5783/2023
This week’s first Parashah, BeHar, is named after the location
in which it was given-- Har Sinai. The Midrash (BeMidbar
Rabbah 13:3) explains that Har Sinai was the smallest of all the
mountains in the desert. The mountain was unappealing, and it
lacked flowers and natural beauty. Yet HaKadosh Baruch Hu
chose Har Sinai as the place to give the Torah over of all the
other mountains. Why did Hashem choose Har Sinai, of all
places? The Midrash answers that Har Sinai displayed the trait
of humility, in ‘saying’ to G-d that it was lowly.
Benny Friedman explains that true humility needs a backbone.
One who is humble is also strong, disciplined, determined and
accomplished. Yet, what makes a person humble is their
acknowledgement of Hashem’s existence and all that Hashem
has granted them. True humility is what made Moshe so great.
Many people have accomplished wonders equal to those
performed by Moshe: Yehoshua also split the sea, Shaul
HaMelech defeated also Amalek, and even Pharaoh's sorcerers
were able to turn water to blood. What placed Moshe upon an
unparalleled level was his exceptional humility. Moshe
humbled himself to such an extreme level purely out of his fear
of Hashem. This quality is the reason we refer to Moshe as
“Moshe Rabbeinu”— he is not just our teacher, but also our role
model. Each and every Jew should strive to achieve the level of
humility that Moshe Rabbeinu reached, because only through
humility can one achieve ultimate greatness.
The Rambam explains in Hilchot Dei’ot (2:4) that humility is
one of the few character traits for which one must not find the
‘golden mean’, but rather practice it in the ultimate extreme.
Interestingly, the Rambam lists anger as a trait to be avoided in
the extreme; anger was character trait that led to Moshe
Rabbeinu’s fatal mistake at Mei Merivah, and his punishment.
In this way, we can learn from both Moshe’s successes and
failures.
The Midrash further explains that when Bnei Yisrael received
the Torah, Har Sinai became a lustrous mountain, full of natural
beauty and transcendent. Har Sinai— just like Moshe—
transformed from a “humble” mountain into a monumental
landmark.
This is essentially what the Omer is all about. Sefirat Ha’Omer
is a serious time where we take a step back and reflect on our
flaws. Moshe Rabbeinu was prohibited from entering Eretz
Yisrael because he let his anger get the better of him. It was
neither a foreign nation nor another Jew that led to Moshe’s
punishment; it was himself. So too, it has been the Jewish
people’s own flaws that have led to the destruction of the Beit
HaMikdash and to its continued state of distress. It was Sinat
Chinam and other character flaws that corrupted the humility
of the Jewish people, leading to the Galut. During the Omer we
refrain from certain pleasures in order to prepare for the
acceptance of the Torah. In doing so, we humble ourselves just
like Har Sinai, and prevent our bad character traits from
overcoming us, so that we can rededicate ourselves to the
Torah on Shavuot.
For this reason, we also have a tradition to learn Pirkei Avot
during Sefirah. Rav Ovadiah MiBartenura explains the first
words of Pirkei Avot (1:1), “Moshe Kibel Torah Mi’Sinai”,
“Moshe accepted the Torah from Sinai,” as a statement that
Jewish morals were not invented by later generations; the
ethical teachings and maxims in Pirkei Avot were passed down
from Moshe Rabbeinu himself. This teaches us that one of the
fundamental aspects of Judaism, mandated by Hashem, is to
achieve the ideal personality.
It is even more fitting that Parashat Bechukotai begins with “Im
BeChukotai Teilechu, V’Et Mitzvotai Tishmoru, Ve’Asitem Otam”,
“If you walk in my laws, and keep my commandments, and
perform them.” The seemingly redundant phrasing of the Pasuk
teaches us that we are not only commanded to perform the Mitzvot, but must also “walk” in their path and “guard” them.
One must truly live in the ways of the Torah, and always watch
themselves so as not to slip up. One must maintain the ultimate
level of humility to truly achieve the words “Teilechu” and
“Tishmoru.”
If we achieve this goal, not only will Hashem give us rain in its
proper time and fruit-bearing trees, but Hashem will also grant
us the third and final Beit HaMikdash, may it come speedily in
our days.