Count Yourself
The holiday of Shavuot, which commemorates the giving of the Torah, is unique among the holidays in that every other holiday is celebrated on a specific day of the Hebrew calendar, yet there is no date given for the holiday of Shavuot. Instead, the Torah instructs us to count forty nine days from the second day of Passover and to celebrate the giving of the Torah on the fiftieth day. As the Torah tells us in this week’s portion:
And you shall count for yourselves, from the morrow of the rest day from the day you bring the omer as a wave offering seven weeks; they shall be complete. You shall count until the day after the seventh week, [namely,] the fiftieth day, [on which] you shall bring a new meal offering to the Lord… And you shall designate on this very day a holy occasion it shall be for you; you shall not perform any work of labor. [This is] an eternal statute in all your dwelling places throughout your generations.[1]
There is another anomaly in the holiday of Shavuot. There are other commandments for which counting is required: counting six days and resting on the seventh day, (in the land of Israel) counting six years and celebrating a sabbatical in the seventh year, counting seven sabbatical years and celebrating the Jubilee in the fiftieth year. On all other occasions there is no requirement for each individual to count, the commandment to count is upon the community. The counting of the court, on behalf of the community, establishes the occasion for everyone. The holiday of Shavuot is unique in that the commandment to count is upon each and every individual.
[There is a fascinating practical ramification to the individual count. If one travels from the United States to Australia crossing the Pacific Ocean, he will have crossed the dateline and skipped a day. He would celebrate Shabbat not on the seventh day since the previous Shabbat he celebrated, but rather on the seventh day according to the count of the community in Australia (although it is only the sixth day since his previous Shabbat). The Holiday of Shavuot, however, is an exception to this rule. If one skips a day by crossing the dateline from east to west, his holiday will follow his own count. Thus his Shavuot will begin one day after the beginning of Shavuot for the Jews of Australia].
All holidays are a time when the celebration encompasses the nation as a whole. We commemorate our shared history, we celebrate G-d’s blessings of agricultural bounty and, in biblical times, we would unite with other Jews in a pilgrimage to the temple in the holy city of Jerusalem. During all the holidays the individual is part of the collective, he celebrates as part of a people and a nation.
The holiday of Shavuot, which celebrates the giving of the Torah, is the exception. When the Jews gathered at the foot of Mount Sinai, G-d spoke the words of the ten commandments in the singular. G-d said to every individual “I am the lord your (“your” in the singular) G-d”. As the Midrash explains:
When He (G-d) spoke, every individual Israelite maintained: "He spoke to me!" "I am Hashem your (plural) G-d" is not written here, rather " I am Hashem your (singular) G-d".[2]
The Jew standing at Sinai as well as the Jew reading the words of Torah, must appreciate that his relationship with G-d is not merely with the Jewish people as a whole. Rather G-d desires a relationship with him as an individual. G-d is speaking to him as if there was nobody else present, as if he were an only child. For G-d finds meaning in every individual.
To make this point clear, the Torah emphasizes that to prepare for the holiday of Shavuot, to prepare to receive the Torah anew, to reestablish our bond with G-d, every individual must count seven weeks. Every individual must refine and prepare himself in order to recommit to the relationship. It is not enough to join a community that counted forty nine days. Each individual must rely on his own counting, for each individual has their own, personal relationship with G-d and his Torah.
The Torah tells each individual: Do not rely on the counting of the community. Count, prepare, reconnect on your own. Because G-d, through the words of the Torah, is waiting to speak to you.[3]
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[1] Leviticus 23:15,16,21.
[2] Yalkut Shimoni, Yisro, Remez 286.
[3] Adapted from the teachings of the Rebbe, Lekutei Sichos Emor vol. 3.