Tomorrow Is Another Day

By Rabbi Joshua ( numerically known as The Hoffer) Hoffman

In parshas Emor, after the section of laws pertaining to the kohanim, we are given the section on the holidays. As part of this section, we are told that, You shall count for yourself, on the morrow of the rest day (mi-macharas ha Shabbos), from the day that you bring the Omer of the waving,seven weeks,they shall be complete" ( Vayikra, 23:15). When is 'the morrow of the rest day, i.e., of 'Shabbos'? The Talmud (Menachos 66a) teaches us that this is the day after the first day of Pesach. The opinion of the Tzedukim (Sadducees), however, as recorded by the Talmud, is that Shabbos- the rest day, referred to in this verse refers to Shabbos in its literal sense, meaning, the seventh day of the week. Many commentators have written at length to show that the explanation of the rabbis, that tomorrow here means the first day of Pesach, conforms with the peshat, or the plain meaning of the verse. Rabbi David Tzvi Hoffman, in his commentary, has a particularly lengthy essay on this issue, as he was engaged in a battle with the modern-day Sadduces, namely, even after all of the learned treatments of this issue, it is because of our received tradition that we know how to translate this word here. Why did the Torah refer to the first day of Pesach in such an unusual way?

I believe that the key to understanding the usage of the term ' macharas has Shabbos' lies is taking note of the purpose behind counting forty -nine days during from that day until the holiday of Shavuos. although the Torah itself tells us that this count begins from the bringing of the Omer and continues until the bringing of the special meal offering of the two loaves on shavuos, there is another theme involved, as well. The Hachinuch writes that this count constitutes a linkage between the exodus of the nation from egypt and the giving of the Torah at Mt. Sinai, and is a kind of countdown from one event to the other, in anticipation of receiving the Torah. seen in this light, we can understand why the Torah uses such an unclear term to refer to the beginning of the count. A proper understanding of this term requires a tradition from our sages as to its true meaning, and this underscores the fact that the written Torah must be understood on the basis of the oral Torah. Both of these Torahs were to be given at Sinai, and the people needed to know from the start that they are inexorably linked. Therefore, from the beginning of their countdown to the great event of the revealtion at Mt. Sinai, they were taught that the Torah they will receive there consists of two parts, and that one must be understood in conjunction with the other.

This dependence of the two Torahs is starkly brought out in a story recorded in the Talmud ( Shabbos 31 a), regarding one of three prospective converts who were dismissed by Shamai and engaged by Hillel. One of these non- Jews approached Shamai and asked how many Torahs the Jews have. Shamai answered that there are two Torahs, one written and one oral. The non- Jew asked to be converted on conditionthat he accept only hte written law. Shamai dismissed him out of hand, so he went to Hillel with the same request. Hillel taught him the Hebrew alphabet, and told him to come back the next day. On his return , Hillel proceeded to teach him the letters of the alphabet exactly opposite to the way he taught him the day before. When the non- Jew pointed this out, Hillel told him that he needs to realize that just as he is dependent on him for proper instruction in the Hebrew alphabet, so too is he dependent on him,as a transmitter of the oral law, for a proper understanding of the written Torah. This, I believe, is the message behind the Torah's unusual phrasing of the starting point of the Omer count.