Chasidut for Numbers 28:26
וּבְי֣וֹם הַבִּכּוּרִ֗ים בְּהַקְרִ֨יבְכֶ֜ם מִנְחָ֤ה חֲדָשָׁה֙ לַֽיהוָ֔ה בְּשָׁבֻעֹ֖תֵיכֶ֑ם מִֽקְרָא־קֹ֙דֶשׁ֙ יִהְיֶ֣ה לָכֶ֔ם כָּל־מְלֶ֥אכֶת עֲבֹדָ֖ה לֹ֥א תַעֲשֽׂוּ׃
Also in the day of the first-fruits, when ye bring a new meal-offering unto the LORD in your feast of weeks, ye shall have a holy convocation: ye shall do no manner of servile work;
Kedushat Levi
Another approach to the meaning of the verse commencing with: וספרתם לכם ממחרת השבת, “count for yourselves immediately following the Sabbath.” Israel is presumed to have requested to be granted the ability to serve the Lord with a pure heart, and while engaged in asking G’d to grant all their various requests they completely omitted any reference to their personal requirements, i.e. to mundane matters.
However, there are times when even the Israelites on the highest spiritual level find it necessary to appeal to G’d to grant them such mundane requests as their livelihood. Periods during which individuals or even groups of Israelites are on the highest spiritual level are referred to by the Torah as שבת, seeing that the perception of the Sabbath is that it is a condensed version of the world of the future, מעין עולם הבא. That world is not directly connected to the world we find ourselves in, called עולם הזה, “the here and now.” Our verse tells us under what circumstances it is possible to sublimate the conditions of the “here and now” to such a degree that preoccupation with our personal needs for survival is no longer considered as something mundane or secular. The answer lies in the words: ממחרת השבת, “after first having attained the level called שבת.” While we are on the spiritual plateau described as שבת, we would not even remember such irrelevant concerns as our livelihood. The Torah’s recipe of how to attain such a plateau is the “continuous counting, day after day, of our ascent towards that goal.” During the 49 days of the counting we are still on the level that prompts us to approach G’d with requests to make our lives on this earth comfortable. With the advent of the festival of Shavuot, we have attained a higher level, one that is earmarked by our offering a new gift offering,” מנחה חדשה, (Numbers 28,26). The reason the Torah calls it בשבועותיכם, “on your weeks,” is that this offering reflects our own spiritual progress achieved during the weeks of counting. Seeing that this is so, we are bidden to offer this to Hashem, Who will accept it in this spirit.
However, there are times when even the Israelites on the highest spiritual level find it necessary to appeal to G’d to grant them such mundane requests as their livelihood. Periods during which individuals or even groups of Israelites are on the highest spiritual level are referred to by the Torah as שבת, seeing that the perception of the Sabbath is that it is a condensed version of the world of the future, מעין עולם הבא. That world is not directly connected to the world we find ourselves in, called עולם הזה, “the here and now.” Our verse tells us under what circumstances it is possible to sublimate the conditions of the “here and now” to such a degree that preoccupation with our personal needs for survival is no longer considered as something mundane or secular. The answer lies in the words: ממחרת השבת, “after first having attained the level called שבת.” While we are on the spiritual plateau described as שבת, we would not even remember such irrelevant concerns as our livelihood. The Torah’s recipe of how to attain such a plateau is the “continuous counting, day after day, of our ascent towards that goal.” During the 49 days of the counting we are still on the level that prompts us to approach G’d with requests to make our lives on this earth comfortable. With the advent of the festival of Shavuot, we have attained a higher level, one that is earmarked by our offering a new gift offering,” מנחה חדשה, (Numbers 28,26). The reason the Torah calls it בשבועותיכם, “on your weeks,” is that this offering reflects our own spiritual progress achieved during the weeks of counting. Seeing that this is so, we are bidden to offer this to Hashem, Who will accept it in this spirit.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy