot ...ALMIKRA MEGILA and SHE'HE'CHE-YANU. Read from a book, no brachotare recited.
Various reasons combine to makeRuth a perfect reading for Shavuot.
The text itself tells us that its storytakes place at the time of the"cutting of the wheat". Shavuot isChag HaKatzir.
One of the major purposes of theBook of Ruth is to show us thelineage of David HaMelech and theDavidic line. Tradition tells us thatDavid HaMelech died (and was born)on Shavuot.
Perhaps most significantly, the storyof Ruth is the inspiring story ofKabbalat HaTorah on an individuallevel, just as Shavuot is the com-memoration of Kabbalat HaTorah ona national level. All of Israel were likeconverts at Sinai. This matches nicelythat the Torah reading comes fromParshat Yitro, another example of apersonal Kabalat HaTorah.
Ruth is the story of CHESED, acts ofkindness. The Torah begins and endswith G-d's acts of kindness - clothingAdam and Chava on the one sideand burying Moshe on the other.
Akdamut On Shavuot morning,after the Kohen is called to theTorah, before his bracha and beforethe reading begins, it is the Ash-kenazic custom to responsivelyrecite a 90-line poem praising G-d,His Torah and His People. Written byRabbi Meir of Worms (one of Rashi'steachers), it conveys the spirit of loveof G-d and Judaism even under theadverse conditions of the Crusades.Rabbi Meir's son was killed byCrusaders and he himself died soonafter a "forced debate" with theChristian clergy of his town. Thepoem celebrates Torah. Each line ofAkdamut ends with the syllable TA,TAV-ALEF, last and first letters of theAlef-Bet. Some see this as a reminderof the nature of the Torah itself - assoon as we complete reading orlearning the Torah, we immediatelybegin it again.
S'faradim do not read Akdamut, butthey have the custom of reading apoem called the KETUBA, com-posed by Rabbi Yosef Najara,celebrating the marriage, so tospeak, of G-d and Bnei Yisrael, or theTorah and Bnei Yisrael. They read theKETUBA when the Ark is opened,before the Torahs are taken out.
Torah Reading From the firstof two Torahs on Shavuot morning,we read from Parshat Yitro, theaccount of Ma'amad Har Sinai andMatan Torah, from Sh'mot 19 & 20, a
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total of 48 p'sukim. The reading isdivided among 5 Aliyot, as on allYom Tov days (that don't fall onShabbat - which Shavuot neverdoes).
The reading begins with the famouspasuk: "In the third month from theExodus, on THIS day, they (BneiYisrael) came to Midbar Sinai."Rashi's two comments on "THIS day"are:
[1] it was Rosh Chodesh Sivan thatthe People arrived at Sinai, and
[2] the Torah uses the term THISrather than THAT to teach us thatMatan Torah should not be thoughtof as a "once upon a time, a longtime ago" experience, but rather"words of Torah should be fresh inour eyes as if we received themtoday."
This is such an important conceptthat it bears constant repeating,attention, and effort to internalize.Especially when there are so manydetractors who proclaim the Torahand its Mitzvot as antiquated,out-dated, and irrelevant, we mustbe enthusiastic proponents of theopposite view. EITZ CHAYIM HI...Torah is the living, fresh, vibrant,complete source of the way of lifethat allows us to live in this worldTODAY and to invest everything wedo and are with spirituality andvalue.
This idea is the Shavuot counterpart
of Pesach's B'CHOL DOR VADOR... inevery generation a person has to seehimself as if he came out of Egypt.
[Could the Torah's being describedas a Living Tree also contributetowards the custom of adorning theshul and home with tree branches?]
The second pasuk is no less famous.VAYICHAN SHAM YISRAEL... Israel, asone being with one heart and asingular purpose, camped oppositethe mount. The unparalleledexperience of Jewish Unity that gavestanding at the foot of Mt. Sinai itseverlasting significance, becomesone of our special goals of JewishLife.
This helps explain the DAYEINUcouplet: Had You brought us to HarSinai and not given us the Torah, wewould still have reason to thank You.
Aseret HaDibrot is read in the "uppernotes", TAAMEI ELYON, evenaccording to Minhag Yerushalayim(which uses TAAMEI HATACHTON forParshat Yitro and Va'etchanan).TAAMEI ELYON presents the text asseparate commandments - withgreat fanfare and flair - rather than asp'sukim - like all of the Torah - whichis the way we hear it with TAAMEITACHTON.
Maftir (in the second Torah) is theMusaf of Shavuot from ParshatPinchas (Bamidbar 28:26-31).
