This week we begin Sefer Bamidbar, but this week and next week too we will concentrate on the Festival of Shavu’ot, focusing on the particular sacrifice offered on Shavu’ot – the “Shtei ha’Lechem,” “Two loaves” of bread.

Let us recall that on Pesach the Omer offering, made from barley is sacrificed, and then the S’firat ha’Omer – the Counting of the Omer begins, culminating at Shavu’ot when the Shtei ha’Lechem, made from wheat, is offered.

The Torah describes the Shtei ha’Lechem sacrifice as follows:

“From the land upon which you live, you shall bring two loaves of bread as a wave offering. They shall be made of two-tenths (of an e’fa) of fine wheat flour, and shall be baked as leavened bread. They are the first-harvest offering to God.”

(Vayikra 23:17)

Thus the unique characteristic of the Shtei ha’Lechem offering is that is to be “of fine wheat flour, and shall be baked as leavened bread.” It must be emphasized that aside from the Toda (thanksgiving) offering which is accompanied by a Chametz (leavened) Mincha (meal-offering), the Shtei ha’Lechem sacrifice is the only sacrifice which is offered as chametz – as leavened bread. With all the other sacrifices it is specifically emphasized that the Mincha offered with the sacrifice not be chametz – we will understand this concept as our shi’ur develops.

The Ramban deals with the korban (sacrifice) of Shavu’ot at great length, and it is with his words that we will begin:

“And behold on the Festival of Shavu’ot – which is the day of the giving of the Torah – it is apt that a sacrifice similar in nature to the Toda be offered, for this is the day of Atzeret, and the intellectual individual will understand this…”

(Ramban ibid.)

The Ramban comments that on the Festival of Shavu’ot, which is the day of the giving of the Torah, “it is apt that a sacrifice similar in nature to the Toda be offered.” The Ramban adds “for this is the day of Atzeret” – something which we will clarify shortly; and then finally he writes “and the intellectual individual will understand this” – terminology that the Ramban generally utilizes when there is a hidden idea behind his words.

As we know, Shavu’ot is not a festival unto itself. It is “the day of Atzeret” – just as Sh’mini Atzeret is a separate festival, but at the same time is the eight day culminating the seven days of the Festival of Succot, so too Shavu’ot is the culmination of a process beginning at Pesach.

The Ramban’s chidush (innovation, innovative idea) can be summarized as follows: There is an internal connection between Pesach and Shavu’ot, between the Omer which is offered “on the day following the first day of the (Pesach) holiday,” (Vayikra 23:11,) and the sacrifice of Shavu’ot, the Shtei ha’Lechem. One of the elements of this connection is the prohibition of chametz, leaven, on Pesach, and the chametz (leavened) offering on Shavu’ot. We will aim to understand this relationship in our shi’ur today.

In order to appreciate the hidden relationship and connections between Pesach and Shavu’ot, we will begin our studies with a discussion in the Rambam that at first seems to lack any direct connection to topic of the Omer and Shtei ha’Lechem sacrifices, but we will soon see that it is this discussion that holds with in it the definition of the identities of these two sacrifices.

In Hilchot Y’sodei ha’Torah (The Laws of the Fundamentals of the Torah) the Rambam writes as follows:

“The fundamental of all fundamentals, and the pillar of all wisdoms is to know that there is primordial being.”

(Y’sodei ha’Torah 1:1)

In the ensuing laws the Rambam explains that this knowledge is the subject of the divine command:

“I am the Lord, your God, Who took you out of the land of Egypt.”

(Sh’mot 20:2)

It is not purely incidental that at the end of Hilchot M’lachim (The Laws of Kings,) the final and concluding book of the Rambam’s monumental “Mishneh Torah,” he concludes writing that our Sages only yearned for the days of the Messiah for in that era the knowledge of God will be as the verse states: ‘And the land will be filled with the knowledge of God as the water covers the ocean bed,’ (Y’sha’yahu 11:9.)” (Cf. Hilchot M’lachim 12:4,5)

Thus the Rambam opens and concludes his Mishneh Torah with the collective yearning for knowledge of God.

What is content of this knowledge of God, contained in the command “I am the Lord your God?”

In order to answer this question we will examine the Rambam’s words in the fifth of his “Sh’moneh P’rakim.” The content of this chapter is:

“The utilization of one’s character traits for one purpose.”

Let us recall that this chapter appears after Chapter Four, where the Rambam talks of “The Golden Path.” The Rambam writes that one should not be inclined to any extreme character traits, but rather one should aim to walk “The Golden Path between extremes; for example, rather than being severely tightfisted or completely altruistic, one should be possess a generosity and kindness that includes these two extremes.

