Shabbat Chol Hamoed PesachVolume 29No. 29

1

In memory of Yehuda ben Yaakov HaCohen

"When you shall enter the Land that I give you and you reap its harvest, you shall bring an Omerfrom your first harvest, to the Kohen. He shall wave the Omer before God to gain favour for you"(Vayikra 23:10-11).

15 April 2017 19 Nisan 5777

Shabbat ends London 8.47pmJerusalem 7.46pm

Sidrah Summary: Pesach Chol Hamoed

United Synagogue Daf HashavuaProduced by US Living & Learning together with the Rabbinical Council of the United SynagogueEditor: Rabbi Chaim Gross Editor-in-Chief: Rabbi Baruch Davis Editorial Team: Ilana Epstein, Michael Laitner, Sharon RadleyAvailable also via email US website www.theus.org.uk ©United SynagogueTo sponsor Daf Hashavua please contact Loraine Young on 020 8343 5653, or lyoung@theus.org.ukIf you have any comments or questions regarding Daf Hashavua please email rabbigross@theus.org.uk

1st Aliya (Kohen) – Shemot 33:12-16After the grave sin of the Golden Calf, God hadinitially threatened to wipe out the nation. He thenrelented, allowing them to survive, but without Hisdirect supervision. Rather, an angel would guidethem. Unprepared to accept God’s response,Moshe appeals to God to directly ‘accompany’the nation and requests that Israel retain a specialstatus, distinct from other nations. God agrees toboth requests (Rashi).

2nd Aliya (Levi) – 33:17-19Sensing a moment of Divine favour, Moshe asksGod to show him a vision of His Divine majesty.God responds that no mortal can see a ‘full view’,but He will show Moshe as much as possible.

3rd Aliya (Shlishi) – 3:20-23Moshe is told that he will experience thisrevelation situated in a hollowed-out rock onMount Sinai. He would be shown only a vision of‘God’s back’ (so to speak) but not ‘His front’. TheTalmudic Sages explain that Moshe would seeGod enwrapped in a tallit like a chazan, wearingtefillin on His head.

4th Aliya (Revi’i) – 34:1-3God instructs Moshe to carve a new set ofTablets, containing the same words as the firstset, which Moshe had broken on his way downfrom Mount Sinai.

5th Aliya (Chamishi) – 34:4-10 Moshe ascends Mount Sinai with the newTablets, as commanded. God now appears to Moshe, as requested and teaches him the 13 Attributes of Mercy. Moshe appeals to God to endow Israel with His full guidance andprotection.

6th Aliya (Shishi) – 34:11-17God declares to Moshe that he is making acovenant with the people. After entering the Landof Israel, they must neither follow the idolatrousways of the Cana’anite nations, nor intermarrywith them.

Question: what are the names of the different

Cana’anite nations? Answer on bottom of page 6.

7th Aliya (Shevi’i) – 34:18-26The mitzvah of coming to the Temple with anoffering for the three festivals (Pesach, Shavuotand Succot) is restated, as well as the mitzvah toredeem a first-born male child (Pidyon Ha’ Ben)and not to mix meat and milk together.

Point to Consider: what is the link between

the mitzvot listed in this aliyah and the story

beforehand?

MaftirMaftir is read from a second Sefer Torah, from thesection of parashat Pinchas detailing the extraofferings brought during Pesach.

HaftarahThe prophet Yechezkel (Ezekiel) relates seeinglifeless bones in a valley. God instructs him toprophesy ‘to the bones’. Matching bones comeclose to each other, eventually re-forming into thebodies that they once constituted. Yechezkel thenblows ‘life’ into them. God tells him that this eventsymbolises Israel’s future revival.

2

Looking Back at the Seder: A Congregation with No Numberby Rabbi Elchonon Feldman, Bushey and District United Synagogue

In many homes, managingto remain awake andengaged until the end of thePesach Seder, which weenjoyed just a few days ago, may have been quitean accomplishment. In myhome growing up, this was

not such a challenge, as the highlight of theSeder was always the conclusion. It was more ofa finale than an ending. As the leader of theSeder would finish off the last lines, all thosepresent would joyfully sing the last stanzas of the Hagadah together and then dance together in celebration of another beautiful Pesachexperience. Perhaps due to my affinity to theconcluding parts of the Seder, I paid particularattention to the very last section of the Seder,which begins ‘chasal siddur Pesach’.

This final paragraph is both a declaration and aprayer: “The order of the Pesach Seder is nowcompleted in accordance with its laws, with allits ordinances and statutes. Just as we wereworthy to conduct this Seder, so too may we merit to perform the Seder in the future. Pure One, who dwells up high, raise up thecongregation that is without number. Soon,lead the offshoots of that which you haveplanted, redeemed, to Zion, with rejoicing”.

When beseeching the Almighty to help us returnthe following year, ideally in Jerusalem, toconduct another Seder, we referred to ourselvesas “the congregation that is without number”. Ofall the positive attributes to mention, it isspecifically our characteristic as a people with nofixed number that we emphasised. Why?

