Not only is today Yom Yerusahalayim and also the yarzheit of Shmuel HaNavi (as per my last blog), but my brother also told me several interesting things about the date.
He claims that if you do the maths (and I'm not quite sure how to do it, but it certainly seems approximately correct) this is the anniversary of the first battle with Amalek in the desert (at Refidim). If you look at the end of parshat Beshalach you find the Israelites complaining about whether G-d is in their midst or not. Then the tribe of Amalek comes and attacks. Moshe tells Yehoshua to prepare an army, and the next day they wage proper war against Amalek (while Moshe stands on the top of the mountain, Aharon and Chur hold his hands up and as long as Moshe's hands are in the air, and the Israelites remember G-d they are victorious). So today is the anniversary of that first victory. The 'tomorrow' of the verse represents an ongoing war with Amalek for eternity (as the next verse says), and we have still not defeated Amalek (nor will we do so until the coming of the Mashiach). It is easy to point at current political trends or personalities and claim that they are the spiritual heirs of Amalek, but I'm never totally convinced. However, we can say that Yom Yerushalayim is certainly the date of a tremendous victory for Israel, which was clearly miraculous (as are all the wars, and even the existence of Israel, but I think the Six Day War was the most open and obvious miracle). May we see many more victories and always remember that G-d is amongst us at all times.
the other cute things about this date is the 'midah' of today (in sefirat haomer). The midah is chesed she'b'malchus. This is the giving aspect of kingship. Take this with a large dose of salt, because I don't actually think it is what the midah means, but it is a neat party trick.
The person who most clearly represented chesed was Avraham. His most positive interaction with kingship was with Malchitzedek. Malchitzedek (aka Shem the son of Noach) was king of Shalem. Shalem was given another name by Avraham - Yireh (G-d will see). The Midrash puts these two words together to make the final name of the city - Yireh + Shalem = Yerushalayim!
So this is the city of chesed and malchus.
Or not.
HAPPY YOM YERUSHALAYIM!
David Sedley's Thoughts and Musings (and some audio shiurim too)
Showing posts with label 28th Iyar. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 28th Iyar. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
28th Iyar - Shmuel HaNavi
Tomorrow is Yom Yerushalayim. No doubt everyone will be blogging about this important and wonderful modern festival.
In my day job at Torahlab.org I have just completed (just in the nick of time) a source sheet for students and a teachers' guide about Yom Yerushalayim. If you are a teacher, Rabbi, student or just plain interested you will find interesting and inspiring sources about Yom Yerushalayim. They can be downloaded (free of charge) from torahlab. Click on the link for the source booklet pdf and the teachers' guide pdf.
If you have time you should also visit their website: www.torahlab.org (even though hopefully in the next couple of days they will have a brand new website up and running at the same address). Click on my blog there - at the moment Rabbi Burton is leading with the most reads of his blog - help me out please!
(this is a cross posting from torahlab)
Yarzheit of Shmeul HaNavi
28th of Iyar, Yom Yerushalayim, also has another meaning in the Jewish calendar. According to tradition (Shulchan Aruch 580; 2, based on Megillat Ta’anit – although in the original it says 29th Iyar) it is the yarzheit of both Shmuel Hanavi, and his mother Chana. For hundreds of years on this date people would go to the grave of Shmuel Hanavi, which is on the Rama (part of former ‘east Jerusalem’). The original custom of lighting fires and torches was not on Lag B’Omer, but ten days later, on the 28th of Iyar. Rabbeinu Ovadiah Bartenura came to live in Israel, and writes back to his brother that people would gather from all around on the day of his death and light torches. (This is printed in Darkei Tzion – available here: The editor has emended the date, because he thinks it must be talking about Lag B’Omer and the Yarzheit of R’ Shimon Bar Yochai. Of course at the time of the Bartenura (which was before the printing of the Zohar) nobody thought that date was his yarzheit, nor do we have any record of fires on Lag B’Omer before the modern era).
