On the Shabbat which takes place during Passover, we chant a section from the Book of Exodus (33:12-34:26). There, we read the story of Moses, who comes down from Mount Sinai and, seeing the Israelites dancing before the Golden Calf, shatters the Tablets on which are inscribed the Ten Commandments. He goes back up the mountain and returns 40 days later with a second set.
In a slight departure from my usual weekly message, instead of reviewing the Torah reading for this coming Shabbat, I wanted to offer a comment about an activity we began on the second day of Pesach, counting the omer.
We count forty nine days between Passover and Shavuot, a period we call the “omer.” An omer is a measure (like a bushel) of grain, and the name is derived from the commandment to count the days between Passover (when an omer of barley was presented at the Temple Altar) to Shavuot (when an omer of wheat was offered). During this period, we go from one harvest to another, as early spring merges into early summer.
Traditionally, this period also marks the time the Israelites spent from the Exodus from Egypt to Revelation at Sinai, so the “omer” has both agricultural and religious overtones.
A third aspect, rabbinic in origin, is that the period of the omer is considered to be one of mourning, in memory of a Divine plague that killed 24,000 students of Rabbi Akiva, because of their failure to honor each other respectfully. Lag B'omer, the thirty-third day of the omer period, is thought to be the day when the plague was lifted, so on that day we have a brief respite for celebration.
There is a connection between these three aspects of the omer: anxiety and fear. First, we begin to pray daily for dew (in the Land of Israel) on Passover, at the beginning of the omer, since the raint season has come to an end. This reminds us of the anxiety that the farmers felt: whether the rains needed for their Shavuot harvests would come. Anxiety is also reflected in the Israelites’ perilous trip from Egypt to Sinai. Third, the fear of plague which led to the deaths of the scholars underscores an anxious sense of Divine retribution for sin.
The fears and anxiety associated with this period, whether agricultural, religious, or historical, all contribute to the unease which traditionally exists in this period of counting days. But our tradition is not only one of anxiety; it is coupled with hope. We have just celebrated our freedom, and we've begun the countdown to Sinai. The daily anxiety of living in the world, day by counted day, needs to be placed in the Jewish context of freedom, redemption, and hope. But we ignore anxiety at our peril.