We must emphasize that this “middle trait” or “The Golden Path” is not conceding or surrendering, but rather an expression of the honing of oneself to unify opposites and extremes and find that golden mean.

The Rambam begins as follows:

“A person must subjugate all his character traits to knowledge, as we have explained in the previous chapter.”

Then the Rambam defines what that “one purpose” that one must utilize his character traits towards:

“And he must continually be focused on one objective: (“ha’sagat”) perceiving God, in proportion to one’s ability to comprehend this.”

“Perceiving God” – this means the desire to attain and understand more and more, as one who races after his friend tries to grasp him (“l’hasig” – grasping, catching, understanding.) Perceiving God is an aspiration that can never be realized, even when “the land will be filled with the knowledge of God as the water covers the ocean bed,’ (Y’sha’yahu 11:9.)”

The Rambam explains what “perceiving God” is as follows:

“And one should direct all his actions: his movements, his resting, his words, to bring to this end, to the degree that none of his actions will be worthless.”

What is an action that is “worthless?”

“That is to say: an action that does not lead to this objective.”

The Rambam is saying that that which separates man from other beings is his intellect – which allows him to strive towards a goal and an objective. The moment a person acts without purpose and aimlessly – “his actions will be worthless,” and furthermore even actions that were done for a purpose but not for the true supernal purpose – are the worthless actions.

The Rambam brings examples:

“An example of this: that one should direct his eating and drinking, his marital relations, his sleeping and his waking hours, his movement and his rest solely towards the health of his body. My intention in saying ‘the health of his body’ – that the soul should find healthy and complete vessels with which to acquire the wisdoms and the loftiest character traits and intellectual attributes until he reaches that objective.”

The Rambam’s words teach us a number of fundamental principles. Firstly, that the purpose of man is not to study, for study is a means which brings man to his objective, which is knowledge of God. This knowledge of God is the manifestation of God in all aspects of one’s life, and the placing of the desire to cleave to God as the beacon by which life is guided and lit up.

Through the example that the Rambam lists, he shows that even one’s physical health must be used as a means and medium toward the real goal. When one is fully conscious of this concept, then even physiological activities gain new meaning.

“By way of this example, then his intention will not be solely for the pleasure he derives, that he chooses the tastiest food and drink, and so too with regard his other actions, but rather his intention will be for that which is most beneficial. If that which is most beneficial is tasty – so be it, and if that which is most beneficial is not tasty – so be it.”

When a person sees his body as a means to an end – the utilization of his body can bring him to perceive God, then when he eats or drink his intentions will not be directed at the pleasant taste of the food, but rather “for that which is most beneficial” and healthy. A person like this will not desire to eat or drink (or in fact do any other action) in a manner that offers only short term benefit, while in the long term being harmful to his body. This type of person will always strive for that which is beneficial as opposed to that which is “tastier” – and if the beneficial is also pleasurable and ‘tasty’ – so be it.

The Rambam continues mentioning that there are times that one will prefer the “tastier” option for medicinal purposes:

“Or he will have intention for that which is tasty out of medical wisdom: similar to one who has a weak appetite for food – he will awaken his appetite with spicy, sweet foods that one’s soul desires.”

One who has lost his appetite – for whatever reason – and it is affecting his health, he may search for that which is sweet and tasty in order to rejuvenate and renew his normal appetite.

In more general terms the Rambam writes:

“And he who suffers from melancholy – may remove it by listening to tunes, and a variety of singing, and walking through gardens, and by (observing) beautiful buildings, and by (observing) beautiful forms (ie. paintings, artwork,) and other similar items that broaden ones soul and that may cause the melancholy to lift from him.”

Once again the Rambam reiterates the purpose of all these actions:

“And the intent in all of this – that his body should heal. And the purpose of physical health – to acquire wisdom. And so too when he involves himself in the acquisition of wealth – his intent in these endeavors should be to use these resources for beneficial purposes, so that he will be able to maintain his personal existence. And the purpose of maintaining his existence should be to comprehend and know God to the fullest extent of his capability.”

We thus see that wisdom is not an objective and goal, but rather a medium, that together with one’s action one is able to contemplate and perceive God. In this manner created man becomes closer and more similar to his Creator.

As an aside, let us note that the Rambam’s explanation to the verse:

“And you will not explore after your heart and after your eyes.”

(Bamidbar 15:39)

The Rambam comments that “after your eyes” refers to thoughts of sexual licentiousness, and “after you hearts” refers to though of apostasy and heresy.

