What Is the Common Denominator Between Parshat Naso, Psalm 119, and Tractate Baba Batra?

Question of the Week #12: 

This week we read Parshat Naso - the longest parsha in the Torah. There is something in common between this parsha, Chapter 119 in the Book of Psalms and the Babylonian Talmud tractate called Baba Batra - what is it? 

Answer: 176. 

Parshat Naso - the longest parsha in the Torah - has 176 verses. 

Psalm 119 - the longest chapter in the Bible (which is famous because many have the custom to read verses from this Psalm at the grave site of a loved one) - has 176 verses. 

Baba Batra - the longest tractate in the Talmud - has 176 pages. 

A teacher in grade school taught us about this common denominator, and because it's an amazing coincidence - it's easy to remember and share with others! 

What is another easy-to-remember coincidence that sticks in your mind? Leave your comment below . . . 

Which Biblical Verse Appears In An Iconic Landmark of American History?

Question of the Week #11: 

The Torah reading for this week is a double-header: Behar and Bechukotai, the last two sidras of the Book of Leviticus. 

In Parshat Behar, we find a verse that appears in an iconic landmark of American history, and if you're older than 25 I would bet that you've been there.  

What is the verse and where does it appear? 

Answer

When William Penn created Pennsylvania’s government, he allowed citizens to take part in making laws and he gave them the right to choose the religion they wanted. The colonists were proud of these freedoms. It was a novel and groundbreaking idea. 

In 1751, the Speaker of the Pennsylvania Assembly ordered a new bell for the State House to celebrate the 50-year anniversary of William Penn's 1701 Charter of Privileges. He asked that a Bible verse be inscribed on the bell, and the verse that was chosen is from this week’s parsha:

Proclaim Liberty throughout all the Land Unto all the inhabitants thereof – Leviticus 25:10

which is a translation of:

וּקְרָאתֶם דְּרוֹר בָּאָרֶץ לְכָל יֹשְׁבֶיהָ

This proclamation of liberty relates to the laws of the Jubilee, the  50th year when all slaves are freed, and families return to their land if they were evicted due to inability to pay their loans. Once they enter the Land of Israel, the Israelites are commanded to count the years in 7-year cycles: Every seventh year, called shmita, has special laws relating to the farmers, and after 49 years, they are to hallow the fiftieth year, the Jubilee, by "proclaiming Liberty."  

The early colonists saw in this verse a larger message. While most were devout Christians (who knew their Bible), they found in it a calling for religious liberty. Since the bell was created for the "Jubilee" anniversary of Penn's Charter of Privileges, it was a particularly appropriate message because his Charter spoke of the rights and freedoms valued by the people the world over.   

A Short History of the Bell

A bell for the Pennsylvania State House was cast in London, England, however it cracked soon after it arrived in Philadelphia. Local craftsmen cast a new bell in 1753 using metal from the English bell. By 1846, a thin crack began to affect the sound of the bell. The bell was repaired in 1846 and rang for a George Washington birthday celebration but the bell cracked again and has not been rung since. 

Who Called It "Liberty Bell"? 

The Liberty Bell gained iconic importance when abolitionists - in their efforts to put an end to slavery - adopted it as a symbol of their cause. Previously, the bell was called simply the State House Bell, but after the abolitionists used it to promote their cause, they gave it the name "Liberty Bell"  in reference to the verse inscribed on the bell and the message of freedom and liberty to every human being. 

In the late 1800s, the Liberty Bell traveled around the country to expositions and fairs in an attempt to heal the divisions of the Civil War. It reminded Americans of their earlier days when they fought and worked together for their independence.

In 1915, the bell made its last trip and came home to Philadelphia where it now silently reminds us of the power of liberty. It cannot be rung anymore due to the famous crack - as you see here in the picture with my kids - but it continues to stand as a symbol for freedom as a universal idea. 

Freedom to the Oppressor Too

The Pnei Yehoshua, an early 17th-century commentary, has a profound insight on this verse. He points out that liberty is proclaimed "unto all the inhabitants" of the land because the jubilee year brings freedom not only to the slaves but also to the slave owners, freeing them from the dehumanizing situation of having such power over other human beings. 

If you haven’t been been there, take a trip to Liberty Bell Center at the Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia. Standing next to the bell and seeing this age-old Biblical verse inscribed on the bell is inspiring, showing how relevant these verses remain in our lives. 

Why Do We Count the Omer?

Question of the Week #10:

As we celebrate the minor-but-quite-enjoyable holiday of Lag Ba'Omer - the 33rd day of the Omer - you may wonder: Why do we still count the Omer?

