Let's add one final layer before we conclude. There are two offerings that are brought immediately after the first day of Pesach. On the 16th of Nissan, an offering called Minchat HaOmer is sacrificed – the only offering brought which is comprised of barley. Another offering is Shtei HaLechem, which was brought on Shavuot and is comprised of wheat. In between them, we count the Omer every day for 49 days – Sefirat HaOmer. What is the Minchat HaOmer offering? Barley. What is the Omer we count? Barley. And what is the Shtei HaLechem offering? Wheat.
Chazal in the Gemara say that a person should avoid telling bad news to someone. If you want to deliver bad news to someone, do not tell them the bad news directly, but say it indirectly, and they’ll understand. If you want to tell your friend that the stock market crashed, don’t say, "the stock market crashed," but say "the dollar dropped sharply," and they’ll understand that the stock market crashed. The Gemara brings an example (Pesachim 3b): Yochanan from Chakuk was a crops expert and he’d travel around inspecting and evaluating the crops each year. In Yerushalayim, he was asked if the wheat crop developed nicely. Reluctant to say that the wheat crop did not develop nicely, he said to them, “The barley crop developed nicely,” leaving them to draw their own conclusion. They responded, "Go tell the good news to the donkeys!” It says הַשְּׂעֹרִים וְהַתֶּבֶן לַסּוּסִים וְלָרָכֶשׁ – the barley and straw for the horses and swift steeds. The barley’s success was good news for the donkeys because that’s their food.
The Egyptians are called donkeys; we went down to Egypt, to a nation of donkeys. Yosef sent his father ten donkeys carrying chamra – donkey on donkey. We left Egypt after 210 years, on the day after Pesach when barley is offered, and prepared to receive the Torah. The period of preparation is the period between the Minchat HaOmer and Shtei HaLechem offerings, where we count 49 days for the donkeys – "another day for the barley... another day for the barley," etc. Until we reach the day of Matan Torah, when we offer the Shtei HaLechem – wheat – which is finally food for human beings! We left a nation of donkeys to become human beings, and that transformation took place at Matan Torah!
How does this all connect back to Moshe Rabbeinu and his donkey? To the donkeys of Rabbi Pinchas ben Yair and Rabbi Chanina ben Dosa? To the donkey of Rabbi Yossi of Yokrat? To the donkey of Avraham Avinu? To the donkeys of Yosef and his brothers? And to the donkey of Melech HaMashiach? B’ezrat Hashem, this will all be unveiled in our next shiur!
