Q: Now that we finished counting the Omer and we had Shavuos and we already received the Torah, so what should be the focus of our service of Hashem from after Shavuos until Rosh Hashana?
A: Now rabbosai, I’m going to tell you something that I always say. The happiest season of the year is the summertime; yes, the good old summertime. There’s nothing like the days of summer and so, let’s learn to enjoy life right now.
The summertime is a pleasure! What a great blessing it is! Look how much there is to enjoy in the summertime. You’re getting vitamins free of charge. The sun is a vitamin dispensary. Walk out in the street and the sun is showering vitamins on you. In the wintertime there are clouds and you don’t always get the vitamins you need. Sometimes you have to take extra vitamin pills. But in the summertime, you get all you want. And so, baruch Hashem for the summer.
When you walk out in the street, don’t complain, “Oh, it’s a hot day.” Don’t be a fool. Say, “Thank You Hashem for the heat!” Hakadosh Baruch Hu is giving you so much energy from the sun and it’s free of charge. Millions of tons of horsepower energy are pouring onto this earth and it’s causing the earth to become enriched and the fruits to develop. In the summertime fruits are plentiful. The tasty apples are coming! Ah! Red apples and luscious cherries and plums and peaches! They’re plentiful in the summer and the prices go down in all the fruit stores. Now you’re living!
So, this person asks, “What’s the service of Hashem from Shavuos until Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur?” The service is singing to Hashem! Practice singing to Hashem! What do you think was the avodas Hashem that we were mekabel when we accepted the Torah on Har Sinai? The most important service of Hashem is gratitude to Hashem!
So now you know! From Shavuos until Rosh Hashanah that’s our avodah; we have to get busy singing and thanking Hashem for the manifold benefits He’s giving to us. That’s the very great service in the summertime. It doesn’t mean you have to stop learning. We can continue learning and doing Torah and mitzvos. Nevertheless, the avodah of gratitude for the summertime – the happiness of the summertime and thankfulness for the summertime – that’s a very important avodah to be busy with after Kabolas HaTorah.
