The Talmud tells us that Rabbi Akiva’s 12,000 pair of student died in a plague during the sefira, the counting of the Omer. It was on the 33rd day of the Omer that the plague ceased and the students could continue to learn Torah.
That day is Sunday. As a Jewish people, we feel as if another plague has befallen us. You have read over the past week my experiences in Israel. Today, I sit at my desk and prepare for Shabbat. I think about what I left in Israel, and I ponder what my role is in Los Angeles as a Rabbi in the Diaspora.
I know that the one thing that connects these two ideas is Torah.
This past August, on our Sinai Temple family trip to Israel, we climbed Masada. At the top, through a project with JNF-USA, we participated in the mitzvah of writing a sefer Torah. On Masada, we say masada lo tipol, Masada will not fall again. We know how that story ended….the Jews took their own lives before the Romans could reach them.
Today, JNF-USA has moved that scribe from Masada to the Nova site. We as a group of 200 North American Jews each wrote a letter in the Torah. We first recited the words of the mourners’ kaddish for those who lost their lives at the festival. We then lined up to each dedicate a letter in this new Torah.
We reminded ourselves of the words at Masada. These young people did not die in vain. The Torah they lived in the land of Israel will now emanate out into the world.
As a child, I recall attending bonfires and having field days celebrating Lag Ba’Omer. This year will be different. Yet, this year will be the same. The Torah will give us light, will emanate outwards, and will shine brightly to each of us.
