Click here for a printable version.
This week we read the Torah portion of Re’ah. This portion tells us to[1] “Keep the month of spring, and make the Pesach offering to Hashem. For in the month of spring, Hashem brought you out of Egypt at night.” Rashi cites the words “keep the month of spring” and explains the meaning of these words. “Before (the month of) Nissan arrives, watch that it should be fit for spring, capable of producing ripe ears of barley by the sixteenth of the month. We would need the barley to offer as the Omer meal offering. And if not (if it is not yet spring,) proclaim it a leap year[2].”
We can understand everything in Torah on many different levels. There is a simple meaning to each verse. However, we can also understand each verse according to an infinite amount of levels. Each level is higher and more profound than that which preceded it. We want to explain the above verse with Rashi’s comments in a manner that will provide us with a lesson in the service of Hashem.
During the winter, all growth is hidden; it is asleep. It seems to us as if there is no growth whatsoever. During the spring, the beauty and greenery suddenly awaken. We become aware that nature was temporarily gathering its strength. Now, in the spring, it appears in all of its glory.
The same was true during our exile in Egypt, which was a bitter time, both physically and spiritually. We began on the forty-ninth level of impurity. We were able to elevate ourselves in a mere fifty days to a level that allowed us to receive the Torah directly from the Almighty Himself.
This provides each of us with a lesson. At times we may (G-d forbid) undergo a period during which there appears to be no growth. Everything around us seems to be frigid and lifeless. We must realize that this is just a temporary state. We are merely gathering the strength needed to “spring” into life. We must indeed never become despondent. We need to be constantly aware that we can now step up, rise to the complete and true redemption with our righteous Moshiach immediately, now.
I wish one and all a good Shabbos and a healthy summer.
Rabbi Shmuel Mendelsohn
Adapted from Igros Kodesh Volume 4, Letter 994
DEDICATED IN HONOR OF THE LUBAVITCHER REBBE
מוקדש לזכות כ”ק אדמו”ר נשיא דורנו מליובאוויטש
IN HONOR OF
The Soldiers of Tzivos Hashem Chaim and Aiden Oded שיחיו Morris
DEDICATED BY THEIR PARENTS
Rabbi & Mrs. Menachem M. and Chaya Mushka שיחיו Morris
לזכות
חיילי “צבאות השם” חיים ועדן עודד שיחיו מאריס
נדפס ע”י הוריהם
הרה”ת ר’ מנחם מענדל וזוגתו מרת חי’ מושקא שיחיו מאריס
[1]. Our Parshah, Devorim 16:1.
[2]. In the Jewish calendar, a leap year refers to a year in which one month is added. This allows enough time for the barley to ripen.
The Rebbe Teaches Rashi 