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CURRENT TALMUD PASSAGE
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Posted January 26, 2012, by Rabbi Judy Abrams. Please refer
to Maqom's home page for information about previous passages.
BH
THINKING AHEAD OF THE CURVE: PLANNING
NOW FOR COUNTING THE OMER AND CELBRATING SHAVUOT
© Judith Z. Abrams
I know that we haven't even hit Purim yet and that Shavuot
isn't until May 26. But we'll start counting the Omer on April
7 and I have some ideas for making the counting more meaningful.
Let's look at this from a strategic planning point of view.
We usually study Pirkei Avot in the weeks between Passover and
Shavuot. But what if we changed that this year? What if we
studied tractate Bikkurim which tells us all about counting the
Omer and the festivities of Shavuot? That way, we'd be learning
about the Omer while counting it. And you could finish up studying
the tractate during your all-night Shavuot study session and
add the happiness of a siyyum (the party held when one finishes
a tractate of Talmud) to the happiness of the holiday. It's
a very short tractate, only 3 chapters long, so you really could
do it.
You'll find out all sorts of interesting things about the
holiday, too.
Just as Sukkot involves the layperson with the mitsvot of
dwelling in the sukkah and waving the lulav, and as Passover
involves everyone with the seder, so Shavuot had opportunities
for laypeople to participate. They would not only bring the
first fruits, they would bring them with great ceremony and beauty:
It is a mitsvah to bring the first fruits
in seven different vessels. But one who brought them in only
one vessel, has fulfilled the obligation. How does one do this?
He puts the barley at the bottom and then something different
over it (e.g., greenery of some sort), then wheat and then something
different. Then olives and something different, olives etc.,
dates etc., pomegranates, figs and grapes. And he surrounds
them with grape clusters on the outside. (T. Bikkurim 2:8, Y.
Bikkurim 3:5, 26a1)
It would only be those who lived nearby or who were extraordinarily
rich who could bring seven separate vessels of these fruits to
the Temple. Most people brought their first fruits in one basket.
For those who could not afford to bring seven baskets, one containing
the seven species seems to have been the norm. Each person would
fill a basket full of the seven species that the Torah mentions
grow in Israel (Deuteronomy 8:8): wheat, barley, grapes, figs,
pomegranates, olives and dates and they'd decorate the basket
by hanging pigeons off the sides of the basket, as an offering.
This isn't just a theoretical construct. Below, a "pane"
of a synagogue floor at Sepphorris, shows the basket, the species,
the pigeons and the cymbals below them.
If we were to adapt this ritual for our observance of Shavuot
how might we make it a meaningful practice?
·We could bring symbols or pictures of seven new things
that we had done in the past year that could be our contemporary
"first fruits".
We could designate seven charities to which worshippers could
give as part of their Shavuot observance and link them to the
seven species of fruits associated with Israel (Deuteronomy 8:8).
For example:
Barley = Food pantry or Mazon
Wheat = Ma'ot chitim fund
Olives = scholarship fund (enlightenment)
Figs = Jewish camp and Birthright scholarships. (As a fig carries
many seeds within it, these programs carry the seeds of our future
with them.)
Dates = Jewish Federation or Hadassah
Pomegranates = Habitat for Humanity (Pomegranates have the sturdiest
structure of these species.)
Grapes = Oneg Shabbat or music fund
(This idea is not as farfetched as some might think. In fact,
it has ancient roots. As pilgrims passed through the Second
Temple precincts on their way to bring their sacrifices, they
contributed to one of 13 funds in support of the Temple.)
·You could have a Shavuot "seder" with the
seven species.
·You could invite "Guests" to your celebration,
for example, great figures of modern Zionism such as Theodore
Herzl, Golda Meir, Chaim Weizman and Henrietta Szold.
Discussion Questions:
- First, will you consider implementing any of these ideas?
Which would be the easiest ones to put into action?
- Shavuot is celebrated very creatively in Israel, especially
on Kibbutzim. They put on pageants and plays. Do you currently
do anything like that?
- Have you ever participated in a siyyum? Please describe
it.
As always, I'm looking forward to your answers and insights!
[NOTE: Maqom is now a discussion
group, Maqom613, at Google groups. To leave a comment
on the above passage, go to http://groups.google.com/group/maqom613 and join the group. Also, you will
need a gmail account to log in, so if you don't have one, then
first go https://mail.google.com/ to set up your email account.]
|
 The
Other Talmud--The Yerushalmi
Unlocking
the Secrets of The Talmud of Israel for Judaism Today
Rabbi Judith
Z. Abrams, PhD
6 x 9, 250
pp (est), Hardcover
978-1-58023-463-4
Jewish Lights
Publishing |
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The Secret
World of Kabbalah
is available at Amazon.com! To order, click here. Additionally, you can also download
a study
guide for use with
the text. |
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