Sefirat HaOmer and Chanukah - Days that Count

A question often posed by the keen student of Halachah when dealing with the laws of Chanukah – is whether or not it shares a similarity to the laws of Sefirat HaOmer and the Mitzvah of counting the 49 days.

During the days between Pesach and Shavuot, we have a Mitzvah to count 49 days. The Mitzvah includes making a blessing before the actual counting. There are numerous laws with what happens if a person forgets to count a day and whether or not one may continue counting with (or without) a blessing on the remainder of the days. One who does indeed forget an entire day, may continue counting, but he loses out on his opportunity to recite the blessing on the subsequent days.

Those who enter Chanukah thinking in the mode of the Sefirat HaOmer days, enter it wondering a similar idea. If one forgets to light the candles on one evening, may one light candles on the evening that one remembers?! And if so, does one need to somehow make up for having missed a light (or even two?!) And may one recite the blessings for lighting if one had forgotten to light for a night – or two?

Let's give an example: Reuven lights his candle on the first night. Comes the second night – he recites the necessary blessings and then lights two lights. On the third night – having such a great time during Chanukah – he goes out to a party (of the frum kind of course!) which begins during the daylight hours of that second day. He enjoys himself so much that he parties himself out completely, falls asleep, and awakens on the third day of Chanukah in the mid afternoon! Suddenly he realises he had forgotten to light his candles for the third night.

Wanting to make up for his mistake, Reuven considers lighting the candles (with the blessings too!) during the third day, or perhaps even lighting two Menorahs on the fourth night – one with three candles and the other with four. 

Reuven should certainly reconsider lighting the three candles during the daytime (with a blessing) – because lighting candles in broad daylight is pretty much like lighting a candle in broad daylight! It achieves very little. Once there is light all around, it doesn't do much to anyone to light candles so that others can see… As for his second option of lighting two Menorahs, his idea is indeed an "upright" one, but does the Halacha require him to do this?

Has Reuven lost out in some way or may he recite the blessings on the fourth night, light just one Menorah (with his four candles – or even one according to the requirements of the strict law) and get on with the remainder of his festival with joy?!

Does Chanukah share a similarity with the Sefiras HaOmer of losing out on the blessings (or even the lights?) on the subsequent nights?

The law is clear – Chanukah is not like Sefiras HaOmer at all – and making such a comparison is ridiculous. These are two completely separate Mitzvot having nothing to do with each other, and trying to use the logic of one towards the other has no basis at all. 

But maybe if we consider what each of these different time periods is all about, we can understand why the Halacha allows us to continue lighting even if we forget a night – and even continuing with the blessings.

The time period between Pesach and Shavuot is all about growth. The Jewish people had found themselves on the lowest level of impurity on that day that they left Egypt. In fact, their entire journey out of Egypt until they received the Torah, was one devoted to growth. Each day, they grew out of a level of impurity and entered a new level of purity until they were absolutely ready to receive the Torah.

The festival of Chanukah – Festival of Lights – does not have anything to do with growth as such – it has to do with light! Of course every day is a new day, and a day of growth, and we certainly do add an additional candle. But a candle does not have to necessarily represent growth. A candle is light. Light is goodness. And light radiates, no matter what the situation. In fact, so long as there is darkness around, light will always chase it away.

Growth, on the other hand, is a process. As the Lubavticher Rebbe teaches – "Every living thing must grow." Look around, see nature. Every day that goes by sees the plants and animals growing further. All things continue to grow. Trees continue for ever and ever growing and growing, becoming larger and larger. Though we don't always see the growth visibly, those trees are growing nevertheless. Children grow continuously although most people never actually see this happening. 

But when looking backwards in time and making comparisons, one can really see how (physically) they have grown during the year. This physical growth happens all the time (until the person is a mature adult – and even then it continues but it takes a new direction!) It must happen spiritually too – especially for a person who is composed of both a G-dly and an animal soul. Just as we would worry about a child who would stop growing, so too should every person worry about their own spiritual growth hoping never to become dwarfed and stunted. Every day – every moment – must see new growth.