Haftara is Yechezkel's first chapterand his most vivid and esoteric
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should miraculously become verdant on... epzxez ozn onf(matching gimatriyas)
vision. The level and type ofprophecy attained by the Jews atSinai has been compared to thevisions of Yechezkel.
NAMES of the Chag Inaddition to the various names andnicknames of Shavuot - which will bepresented shortly - it is significantthat in the main presentation of thecycle of holy days of the year, Vayikra23, Shavuot has no name of its own,but is presented as the culminationof Pesach.
Wordplay on the name: zFrEaW -With a KAMATZ under the SHIN,pronounced SHAVU'OT, the namemeans WEEKS, as in counting sevenweeks from Pesach.
zFrEa §W - With a SH'VA under theSHIN pronounced SH'VU'OT, thename means OATHS, as in themutual oaths of commitmentbetween G-d and Israel - His promisethat we become a Kingdom ofKohanim and a Holy Nation (andmany other promises), our promiseto do and understand all that Hecommands us.
As mentioned earlier, Shavuot isCHAG HAKATZIR and YOM (or CHAG)HABIKURIM.
And, of course, it is well-known fromthe davening and kiddush as Z'MANMATAN TORATEINU.
Notice that in addition to the TORAH
aspect of Shavuot, we also have theagricultural side - specifically, that ofERETZ YISRAEL. This means thatSHAVUOT celebrates the Receivingof the Torah AND the coming toERETZ YISRAEL.
SIMCHA Remember: Shavu'ot ismany things: Dairy foods, decora-tions, Learning all night, MegilatRuth, Akdamut, Aseret HaDibrot -But it is something else too.
It is Yom Tov. And that comes withan important Torah commandment:SIMCHA. A mitzva often neglected,try to see to it that appropriateSimcha - for you and your family - ison your agenda.
For example: One who stays up allnight learning and then davensvatikin, tends to come home, makekiddush, have something to eat andthen go to sleep for several hours.One should see to it that he and hisfamily enjoy a real Yom Tov meal,that time is spent learning Torahduring the day of Matan Torah - notjust at night. Plan on a nice leisurelywalk in a nearby park, some qualitytime with spouse, children, andgrandchildren. This is not easy -especially in Israel where we cannotsay, save it for tomorrow.
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We have various sources that find a"problem" with the common practice(in Ashkenazi communities) ofstanding for the reading of theAseret HaDibrot. There is along-standing concern that peoplewill misunderstand exactly what theAseret HaDibrot are... and what theyare not. In discussing this issue, wewill touch upon an interesting sidepoint or two.
Sh'ma Yisrael is part of our davening(separate commands, but combinedby our Sages) and no one seemsworried that people saying thatSh'ma will think that it is the mostimportant part of the Torah and it iswhat G-d gave us and not the rest.The Song of the Sea is part ofdavening, and no one seems worriedabout what people will say. When itcame to the Aseret HaDibrot, therewas (and continues to be) a seriousconcern, that people shouldn't say(or believe) that the Ten Command-ments came from G-d and the rest ofthe Torah is Moshe's own additions.There is a good reason for thisconcern. Maamad Har Sinai includesthe Aseret HaDibdot and whenMoshe came down from themountain he brought with him theTwo Luchot, engraved with the "Big10". All the rest of the Torah wasbrought to us - and taught to us - byMoshe Rabeinu and was not written
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down by him until the end of the 40years of wandering. It could easilyappear to someone not schooled inthe Oral Traditions and Law, norcommitted to belief in their Divineorigin, that G-d gave us the AseretHaDibrot and Moshe gave us therest.
This creates a disparity between theAseret HaDibrot and the rest of theTorah which is unacceptable to thetrue understanding of Torah.
Wearing Shaatnez is as prohibited byG-d through His Torah as is swearingin vain, even though the latter is oneof the 10 Commandments and theformer is "only" one of the 613mitzvot. But the apostate and manyignorant people - Jew and non-Jew -don't accept this equating of theAseret HaDibrot and the rest ofTorah. In order to "close the mouth"of the apostate (and others), ourSages at different times in historydecided not to include the AseretHaDibrot in public prayer, bannedthe use of the Luchot in shuldecoration... and objected tostanding just for the Big Ten. It's notto say that there are no differences inrelative importance, but it is todeflate the over-veneration of theTen Commandments at the expenseof the rest of the Torah.
Some authorities "violently" opposethe custom of standing for the Ten.Others are hesitant to oppose atime-honored practice of many Jews,
including learned Rabbis andTalmidei Chachamim. All frown uponbeing a "sitter among standers".There are a few suggestions abouthow to avoid problems. The bottomline, however, is this: The AseretHaDibrot are definitely special. Butall 613 mitzvot are from G-d and wemust know that and teach others.
