I just received an email from somebody today (a woman...go figure) asking me to possible share my "feelings" that I am going through living here in Israel. Thankfully, she correctly surmised that as a guy, I don't do "feelings". However, throughout the course of this site, I will of course share THOUGHTS and INSIGHTS as I see fit. Chances are, a lot of my introductions will be revolving around life here, and thankfully, very little around politics and other things, for reasons to be mentioned later. Don't worry, I'll try my best to continue to publically embarress my father!
I think this week, I'll give you a basis on where I am. I'm currently living/learning at Yeshivat Toras Simcha, located on Sorotzkin Street in the neighborhood of Mattersdorf in Jerusalem. Anybody who has been to Jerusalem probably knows of this area. This neighborhood is 100% frum. It's more black and white then the Amish could possibly be. Every Shabbos the streets close down completely. For 25 hours, they are no longer occupied by cars and buses, but rather couples and children, walking or playing ball or jump-rope. I'll write more on that later.
My yeshiva is home to approximatly forty single guys (average age: 20), and has 20 or so kollel members (married guys; average age: 26). As a single guy, I have the privalege of living in the building. I share a small room with three others, one who is currently engaged (to a friend of yours, Shoshana...ps. nice pictures), and a Brit from Manchester. We occupy the "Executive Suite". We only have three people in the room, with our own washroom and shower, compared to everybody else who has four people, and have to share four showers and toilets down the hall. G-d has been good to me. :)
The official day starts at 7:15 am and ends at 10:30 pm. We have just over two hours for a lunch break, and fifty minutes for a dinner break. With those exceptions we are learning full-time. For those who haven't tried it...it's no simple feat. I think that lays a nice basis for future dvrei torah. This Saturday night/Sunday day, we will be celebrating Lag B'Omer. It's traditional to hold bonfires on this night. In fact, here in Israel, starting right after Pesach, you see children collecting anything that is not held down and preparing their own bonfires. I've seen them working on some two stories high. Unfortunately for them, they don't have what we have. Combat engineers (ie Professional Yeshiva Pyromaniacs). I believe we have 40 crate boxes locked up, ready to go. Needless to say, pictures will be put up as soon as possible. Speaking of...I've already put some up on the website. In the mean time...on to Torah!
This coming Saturday night/Sunday we celebrate Lag B'Omer. Now, I'm sure we're all wondering exactly what Lag B'Omer is, and why we are celebrating it.
As we know, from Pesach until Shavous, we count each night of the Omer. Lag B'Omer falls on the thirty-third night of the Omer ("Lag", consists of the letters "lamed" and "gimel", whose numerically value equals thirty-three).
"Rabbi Akiva had twenty-four thousand students, and all of them died at the same time of the year during the omer, because they failed to give honour to each other" (Yevamos 62b)
There are varying opinions as of which days Rabbi Akiva's students died, but the most prevalent opinion is that they began to die right after Pesach and the "plague" ended on Lag B'Omer. Hence, during those days, we are in a semi-state of mourning (i.e. no music, men cannot shave or get haircuts). On Lag B'Omer, however, we leave our state of mourning, and celebrate.
So, what exactly is going on concerning the death of Rabbi Akiva's students? Especially considering that there were twenty-four thousand of them.
Now, we have to understand something. Rabbi Akiva wasn't just some everyday rabbi. He was one of the greatest leaders of his generation. His students weren't just everyday students either. They too were the top of their generation. So, what exactly happened to cause all of their deaths? The Gemara makes note that did not give honour to each other. Again, what exactly does that mean? Unlike the university systems, we do not call a person 'great' based solely on their brain. We also consider their character. In order to be a student of Rabbi Akiva, you not only had to have a great mind, but a good character.
How exactly does giving honour work? When one person gives another one honour, he is in fact recognizing that somehow, that other person is superior to himself in someway. Says the Shem MiShmuel, this only works when people view each other as individual people, with individual personalities. After all, if people viewed themselves, not as individuals, but as just one cog in the system, no different from the next, then his friend is no better or worse then he is. Hence, we have the plague called Communism. And from Communism, you have hippies. Boy, do I hate hippies... I'm sorry, where was I? One of the reasons communism failed, is that individual talents were not recognized. Everybody was the same, working for the 'greater good of the people'. Blach...
When everybody is the same then there is no way of giving honour to others. After all, how can I recognize the greatness of somebody, if they're not so great after all? This is the trap that the students of Rabbi Akiva fell into.
Judaism clearly holds that we are a community that consists of individuals. We do not identify ourselves only as a community or only as individuals. We are both. We cannot look at other people and wonder why they do not live up to our 'high' standards. Each person was put on earth for a different mission. Some follow chassidus, some are more into mussar. Some have this custom, some have that custom. Some are to be rabbis, teachers, tailors, computer nerds, and doctors. And no, Ira Piltz. Nobody was destined to be a lawyer. That is a direct result of the Yetzer Horah.
The father of the Shem MiShmuel suggests that Rabbi Akiva's students viewed themselves only as a community. Accordingly, they did not recognize each others individual strengths, failing to show each other the proper respect due.
Additionally, the father of the Shem MiShmuel had another small insight concerning this.
The period of the Omer takes place during the months of Nissan, Iyar, and Sivan. The astronomical sign for Nissan is the sheep. How appropriate is it that sheep should be the sign during the month of our redemption when we, as a people, were born. Just as sheep always travel together, so too did the Jewish people.
The sign for the month of Iyar is the bull. Bulls tend not to move together, unless herded down thin streets in Spain, being chased and trampling a slew of silly Spaniards. During this time of the Omer, we look at ourselves as individuals seeing how we can improve ourselves.
Then comes the month of Sivan, containing Shavous. Here the astronomical sign is Gemini The Twins. Here, we have two different individuals, working together as one. This is the ideal form of service to Hashem. Individuals using their strengths and weaknesses as a community to serve Hashem.
Have a great Shabbos and Lag B'Omer!