King David and Shmuel the prophet met in Ramah one night (while David was fleeing from King Shaul) and figured out the exact location where the Temple should be built. Even though David himself was not permitted to build the Temple, he purchased the land and took the Ark there. David and Shmuel were both totally committed to Yerushalayim and making that the central capital of Israel (before David made it his capital there had been no central place of authority – Shiloh was the site of the Mishkan, but governance was localized within each tribe). The Talmud in Zevachim 54b learns from the verses in the chumash and shows how they figured out exactly where the Temple should be situated. Although Jerusalem is not mentioned explicitly in the Torah (though it is mentioned 656 times in the rest of Nach), David and Shmuel were able to figure out the place that G-d had chosen from before creation to be His resting place on earth.
In a beautiful quirk of history, the place where they met to figure out this location – Ramah – which is also the burial place of Shmuel, was also liberated in the Six Day War which we celebrate on Yom Yerushalayim.
Wishing you all a wonderful Yom Yerushalayim, and a happy bonfire day, and may the merit of the prophet Shmuel help us and protect us against all modern day enemies who want to diminish the greatness of Jerusalem as the center of Israel and the Jewish world.
In my day job at Torahlab.org I have just completed (just in the nick of time) a source sheet for students and a teachers' guide about Yom Yerushalayim. If you are a teacher, Rabbi, student or just plain interested you will find interesting and inspiring sources about Yom Yerushalayim. They can be downloaded (free of charge) from torahlab. Click on the link for the source booklet pdf and the teachers' guide pdf.
If you have time you should also visit their website: www.torahlab.org (even though hopefully in the next couple of days they will have a brand new website up and running at the same address). Click on my blog there - at the moment Rabbi Burton is leading with the most reads of his blog - help me out please!
(this is a cross posting from torahlab)
Yarzheit of Shmeul HaNavi
28th of Iyar, Yom Yerushalayim, also has another meaning in the Jewish calendar. According to tradition (Shulchan Aruch 580; 2, based on Megillat Ta’anit – although in the original it says 29th Iyar) it is the yarzheit of both Shmuel Hanavi, and his mother Chana. For hundreds of years on this date people would go to the grave of Shmuel Hanavi, which is on the Rama (part of former ‘east Jerusalem’). The original custom of lighting fires and torches was not on Lag B’Omer, but ten days later, on the 28th of Iyar. Rabbeinu Ovadiah Bartenura came to live in Israel, and writes back to his brother that people would gather from all around on the day of his death and light torches. (This is printed in Darkei Tzion – available here: The editor has emended the date, because he thinks it must be talking about Lag B’Omer and the Yarzheit of R’ Shimon Bar Yochai. Of course at the time of the Bartenura (which was before the printing of the Zohar) nobody thought that date was his yarzheit, nor do we have any record of fires on Lag B’Omer before the modern era).
King David and Shmuel the prophet met in Ramah one night (while David was fleeing from King Shaul) and figured out the exact location where the Temple should be built. Even though David himself was not permitted to build the Temple, he purchased the land and took the Ark there. David and Shmuel were both totally committed to Yerushalayim and making that the central capital of Israel (before David made it his capital there had been no central place of authority – Shiloh was the site of the Mishkan, but governance was localized within each tribe). The Talmud in Zevachim 54b learns from the verses in the chumash and shows how they figured out exactly where the Temple should be situated. Although Jerusalem is not mentioned explicitly in the Torah (though it is mentioned 656 times in the rest of Nach), David and Shmuel were able to figure out the place that G-d had chosen from before creation to be His resting place on earth.
In a beautiful quirk of history, the place where they met to figure out this location – Ramah – which is also the burial place of Shmuel, was also liberated in the Six Day War which we celebrate on Yom Yerushalayim.
Wishing you all a wonderful Yom Yerushalayim, and a happy bonfire day, and may the merit of the prophet Shmuel help us and protect us against all modern day enemies who want to diminish the greatness of Jerusalem as the center of Israel and the Jewish world.
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