Pesach as “Shabbos”: Faith That Draws Down Blessing
From the Torah ofRav Dovid Matisyohu Rabinowitzהרב דוד מתתיהו בן יחיאל יהושע רבינוביץProfile ›
Vayikra 23:15
וּסְפַרְתֶּם לָכֶם מִמׇּחֳרַת הַשַּׁבָּת מִיּוֹם הֲבִיאֲכֶם אֶת־עֹמֶר הַתְּנוּפָה שֶׁבַע שַׁבָּתוֹת תְּמִימֹת תִּהְיֶינָה
And you shall count for yourselves from the morrow of the Shabbos, from the day that you bring the omer of the waving; seven complete weeks shall there be.
1“And you shall count for yourselves from the morrow of the Shabbos.”1 We should look closely at the word lachem, “for yourselves,” which seems unnecessary: the verse could simply have said, “And you shall count from the morrow of the Shabbos.” [The Zohar raised this question, but “there are still words to say on God's behalf,” and “the Torah has seventy faces.”2] We also know that Chazal expounded “from the morrow of the Shabbos” to mean “from the morrow of Pesach,” the day after the first day of the festival.3 Why, then, does the verse call Pesach “Shabbos” here?
וּסְפַרְתֶּם לָכֶם מִמָּחֳרַת הַשַּׁבָּת (כג, טו). יֵשׁ לְדַיֵּיק תֵּיבַת ׳לָכֶם׳ שֶׁהִיא לִכְאוֹרָה לְמוֹתָר, דַּהֲוֵי לֵיהּ לוֹמַר ׳וּסְפַרְתֶּם מִמָּחֳרַת הַשַּׁבָּת׳ [וּכְבָר הִקְשָׁה כֵּן בַּזּוֹהַר, אַךְ עוֹד לֶאֱלוֹהַּ מִילִּין, וְשִׁבְעִים פָּנִים לַתּוֹרָה]. עוֹד נוֹדַע מַה שֶׁדָּרְשׁוּ חז״ל (מנחות סה, ב) דִּ׳מִמָּחֳרַת הַשַּׁבָּת׳ הַיְינוּ מִמָּחֳרַת הַפֶּסַח, וְיֵשׁ לְהָבִין לָמָּה קוֹרֵא כָּאן הַכָּתוּב לְפֶסַח בְּשֵׁם שַׁבָּת.
- Vayikra 23:15. ↩
- Iyov 36:2; Bamidbar Rabbah 13:16. Both sayings mean that there is always room for another explanation. ↩
- Menachos 65b. ↩
In shortWhy does the verse add “for yourselves,” and why does it call Pesach “Shabbos”?
2aPerhaps we can explain it through a well-known teaching of the holy Ohr HaChaim on the verse “On the seventh day God completed His work that He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work that He had done.”4 He writes: “We must pay attention to the words ‘that He had done,’ since it would have been enough to say, ‘God completed … His work.’ It seems that the verse means to say, in the spirit of Chazal's teaching, that the world was unsteady and trembling until Shabbos came, and then the world stood firm and was established.5 The meaning is that on Shabbos Hashem created the soul of the world. This is the secret of the words ‘and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed’ …6 The verse means: once shavas, once Shabbos came, then vayinafash: the life-giving flow was bestowed on all created things, for before Shabbos no created thing had a soul. That is what the verse says: ‘God completed …’: Hashem completed His work by means of the seventh day. Then the verse went on to explain which work He completed. It does not mean that something was missing from what He had made, and of that it says ‘He completed.’ Rather, ‘that He had done’ means that the work He had already done still lacked what would keep it standing, and by means of the seventh day this was completed.” That is the gist of his words.