The Rambam adds that “after your hearts” means “that we are commanded to curtail our intellects” – meaning that one’s intellectual preference of good is dependant on one being removed from abominable sights and activities, but this is not sufficient. One must ‘curtail his intellect’ – even though one’s objective is to improve one’s intellect, he must remember that he aims to grow in intellectual capacity and ability in order to perceive and contemplate God. Intellect is not a purpose unto itself, it is rather a means to approaching God – this being the objective. Intellect becoming an ends unto itself – can destroy the world.

Let us return to the words of the Rambam in Sh’moneh P’rakim:

“For when a person approaches food and eats it because it is tasty, has a pleasant aroma, and is deemed desirable – even though it may harm him, and possibly cause severe sickness or even death – I consider him and the animals to be the same.”

The Rambam does not restrain himself or moderate the severity of what he is saying. He writes that one who places the emphasis on the incorrect notion – “I consider him and animals to be the same.

His reasoning is as follows:

“This is not considered to be an act performed by man because he is human with intellect, to the contrary it is an act performed by man because he is an animal, as the verse states: ‘He is like beasts and resembles them,’ (Tehillim 49:13.)”

For in fact man’s actions are human when they are caused by his intellect. Thus:

“By contrast, an expression of our human potential involves seeking only food that is beneficial, occasionally rejecting that which is tasty and preferring that which is not tasty when that is the beneficial. This represents thoughtful conduct, and it is through such acts that a man is distinguished from other living beings.”

The same applies to one’s sexual impulses:

“Similarly, if a person engages in sexual relations whenever he desires without considering the benefit and the possible damage – he is conducting himself like and animal and not like a human being.”

The Rambam continues to discuss a situation where a person focuses entirely on physical health:

“It is possible that a person will only conduct himself according to what is beneficial, as we explained, yet if his only intention is for the health of his body and its perfection (keeping it) from illness – then he is not a chasid (righteous individual.)”

The reason for this being:

“For just as one desires the pleasure of health and well-being, another desires the pleasure of food or of sex. None of these represents a true objective for their conduct.”

The expression “true objective” holds within it everything that has been said thus far, and it indicates the objective that connects man to the infinite. It is this objective that establishes that man is not simply the sum-total of two-hundred and forty-eight limbs and three-hundred and sixty-five organs that lives for a limited period of time. Instead man is a being molded from the heavens and the earth – he consists of a body and a soul, and his purpose is to illustrate how one perceives and contemplates God.

What, then, is the correct manner of conduct?

“Instead, it is proper that a person direct all his activities, his physical health, and the maintenance of his existence so that the limbs of his body serve as perfect media for his soul. Then his soul will be able to exercise the ethical and intellectual virtues without any impediment.

Needless to say, everything that a person learns in his studies and the sciences that leads to that purpose is desirable. Other studies that are not directly related to this purpose – e.g. algebra, mathematical weights, and the like – should be directed toward the purpose of sharpening one’s mind and training one’s sense of logic to seek proofs, so that a person will grasp the power to distinguish one concept from another. This will provide him with a medium to reach the knowledge of the truth of God’s Being.”

In summary, the aim and objective of all one’s actions must be the attainment and contemplation of God. Even the involvement in spheres that seem to be nothing more than for man’s own enjoyment and development, are in fact to be used to develop and prepare one’s intellect for the true objective of attaining God.

This may be the reasoning behind the order of the blessings in the Sh’mone Esrei (standing prayer central to the prayer services.) The blessing of “You are holy” precedes that of “You grant man intellect” – for sanctity must precede intellect and knowledge, for knowledge and intellect are simply means and utensils for attaining sanctity.

We will omit some of the Rambam’s words.

In the ensuing paragraphs, the Rambam establishes that a person who directs his life so as to attain God, and thus prefers that which is “beneficial” over that which is “tasty,” such a person will spare many actions and spare many words. He will discover that there is no necessity for many of these. In the Rambam’s words:

“When a person appreciates this concept, he will eliminate many of his actions and limit his speech greatly.”

And the reason being:

“For a person who has these goals will not seek to decorate his walls with gold, or to make a golden strand on a garment.”

Unless these action are perpetrated for the benefit of his body and soul, as the Rambam has already mentioned. He reiterates here:

“Unless his intent in such an act is to settle his soul so that it will heal and to remove its sickness, making it taintless and pure to receive knowledge, as our Sages said: ‘An attractive dwelling, an attractive wife, attractive implements, and a set bed are appropriate for Torah scholars,’ (Shabbat 25b.) For one’s soul will weary and one’s thought processes will become sluggish from constantly seeing unpleasant things, just as the body will become sick from draining labor until it regains its balance. In a similar way, the soul requires quiet and involvement in pleasant matters until the weariness departs.”