There is an established halacha to avoid directlycounting Jews. One source for this law is fromthe book of Hoshea: “And the number of thepeople of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea,which cannot be measured nor counted” (2:1).

Perhaps the deeper message is that to be apeople without number means that we areunquantifiable in our togetherness. When we areunited and connected as a family, as a people,our value is beyond our naturally perceivedquantity; we become a congregation that iswithout number. Our aspiration as families,communities and as a nation is that the whole isgreater than the sum of our parts. We aretherefore enjoined not to place a number on ourpotential, as part of the aspiration to be limitlessin our unity.

Nothing embodies this more than the end of theSeder. We stated how we have all just completedthe Seder not just in a private location, withfamily or friends, but also across the world as anation. At that moment in time, we establishedourselves as a congregation, a group. But notjust any congregation, we are a ‘congregationthat is without number’, together with one heartand one soul, united in our devotion to God andto each other. In the merit of that unity anddedication, we asked God that He should lead usout of exile, and into the Land of Israel with, Godwilling, a fully rebuilt Jerusalem.

3In memory of David Yochanan ben Moshe

Shir Hashirim: Peering Through the Latticesby Rebbetzen Rina Shindler, Richmond United Synagogue

On Shabbat Chol Hamoedwe read Shir Hashirim, theSong of Songs. Among themany allegorical images,there is one which I findstands out vividly, as if inHigh Definition; perhaps ittouches something deep

inside. In Chapter 2 (verse 9) we read: “Behold,He stands behind our wall, looking through thewindows, peering through the lattices”. Rashi (d.1105) connects this to the verse in Shemot (3:7),during the Israelites’ slavery, which states: “Godsaid: I have indeed seen the affliction of mypeople that is in Egypt and I have heard itsoutcry”.

The power of poetry and song lies in the ability ofthe author to use both aesthetic and rhythmicqualities of language to convey thoughts andideas, in order to evoke feelings beyond theostensible meaning of the words. The author ofShir Hashirim, King Shlomo (Solomon), gives anemotional intensity to his expression of ideas andfeelings, which captures our imagination.

The imagery used here is one of a loved onestanding, hidden from view, watching and waitingfor his beloved to reach out to him. He is keepingclose watch over her, yet she is unaware of thecare and concern which he has for her. Rashi iscomparing this to the Jewish People in Egypt,who could not fathom the love which God hadfor them. They could not yet understand theyearning He had for a closeness to them.

He stands there patiently, watching His lovedone, unobserved by her, yet aching for themoment when she will turn and cry out to Him tolook after her. This is what the verse in Shemot(ibid.) means when it says “I have … seen”. Godis always there, watching over unseen, yearningmerely to be perceived and for His role to be

recognised. It is our voices, lifted up to Him,which activates His power to help us. That is thecontinuation of the verse: “… and I have heardits outcry …”

The Ramchal (Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto d. 1746) writes that throughout the year, each ofour festivals hints to unique spiritual energieswhich are manifest at those particular times.During Pesach, there is a special theme of“peering through the lattices”. In other words, we are granted the special opportunity to dosome ‘God spotting’ in our lives. To look and seeHim even where He is hidden, to turn to Him and ask Him to see and hear that we need‘redemption’, be it from a character flaw, adifficult situation, or a daunting challenge that we may be facing.

May we merit to feel His watchful gaze on us atall times, and may He respond positively to ourprecious words of prayer and petition.

4In memory of Mordechai Avraham ben Nechemia

Minstrel playing before King Solomon.Illumination for the opening verse of

Song of Songs, the Rothschild Mahzor.Florence, Italy, 1492.

Counting the Omer – How’s your Load?by Rabbi Mendel Lew, Senior Rabbi Stanmore & Canons Park United Synagogue

In 2016, the FA cup final was played, as usual, atWembley Stadium. A well-known personality wasselected to sing the nationalanthem before the game.The drums rolled and thetrumpets blasted. It was time

to sing. The soloist, however, remind silent. She seemed to be waiting for something. It onlydawned on her midway through the anthem thatshe had missed her cue. With all the distractionsand excitement of this grand occasion, perhapsshe could be forgiven for being out of sync.

On the second night of Pesach, we begincounting the Omer. We recite the blessing on theOmer, and the count is under way. At the momentof the first counting, it is our hope that we willfulfill this positive commandment every eveningfor the subsequent 48 nights, with the countculminating on the eve of Shavuot. For themomentum to last, however, one needs to be insync – to start at the right time and keep focused.Not just on the count, but also on what itrepresents.

The counting of the Omer recalls a journey fromEgyptian servitude to the Sinai covenant.Freedom is intoxicating, refreshing andenergising, but it has to have a purpose. Thepurpose of the Exodus was the giving of theTorah, which established a covenant with God.

Every evening as we count, we move further andfurther away from a mistaken definition offreedom and move a step closer to God’sdefinition, a freedom that makes specificdemands of us. How we embrace thisopportunity to become partners with the Divinewill determine our success, as the following storyillustrates:

A man was walking with a heavy sack slung overhis shoulder. The weather was hot and humid. He

was struggling. An intrigued passerby asked himwhat he was carrying which was causing suchmisery. The man replied that the sack containedrocks and stones.