וְאֶפְשָׁר לְבָאֵר, דְּהִנֵּה יָדוּעַ מַה שֶּׁכָּתַב הָאוֹר הַחַיִּים הַקָּדוֹשׁ עַל הַפָּסוּק (בראשית ב, ב) ״וַיְכַל אֱלֹקִים בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי מְלַאכְתּוֹ אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה וַיִּשְׁבּוֹת בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי מִכָּל מְלַאכְתּוֹ אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה״, וְזֶה לְשׁוֹנוֹ, יֵשׁ לָתֵת לֵב לְאוֹמְרוֹ ׳אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה׳, שֶׁלֹּא הָיָה צָרִיךְ לוֹמַר אֶלָּא ׳וַיְכַל אֱלֹהִים וְגוֹ׳ מְלַאכְתּוֹ׳. וְנִרְאֶה שֶׁיְּכַוֵּין הַכָּתוּב לוֹמַר עַל דֶּרֶךְ אוֹמְרָם ז״ל (חגיגה יב, א) כִּי הָעוֹלָם הָיָה רוֹפֵף וְרוֹעֵד עַד שֶׁבָּאָה שַׁבָּת וְנִתְקַיֵּים הָעוֹלָם וְנִתְיַיסֵּד, וְהַכַּוָּונָה הוּא, כִּי בְּיוֹם שַׁבָּת בָּרָא ה׳ נֶפֶשׁ הָעוֹלָם, וְהוּא סוֹד אוֹמְרוֹ ׳וּבַיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי שָׁבַת וַיִּנָּפַשׁ׳ וְכוּ׳, שֶׁנִּתְכַּוֵּון לוֹמַר כֵּיוָן ׳שֶׁשָּׁבַת׳ פֵּירוּשׁ בָּא שַׁבָּת, ׳וַיִּנָּפַשׁ׳ פֵּירוּשׁ נִשְׁפָּע שֶׁפַע הַחִיּוּנִי בְּכָל הַנִּבְרָאִים, כִּי קוֹדֶם הַשַּׁבָּת לֹא הָיָה נֶפֶשׁ לְכָל הַנִּבְרָאִים. וְהוּא שֶׁאָמַר הַכָּתוּב ׳וַיְכַל אֱלֹהִים׳ וְגוֹ׳, פֵּירוּשׁ שֶׁכִּילָּה ה׳ בְּאֶמְצָעוּת יוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי מְלַאכְתּוֹ, וְחָזַר וּפֵירֵשׁ מַה הוּא מְלַאכְתּוֹ שֶׁכִּילָּה, לֹא שֶׁהָיָה חָסֵר דָּבָר מֵעֲשׂוֹתוֹ וְעָלָיו הוּא אוֹמֵר וַיְכַל, אֶלָּא הַכַּוָּונָה הִיא ׳אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה׳ פֵּירוּשׁ הַמְּלָאכָה שֶׁכְּבָר עָשָׂה עֲדַיִין הָיְתָה חֲסֵרָה דָּבָר הַמַּעֲמִיד, וּבְאֶמְצָעוּת יוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי בּוֹ נִגְמַר הָעִנְיָן, עכ״ד.
2bHis words show that the creation of the world was completed, in its spiritual dimension, on the holy Shabbos. That is why the Zohar says, “All six days are blessed from it.”7 The holy Shabbos has the power to bestow abundance, material and spiritual, on every day of the week, through the soul and the spiritual power revealed on that day.
הָעוֹלֶה מִדְּבָרָיו, שֶׁבְּיוֹם שַׁבָּת קוֹדֶשׁ נִגְמַר בְּרִיאַת הָעוֹלָם בְּרוּחָנִיּוּת, וְעַל כֵּן אָמְרוּ בַּזּוֹהַר (ח״ב פח, א) דְּמֵהַהוּא יוֹמָא מִתְבָּרְכָאן מִינֵּיהּ כָּל שִׁיתָּא יוֹמִין, שֶׁיֵּשׁ בְּשַׁבָּת קוֹדֶשׁ כֹּחַ לְהַשְׁפִּיעַ שֶׁפַע בַּגַּשְׁמִיּוּת וּבְרוּחָנִיּוּת עַל כָּל יְמוֹת הַשָּׁבוּעַ, מִכֹּחַ הַנְּשָׁמָה וְהַכֹּחַ הָרוּחָנִי שֶׁמִּתְגַּלֶּה בְּשַׁבָּת קוֹדֶשׁ.
- Zohar II 88a. ↩
In shortShabbos gave the world its soul and so completed creation; from it flows blessing, material and spiritual, for the whole week.
