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Sefirah – Teaching What Counts

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First Published on April 24, 2006

Sefirah is viewed by the Sefer HaChinuch and many other Rishonim as a long Chol Hamoed between Pesach and Shavuous to get ourselves ready as a people and individually for the Kabalas HaTorah that occurs each year on Shavuous. It is interesting that the aveilus associated with the death of the talmidim coincides with this period. Obviously, we can only experience growth in Torah via Tikun HaMidos. R A Z Weiss in his Hakdamah to Minchas Asher on Shabbos makes this point.

I haven’t seen this observation elsewhere, so here is a possibly novel idea- Perhaps, the episode of the death of R’ Akiva’s talmidim as described in the Talmud (Yevamos 62b) is designed to teach us that quality matters over quantity, inasmuch as R Akiva’s original 24,000 talmidim were decimated to the point whereby only four of his talmidim were left to spread Torah.

4 comments on “Sefirah – Teaching What Counts”

  1. I discussed this issue with one of my chavrusos and dearest friends. He suggested in the name of R Y Newberger, a RY in RIETS, that the Talmud emphasizes that the 24,000 talmidim were really 12,000 Chavrusos. However, they did not share their Torah between each other and viewed it solely as their own intellectual achievement-thereby making it almost like literature, Chas Ve Shalom.

  3. I am not sure-The Talmud discusses the entire event and draws the conclusion that the 24,000 talmidim definitely lacked the proper midos. Look at it this way-Someone who treats Torah as Chas Ve Shalom literature and fails to say a Birchas HaTorah also faces a harsh critique. Perhaps, the worst possible denominator is someone who exemplify the midos demanded by the Torah but instead views Torah as some sort of intellectual jousting contest.

  4. Steve, you said “Perhaps, the episode of the death of R’ Akiva’s talmidim as described in the Talmud (Yevamos 62b) is designed to teach us that quality matters over quantity”

    Why do you think such a massively sad event was needed to illustrate this concept at that time? Wasn’t the concept already accepted among Jews, a tiny minority in the world?

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