To his annoyance, the passerby then asked himif he would like more stones added to the load.He reacted angrily to this ridiculous suggestion.

Imagine the same man walking along, in identicaluncomfortable conditions. But this time, inresponse to the question about the contents ofthe sack, he replied that he was carryingdiamonds, rubies and other precious stones.When asked if he would like to have more added,he replied with an emphatic “yes”!

The contrasting reaction of the man in the twostories is obvious. Although in both cases theman was carrying a substantial load on a verywarm day, the contents of the sack defined hismood. Carrying rocks takes real effort, drainsenergy and destroys the spirit. A grand fortune,on the other hand, feels like much lighter.

As the Omer progresses, it is tempting toconsider the destination - Sinai and our covenantwith God through adherence to Torah andmitzvoth - as a serious weight or load. Is itburdensome like rocks, or treasured likediamonds? Counting makes us pause andreflect, to appreciate how much our relationshipwith the Divine is truly the best gift of all. Let’sstrive not to miss our cue and to remain in syncthroughout.

5In memory of Yisrael Shmuel ben Yirmaya Yehoshuah

6In memory of Miryam Frumit ben Shimon

Mount Zion: A Modern Context for Psalm 48by Ruth Corman, Author of Unexpected Israel: Stories You Never Read in the Media

This has been reproduced

with the kind permission of

the author Ruth Corman and

Koren Publishers, Jerusalem

It is December 1947. Two young soldiers standlooking out of the window

towards Mount Zion in the Old City of Jerusalemfrom their outpost in St John’s Eye Hospital. Theyare waiting for dusk to fall. The place they occupyis the operations room for the newly designedcable car called Avshalom’s Way, which it ishoped will help their besieged compatriotsstranded in the Old City only 200 metres awayacross a deep valley.

The Jews living there were under attack by theforces of the Jordanian Arab Legion under itsBritish Commander Glubb Pasha, who hadsuperior weaponry and strength of numberscompared to the ill armed and tiny group of Jewsbattling for survival. Conditions were appallingand they had resorted to eating mallow leaves toobtain basic vitamins. Nothing could get throughto them, neither food, nor medical aid orequipment.

This new cable car was their only hope. To call it such was something of a misnomer, it wasmore like a metal coffin – a simple oblong boxthat could carry a maximum load of 250kg. The ‘lift’ had been loaded with essential suppliesand weapons and it was just a question ofwaiting for dark to fall so that it could be sentover to Mount Zion.

It could only operate at night. During the day it was lowered to the ground and hidden inundergrowth so that it could not be seen by the Jordanian forces. The lift was operated bytwo soldiers. They grasped the handles thatworked the machine and began to winch itacross the valley.

Slowly it creaked into action and unseen by theirenemies made its way across to the other

side, the journey taking two minutes. On arrival it was emptied and reloaded, this time with aninjured soldier who was carefully lowered onto a stretcher and placed in the box. Medicalpersonnel and transport were waiting on theother side to rush him to hospital.

It is easy to imagine the tension, particularlywhen they were transferring the sick and injuredand the relief when their precious cargo reachedrelative safety. How many times it crossed thevalley each night is not recorded, but it operatedregularly for six months until the Armistice in July 1948. The cable car was then hidden, butmaintained should it ever be needed again. Itonly became public knowledge in 1973 when itsinventor Uriel Hefez was awarded the IsraelSecurity Prize. He was an outstanding andcourageous soldier who rescued wounded whilstunder fire. He was also involved in the efforts tosave schoolchildren from a terrorist attack on aschool bus in Ma’alot in 1974, during whichaction he was seriously wounded.

A small museum devoted to the cable car islocated in the Mount Zion Hotel in Jerusalem. I visit this place often.

To read more of this

article, as well as

many more moving

essays and stories

about Yom Hashoah,

Yom Hazikaron, Yom

Haatzmaut and Yom

Yerushalayim, please

look out for the new

Weinstein Family

Edition ‘From Exile

Towards Redemption’

Machzor, produced

by the US and Koren Publishers, Jerusalem. It

is available from the US website, at selected

communal events and in Jewish bookshops.

Answer: Emori, Cana’ani, Hitti,Perizi, Hivvi, Yebusi

OOT

oduoduoo

FROMIntr

ARDS ROW

Intr

M EXILEucing the

REDEMPTIO

ucing the

ONOO

Y

T

UTTZMATOMOY HAAAH -AOYOM HASHO

MACARDS RAOW

YYOM YER- Y USHALAONOM HAZIKARO- Y

CHZORREDEMPTIO

YIM

ON

e of ItatSn deromitnnht e UeitsneieW

m Exorr‘F

l.earssIe ho th ttoe btaleh richs wydaroemmmt coteuggnyet d S ago . I

hzcaen Mrn Koioitdy eimaain F leh’ is tniotpeds Rrawooix le T dem

e ho td tnh aaoShe uqinse uohs tetarhitd wceudo, pr,zorg nkiaebrd-nuore g

bookshops andailabvAlso a

ukgortheuswwvia wwish al Jeom all locble fr

bookshops and .ukg.or.theusww via w