Shavuot Parsha SandwichUsually, the sedra before Shavuot isBamidbar and the one that followsthe holiday is Naso. A possible signif-icance to Bamidbar precedingShavuot is that it acts as a bufferbetween the Tochacha of B'chukotaiand the Chag. If is a sobering thingthat the Tochacha is before the Chag- but not immediately before it. Wewouldn't want to take the mood ofthe Tochacha straight into Chag.
This is matched with Nitzavim beingthe buffer between the Tochacha ofKi Tavo and Rosh HaShana.
For Chutz LaAretz, the B-Sh-N sand-wich occurs 89½% of the time. Whena 13-month year begins on Thursday- that accounts for the other 10½%of the years, then Naso precedesShavuot and B'haalot'cha follows it.
In Israel there is another situation inwhich Naso will precede Shavuot -namely, in a 13-month year whenPesach begins on Shabbat. In thatcase, we go a sedra ahead of ChutzLaAretz because their last day of
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Birchot HaTorah on Shavuot morning
For those who stay up all night on LeilShavuot, there is a question as to whetherthey can say Birchot HaTorah on Shavuotmorning or not. Do the brachot from ErevShavuot morning continue their effectinto the day of Shavuot or not.
To avoid the problem, many rely on aperson who slept at night to say hisbrachot aloud and to be 'yotzei' that way.
If one takes a nap on Erev Shavuot, thenthe nap plus the night (even though he isawake) combine to cut the effect ofBirchot HaTorah of Erev Shavuot, and hecan say the brachot on Shavuot morning.
There is also on whom to rely that BirchotHaTorah is part of the morning daveningand can be said even by one who stayedup all night.
Pesach is Shabbat and in Israel, it is aregular Parshat HaShavua. We don'tget back in sync until we split Matotand Mas'ei and they don't. Naso isbefore Shavuot in Israel in thoseyears, but after Shavuot outside ofIsrael. The adds another 10% to thefrequency of a Naso-Shavuot-B'haalot'cha sandwich.
We in Israel have the Naso-Shavuot-B'haalotcha sandwich scheduled forthe next two years. Outside of Israel,the next scheduled N-Sh-B sandwichis in 5795 - 18 years from now.
LO GaHaZ, ShavuotOne of the rules of our fixed calen-dar (the calendar that will be ineffect until the restoration of theSanhedrin) is LO ADU ROSH. Thismeans that Rosh HaShana cannotbegin on SUN, WED, or FRI (ADU =ALEF-DALET-VAV). Most calendardates (295 of 385 possible dates) arein the LO ADU system. That systemhas a total of 7 variations, ADU beingone of them. For example, since thefirst day of Rosh HaShana cannot beSUN, WED, or FRI, it follows that thesecond day of RH cannot be MON,THU, or Shabbat. And so on.
Pesach's rule is LO B'DU, meaningthe first day of Pesach cannot be aMON, WED, or FRI. Shavuot falls onthe same day of the week as thesecond day of Pesach. So Shavuotcannot fall on a TUE, THU, orShabbat. This is the meaning of LO
GaHaZ (GIMEL-HEI-ZAYIN).
Of the days of the week that Shavuotcan fall on, the stats are as follows:
SUN (28.0%), MON (11.5%), WED(31.9%), FRI (28.5%).
Notice that this year's WED Shavuotis its most common day (but not by abig margin).
Also note that SUN means aYaKNeHaZ on Motza"Sh. FRI meansan Eiruv Tavshilin on THU.
People with a second day of Shavuotcan make their own calculations... orthey can come on Aliya and haveonly one day.
And now you know!
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from the virtual desk of theOU VEBBE REBBEThe Orthodox Union - via its website - fields questions of all types in the areas of Kashrut, Jewish Law andValues. Some of them are answered by Eretz Hemda, the Institute for Advanced Jewish Studies, Jerusalem,headed by Rav Yosef Carmel and Rav Moshe Ehrenreich, founded by HaRav Shaul Yisraeli zt"l, to preparerabbanim and dayanim to serve the National Religious community in Israel and abroad. Ask the Rabbi is ajoint venture of the OU, Yerushalayim Network, Eretz Hemda... and OU Israel's Torah Tidbits.
Davening Early on ShavuotQuestion: In a shul with many elderlymembers who have trouble staying up late,may we have a minyan for Ma'ariv ofShavuot before tzeit hakochavim (=tzeit)?