When one does not grow, one can liken this to a process of death – where everything comes to an end. The Torah teaches something even worse. Not only does one who does not grow – not grow, but more than this, for those that abandon the Torah for just one day – the Torah abandons them for a day. This is not just a death, but an actual regression in one's learning. When we walk away from the Torah, she does the same to us. When we walk a mile away from, she walks a mile away from us – and we find ourselves having now moved two miles away (even though we thought we had only moved one mile!)

When it comes to growth – it must be constant. When one stops, one has lost the battle of life. When it comes to these 49 days, there must be continual growth. When a day goes by and there is forgetfulness and a disinterest in growing, then our very lives have come to an end. At this point in time, one forfeits the right to make a blessing. One has lost sight of what is important in life. One has limited one's ability to grow. One has forfeited the blessing.

Chanukah – on the other hand is not just a festival of growth (as we add one light each evening) – it a festival of light! When it comes to doing something good, it does not matter what is going on around us. We can do good any time we want! We can remove the darkness and turn everything around for the good and bring light into a situation whenever we want to! When it comes to doing good, there is never a need to knock oneself down and imagine the possibility that because we have not done something good for some time that we have lost out.

When it comes to light – to doing good, one is never a loser. One can do it any time one likes! Even if one has just come out of the lowest low in one's life – or even if one G-d forbid – feels one is still there – one can turn on the light, one can do a good deed!

Chanukah teaches us to value light, to value good things, of bringing good to oneself and to others. So even if one forgets to light the candles one night, one may continue to light on all the subsequent nights – even with a blessing. 

Sefirat HaOmer may well be about growth. Growth is something that is often not easy. But it is something that we must be involved in all the time – no matter what. When we don't – we lose out on what life is all about – and at those times, we literally pull ourselves away from what our purpose in the world is.

But Chanukah comes around to teach us that even if we get lost in our growth and feel ourselves falling – there is never a moment that we can't stop ourselves, wherever we are… and light a candle, do something good, and bring some light into the world.

Be focused on the importance of counting the days of Sefirat HaOmer always. But when in doubt, switch into Chanukah mode. Light a candle. You'll be surprised at how much darkness you can remove!

A Teacher of Light

A TEACHER OF LIGHT

Usain Bolt, the unbelievable athlete has done it again! Not only did he make a new world record for running the 100 metre sprint in just 9.58 seconds, but this past week, he added to this by breaking (his own) new world record for the 200 metre sprint in just 19.19 seconds. For those mathematicians out there, he managed to achieve the 200 metre sprint in just 3/100 of a second slower relative to his 100 metre sprint. For those not mathematically inclined, he was able to run the 200 metre sprint at roughly the exact same speed as he ran the 100 metre – an achievement very few could ever perform. Some of us manage to "keep our breath" for just a certain time, but trying to maintain the same standard for double the distance takes real doing!

So, Mr Lighting Bolt (Flash?) is better than the best – even when the best was himself! In a previous article we looked at how much we can learn from such a focused ray of light. But, with a new outstanding achievement, what more can we learn?

For one as focused as a laser beam in achieving his goal, distances small or large are equal. There's really no reason to feel that one can only go so far at a certain speed. In fact, the more focused one is at one's task, the more likely it is that one can maintain the same speed – even when the road seems longer. There's no reason to quit just because one has past the 100 metre finish line. There's still a 200 metre point, and 400M and 800M and…

Does Mr Bolt deserve all the credit though? Is it possible that there were others who helped him achieve his phenomenal results? Those reading this might think the question preposterous! Everyone can see – he did it… *on his own!* Or did he?

A brief reading of Usain's life reveals that by the age of 12 he was already the fastest runner (for the 100 metre sprint) at his school. It was, however, a cricket coach of Usain's that noticed his awesome speed. He was playing cricket – not running, when someone from the outside noticed his speed. Of course, Usain may well have become the next best thing in cricket… Then again, he may well have only ended up quite mediocre. But someone from the outside saw something different. He saw – not a cricket player – but a runner… a sprinter. He urged Usain to focus on track events – not cricket!

