The Week and the Shabbos After Shavuos
Some people feel down after Shavuos, thinking they lacked inspiration on the yom tov, thereby not making kabbalos to grow in Torah, missing out on a precious opportunity to receive the Torah.
6. It states (Shir HaShirim 7:2) בַּנְּע ָלִים פְעָמ ַ יִ ךְ יָּפוּ מַה, "Your footsteps were so beautiful..." The Zohar (Tikunei Zohar 35b, 92b) says that this pasuk and ָלִיםבַּנְּע refer to החג נעילת, when a yom tov goes away. Rebbe Yissachar Dov of Belz zy'a said that פְעָמ ַ יִ ךְ can be translated as the beating of the heart. When a yom tov goes away, one's heart beats with regret, wishing he could have accomplished more on yom tov. The pasuk states פְעָמ ַ יִ ךְ יָּפוּ מַה, praising these feelings of regret and yearning for more.
Obviously, these thoughts are beneficial when they encourage the person to study more Torah and achieve greater accomplishments. Feelings of regret can be detrimental when they lead to distress and despair. We will explain with a mashal:
A wealthy person read in sifrei mussar that if a person has a lot of money, he shouldn't be proud and haughty (a baal gaavah), because things can turn around, and a wealthy person can one day become poor. The concept resonated with the wealthy man, and he became very worried. "What will happen if I become poor? How will I buy food? How will I pay my expenses?"
He was so obsessed with his worries until he became mad from worry, and had to be admitted to a home for the emotionally ill.
In this story, a wealthy man studied true ideas and lessons taught by great baalei mussar, but he applied them in an extreme and unhealthy manner, until he became ill.
Similarly, the feelings of regret that people feel after a yom tov are wonderful, and Hashem praises them. Hashem says, פְעָמ ַ יִ ךְ יָּפוּ מַה, how beautiful are the beats of your heart, at this time. However, if a person is foolish and takes these thoughts of regret to an extreme and to unhealthy places, it can result in distress and depression. The quality of פְעָמ ַ יִ ךְ יָּפוּ, was lost, due to his negativity that pushed him away from Torah, rather than to draw him near.
Another mashal is of a war between two armies. One army was stationed to the east, the other in the west, and they shot arrows and bullets at one another. The battle went on for some time, until they somehow switched positions. The army that was shooting towards the west was now in the west, shooting to the east, and the other army was now in the east, shooting to the west.
But there was one soldier who didn’t grasp what happened. At the beginning of the war, his general told him to shoot towards the west. Now that he was on the western side, he was still shooting at the western army. He didn't realize that the reality on the ground had changed. He shot at his friends and fellow soldiers who stood next to him on the west.
He was promptly arrested. "What are you doing, shooting at your own army?" the judge asked. He replied, "I am doing what I was told to do. I was told to shoot to the west!"
The nimshal is that one of the greatest weapons against the yetzer hara is cheshbon hanefesh, when one reviews his deeds. He thinks about what he is doing right, what he is doing wrong, and where he can improve. But if he uses these thoughts of reflection in an unwise, unhealthy manner, the weapon that was intended to be used against the enemy, the yetzer hara, is now being used against himself.
The correct path is to make a cheshbon hanefesh and then to work on improvement. The Mishnah (Avos 2:4) states, ָמוֹתְך יוֹם עַד ָבְּע ַצְמְך תַּאֲמ ִין וְאַל, "Don't trust in yourself until the day you die." A person shouldn't trust that he is a tzaddik. The Kotzker zt'l said that kal v'chomer, we shouldn't trust the yetzer hara when he tells us that we are a rasha, and that there is no hope for us, chas v'shalom. There is always hope. If we try, we can accomplish great things and grow to very high levels.
But they don't have to feel bad because, in some ways, the week after Shavuos is still Shavuos. The week after Shavuos is called תשלומין ימי שבעת, the seven days for paying the debt. This is because on every yom tov of the רגלים שלש (Pesach, Shavuos, and Succos), there is a mitzvah to come to the Beis HaMikdash and to bring a ראיה עולת קרבן and a חגיגה שלמי. These korbanos can be brought the entire week of Pesach and the entire week of Succos. Also, on Shavuos, the korbanos can be brought on the first day of Shavuos, and if one didn't, he can bring the korbanos the entire week after Shavuos. Although, it isn't yom tov anymore, and it isn't chol hamoed, either, the korbanos can still be brought in the Beis HaMikdash. This indicates that in some way, this week is still Shavuos. Therefore, if a person feels he didn't sufficiently receive the Torah, he can do so now. He can fill his heart with yearning for the Torah, and make kabbalos to learn the Torah and to keep it, and kabbalas haTorah will happen now, as well. The "gates" are still open.
The Chok Yaakov (Orach Chaim 473:1) states that if a person didn't say Shehechiyanu on Shavuos, he can say Shehechiyanu during this week. If one can say Shehechiyanu now, it shows us just how much it is still Shavuos! (The Maharil Diskin zt'l isn't certain that we can rely on the Chok Yaakov's psak, however, he agrees that the mitzvah of רבו פני קבלת, to visit one's rebbe on the yom tov, can be accomplished this entire week. Once again, this is because the week after Shavuos is still Shavuos.)
7. The longest parashah, the longest Midrash, and the longest Zohar are in parashas Naso. The Chidushei HaRim zt'l explains that this is because Hashem has given us the Torah this week (Naso is always the Shabbos after Shavuos), and therefore there is a bounty of Torah in the world.
8. The lechem hapanim were baked erev Shabbos and placed on the Shulchan on Shabbos (see Rambam, hilchos Tmidim u'Musafim 5:10), and remained on the Shulchan until the following Shabbos. When the breads were removed, they were eight days old, but they were still hot. Hashem performed this miracle for us to show His love for His children.