Answer: The idea of waiting untiltzeit to start Shavuot is not found inChazal but arises first in earlyAcharonim, beginning with the MasatBinyamin (Chidushei Dinim, OrachChayim 4). The matter is related tothe idea that since Shavuot follows a49-day period, it should not startbefore its time. One can ask whetherthe problem is that Shavuot is "notready", or whether Shavuot can startearly but it is improper to "short-change" the omer period.
The Netziv (Meishiv Davar I:18) seesin "you shall call, on the midst of thisday, a holy convocation" regardingShavuot (Vayikra 23:21) a special rulethat it cannot start early. This puts thestress on Shavuot. However, theearlier sources (Masat Binyamin ibid.,Sh'lah, beginning of MasechetSh'vuot) focus on "they shall be sevencomplete (temimot) weeks" (Vayikra23:15), positing that starting Shavuot
early impinges on the completeness ofthe omer period. (This is likely relatedto the concept of counting promptlyon the first night because of temimot -see Mishna Berura 489:2). L'horotNatan (VII:31) prefers the earliersources and claims that, as a result,one who made Kiddush early fulfilledhis mitzva and need not repeat it.
From what Shavuot element(s) mustone refrain? The Masat Binyamin,Sh'lah, and Magen Avraham (intro toOrach Chayim 494) refer only toKiddush, and the Shelah saysexplicitly that Ma'ariv (and Kiddushin shul) can be done earlier. The Taz(intro to OC 494) says that Ma'arivshould also be delayed. The PriMegadim (ad loc.) stresses the Taz'scogency based on the fact thatregarding several halachot, Ma'arivushers in a new day. The MishnaBerura (494:1) posits that Ma'arivshould wait until tzeit, and this is thewidespread minhag. (HitorerutTeshuva II,31 likes the delay ofMa'ariv for a side reason. Becausepeople stay up all night and do notrecite Kriat Shema Al Hamita, it isimportant for Kriat Shema to be aftertzeit (see Rashi, Berachot 2a).)
What about candle lighting? Since it
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can be done on Yom Tov and usuallyushers in Shabbat (see ShulchanAruch and Rama, OC 263:10), it islogical to compare it to Kiddush andMa'ariv. However, while there is anopinion to wait for candle lighting, theminhag is to light at the regular YomTov time (see Halichot Shlomo,Moadim 12:2). One explanation isthat it is not an absolute acceptance ofShabbat. One could claim thatwomen, who are the ones who acceptShabbat with lighting, may ruintemimot because they are exemptfrom counting. However, L'horotNatan (ibid.) argues powerfully thatthis application of temimot is not afunction of the mitzva to count, but ofrespecting the time period's integrity,which applies also to women.
The main reason, though, is probablythat there is no intrinsic problem atall. One violates no mitzva by doingan act of Shavuot, and omer is sevencomplete weeks anyway. Chazal, whoare our source of formal limudim, aresilent on the matter. Rather, the matterof waiting, even though the rule is thatone may perform Shabbat and YomTov activities early, is a minhaginstituted because it looks like(language of the Sh'lah) we areshortchanging the omer. Thus, there isno need to separate between the timeof omer and Shavuot absolutely, butonly according to the extent theminhag prescribed. There is aconsensus regarding Kiddush; it hasextended for most to Ma'ariv; only afew apply it to candle lighting.
Because many classical poskim allowearly Shavuot Ma'ariv, it is legitimatefor a shul/minyan with a special needto do so, despite the prevalent minhag.If feasible, it should be stressed thatonly those with a real need attend (itis unclear if accommodating children'ssleep patterns qualifies). It is proper tocommunicate that all who can shouldnot make Kiddush before (the earliestopinion of) tzeit. The level ofcompliance need not affect plans forMa'ariv unless it is known there iswidespread "abuse". Rav Daniel Mann, Eretz Hemdah Institute
Ed. note: On any Friday during theOmer, if a person took Shabbat early,and on his way home from shul, with thesun still in the sky, he realizes that heforgot to count the Omer on Thursdaynight, he may count (without a bracha)the day's count (and continue afterdark counting with a bracha), eventhough he has accepted Shabbatalready. In other words, one's accep-tance of Shabbat does not shortenFriday - it just obligates him to avoidviolating Shabbat earlier than sunset.
Therefore, it can be argued that begin-ning Shavuot does not affect theT'MIMUT (completeness) of the 49 daysor 7 full weeks of the Omer - as pointedout by the Vebbe Rebbe in his answer.