The origin for counting of the Omer is in this week's parsha, Emor (interestingly, Emor and Omer are anagrams!): 

And you shall count for yourselves from the day after that Sabbath, from the day of your bringing the wave offering of the omer; it shall be seven complete Sabbaths. Until the day after the seventh Sabbath-week, the fiftieth day, you shall count. . . (Leviticus 23:15-16) 

As I explained in this blogpost, we began counting the Omer on the second night of Passover and will continue to perform this mitzvah until the night before Shavuot (and I showed a magic formula for figuring out the count for every night). 

But this mitzvah is inherently connected to the Temple sacrifices. In the time of the Temple, the Omer was a seasonal offering of barley brought on the second day of Passover and would permit the consumption of recently-harvested grains. When you look at the verses, it is clear the mitzvah of counting the Omer is related to two special agricultural-related offerings: The counting begins on the day that the Omer offering of the first crop of barley was brought and it ends on the 50th day with another special offering, called Korban Shtei HaLechem - an offering of two loaves of bread made from the new crop of wheat, and brought together with one bull, two rams and seven lambs. 

Question

The sacrifices and offerings ceased (thank God) after the destruction of the Temple, so why does the mitzvah of the Omer continue? What is so important about this mitzvah that long after the termination of the sacrifices we nevertheless continue this mitzvah, and every night - between Pesach and Shavuot - we recite a blessing and say “Today is one day to the Omer”, “Today is two days to the Omer” etc.? 

Answer

The counting of the Omer is based on the fundamental idea of a Jewish calendar. This reminds us that the very first mitzvah given to the Jews when liberated as a nation from slavery was the Hebrew calendar, in the form of sanctifying the beginning of each Hebrew month. Why? 

Rabbi Joseph D. Soloveitchik, whose 20^th yahrtzeit was celebrated this month with many conferences, explains the reason this was the very first  commandment when leaving Egypt. Slaves do not have control over their time but are vulnerable to outside forces. Upon emerging from slavery, the Jewish people were now endowed with the ability to control their own existence, and most dramatically, time was now their own. Thus, the first command they received was to impact the world around them, and this was achieved primarily by bringing time under their control. As free people, the Israelites were then able to make their own calendar and shape their own time. 

The countdown (or rather count up) from Passover to Shavuot is a reminder that we should strive to make the world a place where all people - regardless of race, ethnicity, religion  or gender - are free and able to control their own time. Thus, the Omer counting reminds us every night there are still people in this world who don't have control over their time, and we should use our energy and resources to correct this injustice.  


For an in-depth analysis of the counting of the Omer, I highly recommend Chief Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sack's article on this subject: What Counts? A Study of the Counting of the Omer.  

What is your favorite reason for counting the Omer? Add your comment below. 

What Is the Most Frequently-Mentioned Mitzvah in the Torah?

Question of the Week #9:

This week we read a double portion - Acharei-Mot and Kedoshim - which makes for a long Torah reading. The second portion of this double-header, Kedoshim, is replete with significant mitzvot that regulate behavior between people: Don't lie, don't take revenge, love your neighbor as yourself, and many others. 

It also contains the most frequently-mentioned mitzvah in the Torah -- what is it? 

Answer: 

In our parsha it is written:

And if a stranger resides with you in your land, you shall not wrong him. The stranger who resides with you shall be unto you as one of your citizens, and you shall love him as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God. 
(Leviticus 19:33)

The prohibition of discriminating against the stranger who lives among us is cited no less than 36 times in the Torah, and according to some opinions, 46 times! (see Talmud, Baba Metzia 59b). This emphasizes the importance the Torah attaches to treating every person equally, since all were created in the image of God.

As Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch wrote in his commentary to Exodus 22:20: 

The dignity and human rights of any person are not dependent on their origin, nationality or possessions, and not related to any outside factor… and the special reason given in the Torah – “for you were strangers in the Land of Egypt” – comes to reinforce this rule and prevent any transgressions of this principle . . . your suffering in Egypt was based on being “strangers” there, and as such, you were not entitled, according to the prevailing mentality, to become a nation, to have a homeland, or even to exist, and they believed that  they had a right to treat you according to their caprice. As strangers, you were denied rights in Egypt, and this was the whole basis for the slavery and suffering that the Egyptians imposed on you.

It is fascinating to see how these Jewish sources were quoted in Israeli judicial decisions. In an Israeli Supreme Court decision from 1972, Justice Zvi Berenson quoted this Halakhic concept when he invalidated a decision by state authorities to prevent a German Christian lady from buying real estate in Zichron Yaakov:

From its earliest days, when it was residing in their land, the Jewish people knew the feelings of the stranger, and treated the stranger with justice and honesty . . . In several places the Torah warns us not to do wrong to the strangers, not to pressure them, not to deceive them, and not to do an injustice toward them . . . As we won back our independence in the State of Israel, we must be very careful not to discriminate in any way toward any law-abiding non-Jewish person who resides with us, and wants to live in their way, according to their religion and beliefs.

(Bagatz 392/72 Emma Berger vs. District Planning Committee, PD 27(2) 771).