Lag Ba'Omer Hint from "Gal-Eid"
R' Pinchos Lipschutz:
We are approaching what is commonly viewed as the mid-point of the Sefirah period, Lag Ba’omer, a day whose meaning is layered with mystical secrets. The Arizal says that Lag Ba’omer is a manifestation of the posuk in Bereishis(31) wherein Lovon said to Yaakov Avinu, “Eid hagal hazeh - This ‘gal’ is witness” to the accord fashioned between us. The Arizal says that the plague that was killing talmidim of Rabi Akiva during Sefirahceased because Lag Ba’omer is a realization of the pile that separated Lovon and Yaakov.
At first look, it appears that the inference is that the words “Lag” and “gal” are formed from the same Hebrew letters, gimmel and lamid, and it is merely a clever play on the word. However, upon deeper examination, there is a hidden secret in the words of the Arizal as there are in all his teachings.
The Medrash Tanchumah at the end of Parshas Vayeitzei says that the “gal” referred to is also the “kir” that prevented Bilam’s donkey from approaching the Bnei Yisroel in a bid to curse them on behalf of Balak, the king of Moav. The “gal” that separated Yaakov and Lovon would also create the division between the Jewish people and the depraved nations who sought their destruction.
It is interesting that meforshim use various approaches to connect the 24,000 talmidim of Rabi Akiva who perished and the 24,000 people who died after they sinned with the daughters of Moav when Bilam wasn’t able to curse the Jewish people.
Apparently, there is more to the “gal” than meets the eye.
Rav Fish, in his latest for this week (in the first section - the Geula part will BE"H BL"N be translated in a later post) quotes both the Kedushat Levi and the Arizal, who make this connection.
Then, he finds that the second-to-last letters of the verse show this too:
וַיִּקְרָא-לוֹ לָבָן, יְגַר שָׂהֲדוּתָא; וְיַעֲקֹב, קָרָא לוֹ גַּלְעֵד. וַיֹּאמֶר לָבָן, הַגַּל הַזֶּה עֵד בֵּינִי וּבֵינְךָ הַיּוֹם; עַל-כֵּן קָרָא-שְׁמוֹ, גַּלְעֵד
spelling out ל"ג בעמר.
posted by yaak @ 4/29/2015 11:26:00 AM
3 comments
3 Comments:
I thought that yesterday, the 25th day of the Omer, was the midway point. Lag B'Omer is 2/3rds of the way to Sinai, not 1/2 of the way. America, Beit Lavan, serves G-d to make money. So their leaders (Free-Masons and others) only rise spiritually to the 33rd level of purity and no further since Prosperity is the Goal, not the means to an end which should be to serve G-d lishma. The nations of the world saw that Mon first fell for Klal Yisrael on the 31st day of the Omer (a Motzei Shabbat in the year of Yetziat Mitzraim), and that we had a chazakah on the Mon on Lag B'Omer. From this they darshaned that in order to have a chazakah on Mon(ey) from G-d, they only need to serve him until the 33rd level of purity. In this way we learn that the Edom/Aram alliance can be defeated on that very day of Lag B'Omer.
But we, Klal Yisrael, can only defeat this Edom/Aram alliance if we ourselves are serving HaShem lishma, striving to rise to the 49th level of purity. Next week Medinat Yisrael has a deadline on Lag b'Omer to form the 34th Govt. of the State of Israel. Most likely we too will want to choose the prosperity of Olam HaZeh over serving G-d lishma. But there is a chance, a small one, that a Govt will be formed which the rest of the world will hate because it resists the pull to prosperity in Olam HaZeh in order to choose an altruistic motive of doing the right thing lishma. Hint: It does not involve forming a National Unity Govt with the Erev Rav Left which is drawn to the ways of its Edomite masters. Pray that we resist that temptation.
Also "gal Einai veabitah nifleot mitoratekha"
Until Lag Baomer we have to ameliorate our practice of the mitzvoth to become a better kli, ustensile to receive the ikar: pnimiut haTorah.
And from Lag Baomer until Shavuot we are more able to receive the Torah ' s secrets, which are the essential, the goal of this practical hard preparation.
May Hashem soon reveal to us Mashiah ben David together with all the Torah's secrets. All are here, we need the eyes to see it; and except the hard working of these days we have no alternatives how to get it.
Itzhak
Yerushalaim
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