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for Fertility and Gynecologyin Accordance with Halacha
The Puah Institute is based in Jerusalem and helps couples from all over the world who are experiencing fertilityproblems. Puah offers free counseling in five languages, halachic supervision, and educational programs. Offices inJerusalem, New York, Los Angeles, Paris. Contact: (02) 651-5050 (Isr) • 718-336-0603 (US) • www.puahonline.org
Chesed - The Essence of Ruth
The Midrash states that the Book ofRuth does not contain any laws orinstructions but is filled with chesed.On Shavuot we celebrate the giving ofthe Torah which opens with chesedand closes with chesed (Sota 14a), andtherefore it is appropriate that we readRuth on Shavuot.
Throughout the Book of Ruth thecharacters deal kindly with each other;Naomi is willing to take Ruth alongwith her, Ruth follows her mother-in-law and refuses to abandon her, Boazis kind to Ruth and her family andgives them preferential treatment. It isuplifting to read of the chesed done byothers and we are also inspired to actkindly.
The Gemara teaches us that charitymeans giving money to the poor,whereas chesed can be for rich or poor,for the living or the dead, and is notonly money. Chesed means giving ofoneself to another person; under-standing their needs and being able tosupply them. Chesed could be a goodword, a smile, a helping hand, justbeing there without even speakingwhen that is what the other personneeds.
However this is not so simple, as inmany cases it is not clear what theother person needs unless they tell us.
The Torah tells us to support one whois about to fall and this requires thatwe know not only those who fall butthose who are about to fall, those whoseem to be fine yet actually are in needof others.
Couples experiencing fertility chal-lenges need help; sometimes it isfinancial, sometimes medical butalmost always what they need isempathy, people who can be there forthem. Even if you do not know whatthey are undergoing, you can dochesed with the woman who sitsbehind you in shul who is struggling tohave a baby or the man at work who isundergoing fertility treatment. Theywant to know that you are there ifthey need you and that they aretreated like everyone else.
So many of our shul activities arearound children and families, we needto ensure that there are comparableadult programs suitable for peoplewithout children. We celebrate havingchildren and need to celebrate othermilestones in people's lives for thosewho do not have children. Ourcommunities need to be welcomingenvironments for everyone regardlessof the family situation. By giving suchpeople a place and declaring that theyare normal and wanted we are doingthe greatest chesed.
Chag Same'ach. Rabbi Gideon Weitzman
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REVELATION on ShavuotAccording to Franz Rosenzweig, it is oneof three leading themes of Judaism -Creation, Revelation and Redemption.
All are difficult thoughts for the humanmind. All are intertwined, but tradi-tional Judaism believes that Revelationis the most important of the three sinceCreation and Redemption are part ofGod's self-revelation.
There are two aspects of Revelation, theprocess and the content.
Looking at the process, we ask in whatway God revealed Himself.
Looking at the content, we ask what itwas that He revealed.
The content is apprehended with theeye, the process with the ear.
The eye looks at the verbal content ofRevelation, the letters and words thatconstitute the narrative and thecommandments.
The ear - agent of the soul - apprehendsthe Presence. The Talmud says thatwhen a king is coming, even the sight-less person senses the royal presence.
We use the term Revelation for both theprocess and the message which itarticulates.
By what means does God reveal Hisexistence, His Presence, His love andconcern?
In one sense it is one of His secrets.When we say, "HaShem echad" - "God isunique", we affirm that we finitehumans do not need to knoweverything about Him and how He
operates. If we understood God, say thephilosophers, we would have to be God -"LU YEDATIV HEYITIV".
One thing is certain: there are manyways to knowledge, and they are not alltypes of "seeing with the eye". God'sself-revelation is not measured inmandates or millimeters but spiritually,in moments and moods.
From the content of the Revelation - thepattern of Torah and commandments -we learn that He is a moral God whostands for goodness, decency, justiceand peace.
Our eyes can explore the words, our fivesenses can taste them (like the littlechildren who learnt the alphabet bylicking off the honey with which theletters were written on their slates), ourminds can search out their meanings.
The legal and literary dimension of thecommandments can occupy the besthuman brains, the historians can studythe unfolding narrative of the ages, thechallenge of the Divine will can assureus that while the Giving of the Torahonly occurred once, the Receiving of theTorah is for every day of our lives.
The content of the Revelation and itsprocess need one another. If all we hadwas the content we would miss thespirit of the Living God.
Having the Living God is already awondrous boon ("Dayyenu!"), but if thatwas all we had we would miss themessage that His will is for us to live byHis law.Rabbi Apple served for 32 years as the chiefminister of the Great Synagogue, Sydney, andwas Australia's highest profile rabbi and leadingspokesman for Jews and Judaism there. Helives in J'lem and blogs at www.oztorah.comRabbi Apple is currently the president of theIsrael Region of the RCA.
