SHEMINI 5781
Do you remember Yakov Smirnoff—the Russian Jewish immigrant who became a famous comedian in the 1980s? When he came to America, he was not prepared for the incredible variety of inSHEMINI 5781stant products available in American grocery stores. He said, “On my 1st shopping trip, I saw powdered milk—you just add water, and you get milk. Then I saw powdered orange juice—you just add water, and you get orange juice. And then I saw baby powder, and I thought to myself, ‘What a country!’”
He also said: “I go to New York and I saw a big sign saying, ‘America Loves Smirnoff (the sign was for vodka, of course),’ and I said to myself, ‘What a country!’”
Upon being offered work as a barman on a graveyard shift he remarked, “A bar in a cemetery! What a country! Last call? During Happy Hour the place must be dead!
I thought about Smirnoff’s “What a country” slogan this week when I saw a video from Tuesday evening of a Jet Blue flight from Orlando to New York—no doubt containing many passengers returning home after being in Florida for Passover. On the video a flight attendant announced: “This is a special announcement for those of you who need to count Sefira. This is a reminder to count the Omer. Last night was 8”—meaning tonight we count the 9th day. Think about it. An attendant on a commercial flight reminds Jews to do a mitzvah? What a country!
We are in the period of fulfilling the mitzvah of Sefirat Ha-Omer—counting the 49 days linking Passover and Shavuot. This gives us a chance each year to try to re-live the anticipation of receiving the Torah on Shavuot after the freedom of Pesach. Each night we recite a blessing and then give the count of the day. Last night we recited: Hayom shlosha asar yom, sheheym shavua echat v’shisha yamim laOmer (Today is the 13th day, that is one week and 6 days of the Omer).
Question: What happens if you forget to count one night? The law is, you can count the next day, but without saying the blessing. But if you miss counting both the night and following day, you can continue counting Sefirah, but without reciting the bracha, because in the Torah we are told that the count should be sheva Shabbatot t’mimot (7 complete weeks). If you miss even one day, the count is not complete.
In today’s technological world, there are all sorts of reminders. I get an email everyday from Chabad.org to remind me what day it is in the Omer and to count it. The Apple Store and Google Play have apps for your cellphone that will send you a notification. If you press it, the blessing with the proper counting will appear along with some additional prayers. Before we had email and apps to remind us, Jews would be reminded when they came to shul for Maariv evening service; for at the conclusion of the service, the rabbi would recite the blessing and the count, and everyone would follow.
My colleague Rabbi Mitchell Wohlberg asks: What if one night the rabbi forgot to count? Perhaps he had to travel somewhere and couldn’t get back in time for the evening service. Since he was out of his normal routine, he just forgot to add the Sefira counting. So what should he do the next night in shul? If he counts without a blessing, everyone will know he skipped a night, and they may lose respect for him. That has happened to rabbis for lesser transgressions. But how can he recite the bracha if it’s not 7 “complete” weeks? What should the rabbi do?
Let me tell you how some famous rabbis decided this. Rav Tzvi Pesach Frank writes that the Beis Halevi forgot one night and worked out a way within the law to recite the blessing. The Pri Hadash, on the other hand, says, if you miss it, you blew it! Over the centuries it has gone back and forth!
How would you decide? Should the rabbi say the blessing so his congregants would not know he made a mistake? Raise your hands if you think so. Or should he skip the blessing and take it like a man? Raise your hands if that’s what you think. Well, let me tell you how Moses would vote...and the answer relates to the Coronavirus.
Can you believe it? It’s now a year since we’ve been living through this pandemic, and I suspect that none of us thought a year ago we would still be in it! But we’re not the only ones who got it wrong:
- On Jan. 31, 2020, CDC director Robert Redfield told reporters: “The risk to the American public currently is low.”
- In February 2020, President Donald Trump was wrong when he said, “The pandemic would probably go away in April, as temperatures warm.”
- In March 2020, Dr. Anthony Fauci said: “Face masks generally do not provide the perfect protection from getting infected that people think and so there’s no reason to be walking around with a mask.”
- Andrew Cuomo, of course, was wrong about nursing homes.
- The governor of California, Gavin Newsom, was wrong about the outdoors.
All this doesn’t compare to the tragic pandemic mistakes made by the leaders all over the world. What they all have in common is that NOT one of them—to the best of my knowledge—has said, “I made a mistake. I got it wrong.” Not one! Obviously, they’re from the school of thought that says that a leader publicly admitting he got it wrong is a sign of weakness and embarrassment to be avoided at all costs. I think it’s safe to say that if all of these leaders missed one night of counting the Omer, they would show up the next night and count with a bracha, as if nothing had happened!
But not Moses! Sivan Rahav-Meir, in her wonderful book, #Parsha, points out that Moses has an embarrassing incident in this morning’s Torah portion. Moses gets upset with the children of Aaron because of a misunderstanding of the sacrificial procedures. But after Aaron explained why they had acted this way, the Torah (Lev. 10:20) tells us: Vayishma Moshe vayitav b’eynav (Moses heard this and it was good in his eyes).
The Talmud (Zevachim 101a) add to this that not only was Moses pleased by Aaron’s explanation, but, “Moses was not embarrassed and did not attempt to justify himself by saying: ‘I did not hear of this ruling until now.’ Rather, he said: ‘I heard it, and I forgot it.’” Moses did not hesitate for a second. There was no cover-up; there was no denial; and there was no embarrassment. That’s why, according to Sivan Rahav-Meir: “Moses is known as Moshe Rabbeynu (Moses our teacher). Admitting you made a mistake is not a sign of weakness, but a sign of strength. It makes you real. It makes you respected. It makes you a leader.”
My friends, when was the last time you admitted you made a mistake? When was the last time you told your loved one that you were wrong? Or are you one of those a woman had in mind when she said: “I thought I married Mr. Right. I had no idea that his 1st name was “Always!” Is that you? If so, I hope not for long. Amen!