Then there were another two outstanding athletes involved in Usain's story. Pablo McNeil (a previous 100 metres Olympic athlete), and Dwayne Barett coached Bolt. McNeil became his main coach – though was a little frustrated with Bolt's lack of dedication to athletics, being more interested in practical jokes. (Perhaps Bolt could even have become the next best comedian, made it to Hollywood, become an actor in comedy or the like, and made a success this way!)

There were quite a number of other amazing people involved in coaching Mr Bolt, ultimately making him into the success he has become. Outstanding to himself – and outstanding to the world.

Where does this leave us?! It seems that our success is divided. It's made up of ourselves as well as those who recognise in us the greatness that we really possess. Everyone needs a teacher!

Imagine, Mr Bolt could have become a comedian… He could also have become a cricketer. As far as *he* was concerned, athletics, when he was much younger, didn't mean quite as much to him as it probably does today. His real greatness though – as can be seen retroactively – lay in his phenomenal running speed. It was something that only someone else could see though.

In fact, this is a great lesson in life. Each of us possesses tremendous talents in a variety of areas. We are also surrounded by a variety of other people who are constantly taking part in our lives (teachers?) This should not surprise us, as likewise, we too take part in the lives of countless others, each and every day. Our task is to be able to excel in life – to become who we really are. We can all be comedians at some time in our life, cricket players, football players, miniature-golf players too… but these may not be the talents we are most set up to excel in. Parents may think we're terrific miniature-golf players, but will this be best for us when we're trying to become the great people we are – in those areas we are greatest in?

Usain Bolt is not Mr Lightning Bolt for nothing. His name reveals far more about life than his speed. Light, shining from a large source – such as the sun – goes everywhere. It is able to warm the world in general and bring happiness to many. But when that same light is focused (correctly!) into a thin laser beam, with all of it's power in one line, it becomes a most powerful weapon to burn through material it could never have dreamt of had it been stuck in the sun! Usain's lesson for us all is the power of that laser beam. The power of being focused – "on track!"

But it doesn't come of it's own. It comes through the motivation and encouragement of everyone around us. When those around us see in us our true potential and support us – even when all we seem to be doing all day is just "running around", then we are able to become someone truly great in the world! Truly great – in whatever area we are best suited to.

While this is an important lesson for each of us to know regarding how others should interact with us so that we can become great, we can take it into ourselves – to see the greatness that lies in others. Everyone has a laser beam just bursting to shine its light into something, to make something in this world even greater and better! But being young, immature, and perhaps not knowledgeable enough, we might not be able to express ourselves correctly. What's needed is for someone else to come around and point it out to us. Not to just point it out, but to make it happen. Our job then is to see this bursting light in others, and to bring it out into the forefront.

Most of the worlds greatest of the great have become what they did because they had a teacher behind them, coaching them along the way. This person may have been greater, but very often was not. He was just someone who could see the greatness of the other, to help him draw out of himself what was resting their all along.

Our job is to be prepared to be the "coach" for every other single person in this world, whenever they need it – to make them realise their greatness, and to help them along until they reach it. And even when it seems that we know better than they what is good for them, our job is to still see the greatness and talent that *they* have – and to support them in that. Once the support is given in the direction most suited for the individual, he will shine outwards – not with the power of the sun, but with the power of a laser beam. Through this, the awesome warmth that will be created in the world will far outshine the sun. From the rays of light floating everywhere, there will be focused light everywhere, with not just those "closest to the sun" enjoying it's warmth, but rather every single person will gain from every other – each contributing what they are best at, and ultimately lighting up the entire world with goodness and kindness.

It can take a Bolt of Lightning to teach us this lesson. It can take a flash of light. It can take the sensitivity of another to simply be there for another, encouraging, supporting and helping them to grow and become the great person that they really are.

Not for nothing did the wisest of all men – King Solomon state – "Teach a child according to his way. Even when he is old, he will not depart from it."