3To explain this further: according to the plain meaning, as we know, the purpose of Shabbos is to make known our faith that Hashem created the world and completed creation on the holy Shabbos. So the power of the holy Shabbos brings Jews to faith in Hashem. When they recognize that the Holy One, blessed be He, guides and rules over everything, they naturally do nothing against His will, and in this way they are privileged to receive an abundance of blessing. For when people sin and cause a blemish, Heaven forbid, the flow of blessing is held back. As Chazal said, “I made my deeds evil, and so I lost my livelihood.”8
וּבֵיאוּר הַדְּבָרִים הוּא, דְּהִנֵּה נוֹדַע שֶׁעִנְיַן הַשַּׁבָּת עַל פִּי הַפְּשָׁט הִיא בִּכְדֵי לְפַרְסֵם הָאֱמוּנָה בְּכָךְ שֶׁה׳ בָּרָא אֶת הָעוֹלָם וְגָמַר אֶת הַבְּרִיאָה בְּשַׁבָּת קוֹדֶשׁ, נִמְצָא שֶׁמִּכֹּחַ שַׁבָּת קוֹדֶשׁ בָּאִים יִשְׂרָאֵל לִידֵי אֱמוּנָה בַּה׳ יִתְבָּרֵךְ, וּכְשֶׁמַּכִּירִים שהקב״ה הוּא הַמַּנְהִיג וְהַמּוֹשֵׁל בַּכֹּל, מִמֵּילָא אֵינָם עוֹשִׂים דָּבָר נֶגֶד רְצוֹנוֹ יִתְבָּרֵךְ, וְעַל יְדֵי זֶה זוֹכִים לְקַבֵּל שֶׁפַע בְּרָכָה, שֶׁהֲרֵי כַּאֲשֶׁר ח״ו חוֹטְאִים וּפוֹגְמִים יֵשׁ מְנִיעַת הַשֶּׁפַע, כְּמוֹ שֶׁאָמְרוּ חז״ל (קדושין פב, א) הֲרֵעוֹתִי אֶת מַעֲשַׂי וְקִפַּחְתִּי אֶת פַּרְנָסָתִי.
- Kiddushin 82a. ↩
In shortShabbos teaches that Hashem created the world; that faith keeps us from sin, and so the flow of blessing is not held back.
4The festival of Pesach, too, is about the power of faith. On Pesach Bnei Yisrael saw open miracles and the mighty hand. They recognized with their own senses “the One Who spoke and the world came into being,” and attained complete faith. So it is every year: the festival of Pesach brings people to faith. And when they come to believe that the Holy One, blessed be He, watches over them and sees their deeds at every moment, they do not cause a blemish, Heaven forbid, as we said of Shabbos. Then they are privileged to receive the flow of blessing.
וְהִנֵּה גַּם חַג הַפֶּסַח עִנְיָנוֹ הוּא כֹּחַ הָאֱמוּנָה, שֶׁהֲרֵי בְּפֶסַח רָאוּ בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל נִיסִּים נִגְלִים וְאֶת הַיָּד הַחֲזָקָה, וְהִכִּירוּ בְּחוּשׁ אֶת מִי שֶׁאָמַר וְהָיָה הָעוֹלָם וּבָאוּ לֶאֱמוּנָה שְׁלֵימָה, וְעַל דֶּרֶךְ זֶה נַעֲשֶׂה בְּכָל שָׁנָה וְשָׁנָה שֶׁעַל יְדֵי חַג הַפֶּסַח בָּאִים לִידֵי אֱמוּנָה, וּכְשֶׁבָּאִים לִידֵי אֱמוּנָה שהקב״ה מַשְׁגִּיחַ עֲלֵיהֶם וְרוֹאֶה מַעֲשֵׂיהֶם בְּכָל רֶגַע אֵין פּוֹגְמִים ח״ו כָּאָמוּר, וְזוֹכִים לְקַבֵּל הַשֶּׁפַע.
In shortEach year Pesach's open miracles renew our faith that Hashem sees every deed, and that faith keeps us from blemish and brings blessing.
5That is why the Holy One, blessed be He, called the festival of Pesach “Shabbos”: to teach that the two have the same purpose. Both bring a person to faith, and as a result they bring down abundance for all Israel. This is the meaning of “And you shall count lachem, for yourselves.” The word lachem hints at material, physical matters. It is through the light of faith, revealed most strongly on Pesach, that we begin counting the Omer, the forty-nine days from Pesach to Shavuos, “from the morrow of the Shabbos.” This light continues through all the days of the counting, and through it a person can repair even physical matters, raising them up to Hashem and making them whole.