The Rambam gives an example:

“As our Sages said: ‘When the Sages became weary of studying, a humorous remark would be made,’ (Cf. Shabbat 30b.) In a similar vein I would say that certain activities, e.g. painting, sculpture, construction, manufacture (of beautiful items,) and (making of beautiful) clothing are not bad nor void of any worth.”

The Rambam explains the greatness of the heights of conduct that he has been describing:

“And know that this level (of conduct) is very elevated and difficult (to attain.) It will only be attained by a select few, and only after much training.”

A person who has reached this level of conduct is described by the Rambam as:

“When such a person occurs, I would say that he is on no less a level (of conduct) than the prophets.”

This person “on no less a level than the prophets” – he is on the level of the prophets! The Rambam describes the essence of such a person, again summarizing all he has said:

“I mean to say that such a person motivates all powers of his soul and directs them to God alone. He does not perform any act, whether important or insignificant, nor say regarding all his activities and movements, and evaluates whether they will lead him to that goal or not. Only after this does he act.”

As he concludes this chapter, the Rambam describes that which our Sages stated:

“Let all you deeds be for the sake Heaven.”

(Pirkei Avot 2:12)

Let us now return to the topic with which we began our shi’ur.

On Pesach we were liberated from slavery, leaving the swamps of the forty-nine gates of impurity. On this festival we must be cautious of anything that is not essential, which merely adds “volume” and “excess” to man. This is the meaning of the prohibition of the consumption on chametz (leavened bread) on Pesach – yeast and the leavening process causing the dough to swell and increasing its volume.

Then, at the closing of the first day of the Festival of Pesach, the Omer sacrifice is offered – beginning without the S’firat ha’Omer – the Counting of the Omer. The Omer Sacrifice is a barley sacrifice, barley being the foodstuff of animals. S’firat ha’Omer connects the Omer Sacrifice to the wheat sacrifice – the foodstuff of man – on Shavu’ot.

In other words, the process of refinement of one day and then another towards the Festival of Shavu’ot begins, when the barley turns to wheat, when man is offered the tools and the ability (as a result of his own self-preparation) to reveal the “man” within him.

This explains why the counting of the Omer occurs from the offering of the Omer in an increasing fashion, as opposed to counting down towards the offering of the sacrifice on Shavu’ot, the Shtei ha’Lechem: for as long as the daily improvement and self-refinement has not occurred – the goal has not been attained.

The definition of the end of the period of counting is owing to the effort and endeavoring that preceded its conclusion. Then man reaches the Day of the Giving of the Torah in all his glory and strength.

When he reaches Shavu’ot, the sacrifice of the Shtei ha’Lechem is offered – as we mentioned above this sacrifice is chametz, the significance being that the moment man prepares himself accordingly, the moment he toils and exerts himself to contemplate and attain God – then those forces that are “chametz” also have a place in the course of one’s life. The wariness from chametz is specifically when one is not complete and pure – and not when he rises on the path towards the house of God.

The Day of the Giving of the Torah, the sixth of Sivan, is the day when we consolidated our powers, (as our Sages expounded the use of the singular verb in the verse: “And Yisra’el camped (‘va’yi’chan’) there next to the mountain,” (Sh’mot 19:2) – “as one person, with one heart.”) This is the day we subjugated ourselves to one objective, rising to the heights of “And all the nation saw the sounds,” (Sh’mot 20:14) – meaning that we broke through the barriers of the physical senses as we drew our strength from the infinite. This is also day of the great trial every year – will we be able to subjugate our entire lives to one purpose? Will we utilize God’s Torah that was given to us on Shavu’ot as a means to that purpose of attaining God?

As we recall, the Ramban commented that the sacrifice offered in Shavu’ot is “a sacrifice similar in nature to the Toda be offered, for this is the day of Atzeret.” We are told that the Toda sacrifice will always exist, even in the era of the Messiah - possibly meaning that all the sacrifices are in fact indicative of how to elevate and mend the secular – which will be unnecessary in the days of the Messiah. However the Toda sacrifice is loftier then these – for it signifies the subjugation and harnessing of all one’s strengths and abilities for one purpose.

The Toda sacrifice illustrates how even suffering is in fact for good and therefore it is chametz. It is on this plane that we offer a Toda sacrifice to God for redeeming us from the forty-nine levels of impurity in which we were immersed in Egypt.

Our purpose as individuals is to know and comprehend God. As a nation we are to be a “Kingdom of Priests,” (Sh’mot 19:6.) A “Kingdom of Priests” is a nation that places it emphasis and defines itself with the objective of comprehending God and calling out in His name.

Translated by Sholem Hurwitz.

Copyright Keren Yishai/Rav M. Elon