After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”
He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. -Acts 1:3-9
I've been trying to decide if the Lag BaOmer celebration on the 33rd day of the Omer count has any application in Christian worship. I have previously asked the question, Why Don't Christians Count the Omer? and determined (in my humble opinion) that the Omer count can, or at least should, have great meaning in Christianity.
But Lag BaOmer doesn't seem to fit in. At least not exactly.
If you clicked on the Lag BaOmer link I provided, you've read that the events being commemorated are of post-Biblical origin and, strictly speaking, can't be considered a commandment in the same manner as the Omer count. I had been considering the timing of Christ's ascension into the heavens after the resurrection and, while the exact number of days the ascension occurred before Shavuot (the culmination of the Omer count) is ambiguous, I can't find any way at all to make "ascension day" and Lag BaOmer to occur on the same day.
On the other hand, the period of time of counting the Omer, between Passover (Pesach) and Shavuot (Festival of Weeks and also Christianity's Pentecost) does have a great spiritual and mystic significance:
Rav Zalman Sorotzkin, zt”l, offered a deep explanation of why we count the omer. “The first sefirah was after the Jewish people left Egypt. Its purpose was to purify the Jewish people from spiritual defilement so that they would be fit to receive the Torah. Kabbalists and the standard commentators both explain why we could not receive the Torah immediately after leaving Egypt. We first needed to count seven weeks to purify us from the defilement of Egypt.There must have been a reason why the core disciples of the Messiah could not receive the special empowerment of the Holy Spirit immediately upon either the resurrection or the ascension. There must have been a reason why they had to wait. Perhaps the idea of prayer and purification, making themselves ready for such a gift was part of the plan, as much as the period between being released from Egyptian slavery and receiving the Torah at Sinai was part of the plan. The Jewish disciples of Jesus (Yeshua) couldn't have been unmindful of the connection, but most non-Jewish Christians would miss it.
“But Hashem knew that we would fall into the sin of the golden calf soon after we received the Torah. He therefore commanded us to celebrate Pesach for all generations. The day after Pesach we are to bring the omer which is composed of animal feed. We then count forty-nine days and bring the two loaves which are food for humans on Shavuos.
He explained, “We bring the omer to symbolize the first step of purity: recognizing in what manner we are still drawn after animal desires that compel us to act without understanding. We then begin to prepare ourselves to receive the Torah through deep contemplation and by rectifying our actions. Since the time we left Egypt, the days between Pesach and Shavuos have become a special period to fix negative character traits, attain purity and ascend to ever higher levels. Perhaps this is why, according to Rav Yochanan ben Nuri, the main judgment in Gehinom is between Pesach and Shavuos. Since this time is set aside for deep change it is also the time when souls are punished for failing to use this time properly.”
He concluded, “Chassidim and anshei ma’aseh live lives of completion; not one instant of their day is wasted. During this time even regular people work on themselves. We are adjured to recognize our lowliness and use these days for elevation. We count each day, considering how we have used our time and how many of these precious days remain until kabbalas haTorah. We must make a plan and set goals that we will work to attain during the remaining days so that we will be worthy of receiving the Torah.”
from Daf Yomi Digest
Stories off the Daf
The Omer and the Breads
Menachos 66
No, I can't connect Lag BaOmer to the ascension of the King of Kings in the same way as I can fold the Omer counting into a Christian anticipation of Pentecost. But if you are an observant Jewish disciple of the Jewish Messiah, perhaps you can allow your Lag BaOmer celebration to have a double meaning. Perhaps, when you watch the flames of your bonfire rise into the heavens, you can let yourself be reminded of the rising of the Messiah to the right hand of the Father; the mystic meaning of Divine sparks leaving earth and seeking where they came from with God. If you are a non-Jewish disciple who chooses to honor Lag BaOmer, you may want to silently cherish these thoughts and meanings as well.
This year, Lag BaOmer is celebrated from sundown from Saturday, May 21st to sundown on Sunday, May 22nd.
Blessed are You, O' Lord our God, King of the Universe, Who has kept us alive, sustained us, and brought us to this time.
The road is long and often, we travel in the dark.
2 comments:
You've made some beautiful observations here, James. I have to admit I was anxiously reading (even skipping down the first time I read it) hoping you had figured something out concerning the timing. I've often wondered why Messiah left so soon, not waiting until Shavuot and what the talmidim were to do as they waited - and honestly, why they had to wait at all. Fascinating stuff to be sure.
I have to admit I was anxiously reading (even skipping down the first time I read it) hoping you had figured something out concerning the timing.
Thanks Luke, but I'm not that smart. I don't know what everybody else doesn't know either except that Jesus said he had to leave before the Comforter could come (Luke 16:7).
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