וְלָכֵן קָרָא הקב״ה אֶת חַג הַפֶּסַח בְּשֵׁם שַׁבָּת, לְהוֹרוֹת שֶׁעִנְיָנָם שָׁוֶה, שֶׁשְּׁנֵיהֶם מְבִיאִים לִידֵי אֱמוּנָה, וּמִמֵּילָא יוֹרֵד עַל יָדָם שֶׁפַע לְכָל יִשְׂרָאֵל. וְזֶהוּ ׳וּסְפַרְתֶּם לָכֶם׳, כִּי ׳לָכֶם׳ מְרַמֵּז עַל עִנְיְנֵי גַּשְׁמִיּוּת, שֶׁכֵּן עַל יְדֵי אוֹר הָאֱמוּנָה שֶׁמִּתְגַּלֶּה בְּיוֹתֵר בְּפֶסַח, מַתְחִילִים לִסְפּוֹר סְפִירַת הָעוֹמֶר מִמָּחֳרַת הַשַּׁבָּת, וְאוֹר זֶה נִמְשָׁךְ וְהוֹלֵךְ בְּכָל יְמֵי סְפִירַת הָעוֹמֶר, וְעַל יָדוֹ אֶפְשָׁר לְתַקֵּן אֲפִילּוּ אֶת הַדְּבָרִים גַּשְׁמִיִּים לְהַעֲלוֹתָם לַה׳ וּלְתַקֵּן אוֹתָם בִּשְׁלֵימוּת.
In shortPesach is called “Shabbos” because both bring faith and blessing; its light, carried through the Omer, can raise even our material lives.
6As we know, the purpose of counting the Omer is to receive purity, as the holy Ohr HaChaim explains.9 That is why we do not say Shehecheyanu, the blessing over a new and joyous occasion, on the mitzvah of counting the Omer. For the counting is meant to lift us out of the forty-nine gates of impurity, the depths into which Bnei Yisrael had sunk in Egypt, and we do not make such a blessing over something that involves a blemish and a lack in one's service. [So in these days we must strengthen ourselves all the more: to carry the light of faith from the festival of Pesach into our lives, to bring a lofty purity upon ourselves, to keep far from every blemish, and to set our material lives right.]
וְהִנֵּה נוֹדַע דְּעִנְיַן סְפִירַת הָעוֹמֶר הוּא בִּכְדֵי לְקַבֵּל טָהֳרָה כַּמְּבוֹאָר בְּאוֹר הַחַיִּים הַקָּדוֹשׁ, וְלָכֵן אֵין עוֹשִׂים שֶׁהֶחֱיָינוּ עַל מִצְוַת סְפִירַת הָעוֹמֶר, כִּי עִנְיַן הַסְּפִירָה הוּא לָצֵאת ממ״ט שַׁעֲרֵי טוּמְאָה, וְלֹא עוֹשִׂים בְּרָכָה עַל עִנְיָן שֶׁל פְּגָם וְחֶסְרוֹן בַּעֲבוֹדָה. [עַל כֵּן עָלֵינוּ לְהִתְחַזֵּק בְּיוֹתֵר בְּיָמִים אֵלּוּ, לְהַמְשִׁיךְ עָלֵינוּ אֶת אוֹר הָאֱמוּנָה מֵחַג הַפֶּסַח, וּלְהַמְשִׁיךְ עָלֵינוּ טָהֳרָה עֶלְיוֹנָה, וּלְהִתְרַחֵק מִכָּל פְּגָם, וּלְתַקֵּן אֶת עִנְיְנֵי הַגַּשְׁמִיּוּת].
- Ohr HaChaim on Vayikra 23:15. ↩
In shortThe Omer lifts us out of the forty-nine gates of impurity, so these days call for drawing Pesach's faith and purity into our lives.
7May Hashem grant that we be privileged to receive the Torah in purity. Amen, may it be His will.
יְזַכֵּנוּ ה׳ שֶׁנִּזְכֶּה לְקַבֵּל הַתּוֹרָה בְּטָהֳרָה, אָמֵן כֵּן יְהִי רָצוֹן.
In shortMay Hashem grant that we receive the Torah in purity.
Takeaway
Shabbos and Pesach both plant the faith that Hashem created the world and watches every deed, and that faith keeps us from sin and opens the flow of blessing. The light of faith from Pesach goes with us through the days of the Omer. We can use these days to climb out of impurity and raise even our material lives to Hashem, so that we receive the Torah in purity.
Learn this in the merit of Rav Dovid Matisyohu Rabinowitz. His yahrzeit and life ›
English translation, notes and summaries © Zechusam.