Shabbos Parshas Bechukosai, Sivan 5, 5748. Reprinted from Sichos In English, vol. 37.
On Shabbos Bechukosai, the Lubavitcher Rebbe Shlita delivered a discourse which emphasized the importance of Jewish Unity and Ahavas Yisroel. He indicated that these two important principles should be brought into widespread practice on the Shabbos preceding Shavuos. This would be a fitting preparation for the receiving of the Torah, “as one man with one mind.” He urged that gatherings of this nature should be organized all over the world and that multitudes of Jewish people should attend. Such gatherings will strengthen Jewish Unity and give expression to Ahavas Yisroel—love for our fellow Jews.
Among the important themes of the Sefirah period, Ahavas Yisroel—love of fellow Jews—and Jewish unity, stand out most prominently.
The Sefirah Period
The observance of the Sefirah period—between the holiday of Pesach and Shavuos—as a time of quasi-mourning, commemorates the tragic deaths of the disciples of Rabbi Akiva, nearly two millennia ago. The Talmud relates: “Rabbi Akiva had 12,000 pairs of disciples, and all of them died at the same time because they did not treat each other with respect.” (Yevamos 62b) They were remiss in their Ahavas Yisroel. We must therefore make special efforts during this period of the year to increase Ahavas Yisroel in accordance with the dictum of Rabbi Akiva: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself—this is a fundamental principle of the Torah.” (Rashi, Vayikra 19:18)
The days of Sefirah serve as a period of preparation for Shavuos and the giving of the Torah. Therefore, just as the first preparation for Torah was effected through unity, so too, we must prepare for the Torah through Jewish unity. On the verse, “And there Israel encamped (singular) before the mountain” (Shemos 19:2), Rashi explains, “As one man with one mind/heart.” The Midrash elaborates: The Holy One, Blessed be He, said: Because the Jewish people despise discord and they love peace and are united in their camping, this is the propitious time for Me to give them My Torah. (Vayikra Rabbah 9:9)
Clearly, our annual preparation for “receiving the Torah” must include an increase in Ahavas Yisroel and Jewish unity—“as one man with one mind.”
During Sefirah we count 49 days equaling seven complete weeks, as Scripture states: “You shall then count seven complete weeks” (Vayikra 23:15). Chassidus offers us a symbolic interpretation that the Jewish people are represented by a seven-branched menorah, symbolic of the seven attributes (Sefiros) and seven levels of Divine service. By uniting the seven branches of the Jewish souls which interact with each other, we, symbolically, perfect the seven complete weeks. The cooperation of every Jew is necessary for all Jews to attain perfection. Consequently, through Ahavas Yisroel and unity we complete the seven weeks and attain a state of “complete” unity of the Jewish people, the fitting preparation for receiving the Torah. As a result also, the seven weeks become unified as one.
On the Shabbos following Lag BaOmer and in the Torah portion of Bechukosai read on that Shabbos, we find expression of these points.
Lag BaOmer
Since Lag BaOmer represents the cessation of the plague that killed Rabbi Akiva’s students, it follows that the period after Lag BaOmer saw a new emergence of respect and increased love among the students. Lag BaOmer is also the Hilulo (day of passing and also celebration) day of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, Rabbi Akiva’s disciple, who carried on and perfected Rabbi Akiva’s teachings and placed special emphasis on the mitzvah of loving fellow Jews. Rashbi (Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai) was forced to hide with his son in a cave and suffer great privation for 13 years to escape the threat of arrest by the Roman authorities. Having attained the loftiest peaks of Torah knowledge while in the cave, when he emerged, he immediately utilized the first opportunity to express his Ahavas Yisroel by improving conditions for his fellow Jews. He interested himself in a persistent problem affecting the Tiberias community and opened a road that had been closed to Kohanim because of suspected tumah (defilement). (Shabbos 33b) He also proclaimed: “I am able to exempt the whole world from judgment.” (Sukkah 45b) Rashbi’s devotion to the Jewish people and his insights were much more profound. The Zohar relates: It once happened that the world needed rain, so they came to Rabbi Shimon. He recited the verse: “A song of ascents… Behold, how good and how pleasant it is when brothers dwell together.” (Tehillim 133:1) As a result, the rain began to fall. (Zohar III, 59b) Was not the Rashbi hinting that harmonious, brotherly love and Jewish unity serve as the harbinger of material blessings from G-d? As the Ramban expounds on the verse: “Then will I give you rains in their seasons” (Vayikra 26:4), he mentioned the matter of rains first because if they come in their proper season, it is a prime cause of physical health, and all produce will increase and be blessed by it, just as He said, “and the land shall yield her produce and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit.” This is the greatest of all blessings. (Ramban, Vayikra 26:4)
The Baal Shem Tov explains that the term rain “gishmeichem” has the same root as “gashmius”—corporeality. Thus, all physical blessings are dependent on the unity and harmony of the Jewish people.
The period of Sefirah serves as a preparation for Mattan Torah in that the seven supernal and human attributes—kindness, royalty—are interwoven and refined. Since on Lag BaOmer (the 33rd day) the attribute of “Beauty in Beauty” is attained, the major portion of the Sefirah “body” has been built. And then Lag BaOmer is directly connected to the state of “as one man with one mind” of Mattan Torah.
The Third Aspect
The third aspect mentioned above comes into focus when we recall the Midrash: Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai said: “Whence can you prove that if Israel had been short even of one man the Divine Presence would not have revealed itself to them? For it is written: ‘For on the third day the L-rd will come down in the sight of all the people upon Mount Sinai.’” (Devorim Rabbah 9:9) We see that Rashbi held that Mattan Torah depended on the participation of every single Jew. Torah depends on absolute unity.
The Torah portion of this week also fits into the equation. As we know, Ezra made a regulation for Israel that they should read the curses in Vayikra (Bechukosai) before Shavuos. (Megillah 31b) This accentuates the connection between the portion of Bechukosai and Mattan Torah on Shavuos. Therefore, with Lag BaOmer behind us and Shavuos quickly approaching, we must increase and intensify the aspects of Jewish unity and Ahavas Yisroel.
In our generation—the time of “Heels of Moshiach”—another theme emerges. The Rashbi has a special role in the future redemption, as we find in Zohar: “With this work of yours, which is the book of splendor, through which they will leave their exile with mercy.” (Zohar III, 124b) In other words, it is the role of Rashbi to effect the redemption of each and every Jew, together with the liberation of the Shechinah. As the Rashbi taught: “To every place to where they were exiled the Shechinah went with them. The Holy One, Blessed be He, will return with them from the places of exile.” (Megillah 29a) As the cause of the exile was the lack of Jewish harmony, it is obvious that we can nullify the basis of the diaspora by adding more Ahavas Yisroel in the form of expressing our love even if there is no reason for the love. In that way, the golus will also disappear. Especially as this expression of Ahavas Yisroel will also engender G-d’s love for the Jewish people, for the Holy One, Blessed be He, is the “shade at your right hand.” (Tehillim 121:5) Just as a shadow mimics the movements of the person, so too, G-d’s love for us is a reflection of our love for each other. This is especially true when the love is expressed in practical action, for the main categories especially include giving tzedakah.
