Under the Sun - Parshat Emor

14 Iyar, 5783

May 5, 2023

Parshat Emor

I am not a math person. Therefore, for me, this time of year is quite challenging. My brain is filled with numbers. I am counting the number of perakim in Sefer Devarim that I have left to teach my middle school students. My students are counting down until the last day of school (well, maybe I am too…) . I am also counting up each day of Sefirah towards Shavuot. There are a lot of numbers to keep track of!

The mitzvah of Sefirat HaOmer is explained in this week’s parsha:

וּסְפַרְתֶּ֤ם לָכֶם֙ מִמׇּחֳרַ֣ת הַשַּׁבָּ֔ת מִיּוֹם֙ הֲבִ֣יאֲכֶ֔ם אֶת־עֹ֖מֶר הַתְּנוּפָ֑ה שֶׁ֥בַע שַׁבָּת֖וֹת תְּמִימֹ֥ת תִּהְיֶֽינָה׃

And from the day on which you bring the sheaf of elevation offering—the day after the Sabbath—you shall count off seven weeks. They must be complete.

עַ֣ד מִֽמׇּחֳרַ֤ת הַשַּׁבָּת֙ הַשְּׁבִיעִ֔ת תִּסְפְּר֖וּ חֲמִשִּׁ֣ים י֑וֹם וְהִקְרַבְתֶּ֛ם מִנְחָ֥ה חֲדָשָׁ֖ה לַיהֹוָֽה׃

You must count until the day after the seventh week—fifty days; then you shall bring an offering of new grain to יהוה. (Vayikra 23 15-16)

There are many halachic discussions as to how this mitzvah is fulfilled. Do we have to say the bracha with a minyan, do we have to count each day out loud, what time of day do we count, what if we forget a day, etc.

There is also much philosophical conversation about why we count upwards towards Shavuot as opposed to counting down. After all, does it not show more excitement to count down towards a specific date that we are eagerly anticipating than to count up towards it?

Rav Soloveitchik offers a beautiful explanation for why we count the Omer upwards and not downwards. He quotes the Ran who explains that we are not counting the days with regard to the Korban HaOmer since we no longer have the Beit Hamikdash. Rather, we are counting the Omer today to reenact the counting of the days from after we left Mitzrayim until we received the Torah.

Upcoming Events:

May 7 - Sunday Morning Tefillah in the Kohelet Yeshiva Beit Midrash at 9:00 AM

May 9 - Lag Ba'Omer

May 11 - Last Day of Classes for HS Seniors

May 15-16 - HS Junior Trip

May 17 - Kohelet Yeshiva Annual Gala

May 18 - HS Night of Learning Program

May 19 - Yom Yerushalayim

May 21 - K/1 Chagigat Chumash

May 23 - HS Kohelet Cafe

May 25 - Erev Shavuot, Early Dismissal (Grades 6-12: 1:20 PM Dismissal; Grades K-5: 1:30 PM Dismissal)

May 26-27 - Shavuot

May 29 - Memorial Day, No School

May 30 - June 1 - HS Senior Trip

June 4: Celebrate Israel Parade

See what else is coming up at Kohelet Yeshiva here.

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Rav Soloveitchik suggests that Hashem did not tell the Jews when they left Mitzrayim the precise date upon which they would receive the Torah, just as Hashem did not tell Avraham his destination when Hashem commanded him to move to Israel. Similarly, as we learned in class just last week, Hashem does not reveal the place where the Beit Hamikdash will be built in Sefer Devarim. (One of my students asked why the text keeps using the phrase המקום אשר יבחר ה לשכן שמו שם to refer to Yerushalayim and never mentions the actual name or location of the place.) We also do not know the time when Hashem will send the Mashiach, but we wait patiently with great faith for his arrival. According to the Rav’s suggestion, the Jews had to count upwards to Matan Torah because they did not know exactly when they would receive the Torah. They just began counting in anticipation of that special day that they knew was on the horizon.

Unlike school, which we know will end on June 15th and therefore we can begin to mark off the passing of each day as that day gets closer, we reenact our ancestors’ “count-up” towards Matan Torah, not knowing when it will come. Each day we experience an element of uncertainty, relying on our faith, of how much closer we are getting to our goal. This is a lesson to us that we are not in control. An integral part of our religious experience is knowing when we don’t know something, accepting that, and knowing how to proceed. Do we stop, give up, and walk away, or do we commit ourselves to move forward one day at a time while we rely on our belief that one day we will get there to the date and place of Hashem’s choosing?

Shabbat Shalom,

Mrs. Amy Stein

Kohelet Yeshiva 23rd Annual Gala

Kohelet Yeshiva's 23rd Annual Gala is less than 2 weeks away!

Please join us as we celebrate our school and pay tribute to our well-deserved honorees. Your attendance and support will enable us to continue providing high-quality education and valuable opportunities for our next generation of B'nai and B'not Torah.

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Coming Up:

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News from Kohelet Yeshiva

Mazal tov to Mrs. Diane Weintraub, our KYHS Science Department Chair and STEM Coordinator, who received the Citadel Heart of Learning Award this week! Mrs. Weintraub won the award after being nominated by several of her former students in recognition of her unique sense of dedication both inside and outside of the classroom. The award, which spotlights teachers across the Greater Philadelphia area who go above and beyond to foster connections with students and ensure the desire to learn is never compromised, was presented to Mrs. Weintraub by a representative of the Citadel Credit Union at a special schoolwide ceremony that was attended by her family and one of her former students.

Our 8th and 9th graders traveled to the Capitol in Harrisburg to advocate for several critical issues, including support for the EITC (Educational Improvement Tax Credit) program, safe schools, and STEM. Thank you to Teach PA and its Executive Director Arielle Frankston-Morris for organizing this important mission to Harrisburg and bringing hundreds of Jewish day school students together for such an important cause!

KYMS students Tiferet and Yair participated in Chidon HaTanach where they did extra learning on their own time to broaden their knowledge of Tanach. They were tested on sections of Shemot, Melachim Bet, Yonah, and Esther and qualified to attend the national Chidon HaTanach finals in New York. We are so proud of their hard work and commitment to their Torah learning!

As we mark Teacher Appreciation Week, thank you to our amazing, incredible, wonderful, talented, and dedicated KYLS and KYMS teachers for everything they do for their students and our school every single day!

In honor of Teacher Appreciation Week our amazing KYHS teachers were given succulents and owls and had a good time stopping by a special potting station and creating new friends/mascots for their classrooms. Thanks to our incredible KYHS teachers for everything they do for their students and our school every single day!

Updates from the Kohelet Beit Midrash

Parnas HaYom

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