B"H
Friday, Nissan 30, 5780 / April 24, 2020
Today is the first day Rosh Chodesh of the new month, Iyar. Shabbat will be the second day Rosh Chodesh. As on every Rosh Chodesh, the Hallel and the additional Musaf prayers are recited.
Some months have one day Rosh Chodesh and other months celebrate two days Rosh Chodesh. Iyar, has two days Rosh Chodesh.
There is a special mitzvah, the mitzvah of Sefirat Haomer - the Counting of the Omer, which we began on the second night of Pesach and which connects the month of Nissan and the month of Iyar. We continue counting the Omer each night for a period of forty nine days. On the 50th day we celebrate the holiday of Shavuot - the Giving of the Torah.
Thus, the month of Iyar is unique in that it has this special mitzvah each night for the entire month.
The month of Iyar is also connected to “Refuah” - healing. Our sages tell us that the name of this month "Iyar" is an acronym for the words, "Ani Hashem Rofecha" - "I am the G-d, Who heals you."
Q. Why is this month, which connects the Exodus and the giving of the Torah, associated with healing?
A. When the Jewish people left Egypt, after many years of harsh labor, they were a crushed, sick and weary people. But when they came to Mount Sinai, they were all well and healed. There was not one sick person amongst them. Iyar is a month of healing.
In the Rosh Chodesh Musaf service we pray, "Our G-d and G-d of our fathers renew for us this month for good and for blessing, for gladness and for joy, for deliverance and for consolation, for livelihood and for sustenance, for good life and for peace."
In the second chapter of Pirkei Avot, which we recite this Shabbat, we find instructions as how to deal with others. The sage Hillel said, "Do not judge another person until you have reached his place."
Hillel teaches us that one cannot truly judge others unless one is in his/her precise situation, and no two people find themselves in the same condition physically and emotionally. Everyone’s challenges, strenghts and weaknesses are very different.
The Torah commands us, "Love your fellow as yourself." Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov explains this to mean, "Just like each person loves themselves in spite of all the faults and shortcomings which they may have, so too, the Torah tells us, to love the other person as yourself - regardless of their faults and shortcomings.”
May the new month of Iyar, the month of healing, bring complete healing (Refuah Shleimah) to all who are sick and battling the Corona virus and other illnesses. May this month bring Shalom and peace to all. Amen.
SHABBAT SHALOM & A WONDERFUL CHODESH-MONTH
Montreal candle lighting time: 7:34 / Shabbat ends: 8:43
In loving memory of Jimmy Goldgeier, Yaakov Yosef ben Chaim, on his 18th yahrzeit, Iyar 1.
From his parents, Charles and Sally, his brother and sister-in-law, Dan and Valerie.
May the Neshama of Yaakov Yosef ben Chaim rest in peace in Gan Eden and may his memory be a blessing.