A Jewish state - Values ​​that become a State

Parsha and its Implementation - Emor - Rabbi Eliezer Shenvald - 5779

The counting of the Omer (Sfirat HaOmer), which connects Pesach to Shavuot, is also mentioned in the portion of the festivals: "

וּסְפַרְתֶּ֤ם לָכֶם֙ מִמָּחֳרַ֣ת הַשַּׁבָּ֔ת מִיּוֹם֙ הֲבִ֣יאֲכֶ֔ם אֶת־עֹ֖מֶר הַתְּנוּפָ֑ה שֶׁ֥בַע שַׁבָּת֖וֹת תְּמִימֹ֥ת תִּהְיֶֽינָה׃ עַ֣ד מִֽמָּחֳרַ֤ת הַשַּׁבָּת֙ הַשְּׁבִיעִ֔ת תִּסְפְּר֖וּ חֲמִשִּׁ֣ים י֑וֹם...

"And from the day on which you bring the sheaf of elevation offering—the day after the sabbath—you shall count off seven weeks. They must be complete: You must count until the day after the seventh week—fifty days…" (Vayikra 23:15-16).

The days of counting are like the "intermediate days" (Chol HaMoed) that connect Pesach and Shavuot into one festivity, similar to the intermediate days of Succot:

...וצוה בחג המצות שבעה ימים בקדושה לפניהם ולאחריהם כי כולם קדושים ובתוכם ה' ומנה ממנו תשעה וארבעים יום שבעה שבועות כימי עולם וקדש יום שמיני כשמיני של חג והימים הספורים בינתים כחולו של מועד בין הראשון והשמיני בחג והוא יום מתן תורה שהראם בו את אשו הגדולה ודבריו שמעו מתוך האש ולכך יקראו רבותינו ז"ל בכל מקום חג השבועות עצרת...

"And He commanded seven days on the Festival of Matsot, with holiness before them and after them, 'since they are all holy and amongst them is the Lord.' And He counted from it forty-nine days - seven weeks - like the days of yore, and He sanctified the eighth, like the eighth [day] of the Festival (Sukkot). And the days that are counted between them are like the intermediate days of the festival (chol ha-moed) between the first and eighth day of the Festival. And it is the day of the giving of the Torah, on which He showed them His great fire. And therefore, in every place, our rabbis, may their memory be blessed, called the Festival of Weeks, the convocation - as it is like the eighth day of [Sukkot], that the verse called the same". (Ramban, Vayikra 23:36).

The mitzva of counting is intended to connect Pesach with Shavuot - two major events in the formation of the Jewish people: The Exodus from Egypt and the giving of the Torah. They are interrelated because the giving of the Torah was the purpose of the exodus from Egypt: "

משרשי המצוה. על צד הפשט, לפי שכל עקרן של ישראל אינו אלא התורה... והיא העקר והסבה שנגאלו ויצאו ממצרים, כדי שיקבלו התורה בסיני ויקימוה (ספר החינוך מצוה ש''ו)

"It is from the roots of the commandment from the angle of the simple understanding [that it is] since the entire essence of Israel is only the

Torah… And it is the essence and the reason that they were redeemed and left from Egypt - in order that they receive the Torah at Sinai and fulfill it". (Sefer HaChinuch 306). The exodus from slavery to physical freedom to national independence is connected to the giving of the Torah in which the spiritual identity of the Jewish people was consolidated, and its unique cultural character, which made them free from a spiritual perspective as well.

Counting the Omer has a message for generations that the people of Israel's political and spiritual cultural freedom are two sides of the same coin needing each other. There is no spiritual freedom without physical freedom. Being physically enslaved means also, being enslaved to its spiritual concepts. Political freedom is also not complete without a spiritual self-image. For in Israel the motivation to build the political framework stems from its unique ideals and spiritual values. The political framework seeks to achieve its form and manner of conduct.

This is also the essence of the connection between Independence Day and Jerusalem Day. Independence Day expresses the establishment of the state and the creation of a sovereign political framework. Jerusalem Day expresses the return to a complete Jerusalem and the spiritual values ​​of the Holy that it represents, values ​​that stem from the Jewish tradition that was rooted in the Jewish religion.

In the last election campaign, the issue of 'separation of religion and state' was strongly discussed. As with similar issues, the manner in which the question is posed dictates the positions that will be expressed during the discussion. The title 'separation of Church and State' attests to its connection to a discussion that took place some two hundred years ago (attributed to the English philosopher John Locke) as an uprising against the control of the Christian church in the country and its laws.

The model of the Jewish state is fundamentally different. The Western state is essentially a state like any other, established to serve as a framework that will serve its citizens and provide for their social, economic, cultural and security needs. The laws of such a state are supposed to allow this and to be based on the experience of conduct and practice, and to be determined by elected officials and representatives. The Church imposed itself on the state as a governing body that would dictate its laws.

In contrast, a 'Jewish state' is a unique model. It was established because the Jewish people wanted to establish for themselves a sovereign political framework whose framework and laws would reflect the spiritual and cultural values of the Jewish people originating in the Jewish religion. Therefore, even if we wonder what these values are, they cannot be separated from the state, because then the Jewish state will lose its unique character. On the contrary, the connection between them should be strengthened so that the State of Israel will be a moral and incorruptible model state in the spirit of Judaism.