Torah Calendar
14-27 Iyar, 5782
May 15-28, 2022
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Attributes of the month
of Iyar: Ruling permutation of the
letters of HAVAYAH: YOD KEH KEH VAV,
contained in the initial Hebrew letters of Yithalel Hamithalel Haskeil Veyado'a -- "Let
him that glories [glory in this, that] he
knows and understands [Me]" (Jeremiah
9:23).
The month's corresponding Letter is: VAV; Human attribute: THOUGHT;
Body Part: RIGHT KIDNEY; Tribe: ISSACHAR;
Constellation: SHOR (Taurus, the Ox).
The month of Iyar is particularly conducive to deep contemplation and understanding. It is also conducive to healing since all the sick among the Children of Israel who left Egypt were completely healed in this period in preparation for the Giving of the Torah. Thus the Hebrew name of the month of Iyar is made up of the letters Aleph-Yud-Reish, the initial letters of the Hebrew words Ani YKVK Rophecha, "I HaShem am your Healer" (Exodus 15:26).
Saturday night-Sunday May 14-15 / 14
Iyar
PESACH SHENI
In Temple times those
who had been ritually impure or far from Jerusalem
at the time of the Pesach sacrifice on 14 Nissan had
a second opportunity to bring their paschal sacrifice
on Pesach Sheni, "the second Pesach" (see
Numbers 9:1-22).
Today is a semi-festival and the usual Tachanun supplications are not recited
in the Synagogue services. Some celebrate Pesach Sheni by eating Matzot. The
most appropriate time to eat the Matzot would be on Sunday evening April 15
since the Pesach Sheni sacrifice was offered on the afternoon of 14 Iyar and
eaten that night at a "Seder" together with Matzot.
Today is the Yahrzeit of the great Tanna, Rabbi Meir "Baal HaNess" ("Master of the miracle"), familiar from his teachings throughout the Talmud. He is buried in Tiberias, Israel. It is also the Yahrzeit of his equally outstanding contemporary, Rabbi Yehudah bar Ilai, who is buried aside the Safed-Meiron road.
Sunday night May 15 / 15 Iyar
Tonight is the appropriate time to eat Matzot and recall the Exodus from Egypt in commemoration of Pesach Sheni, since in Temple times the paschal lamb was offered on the afternoon of 14 Iyar and was eaten at a Seder Night with matzot and maror (bitter herbs) this evening.
Monday May 16 / 15 Iyar
On this day the 30-day supply of Matzot which the Children of Israel took with them out of Egypt came to an end, and when they cried out for food, HaShem sent them the Manna. This is a day to focus on the miracles with which the Almighty provides us with our livelihood, physical and spiritual, and to develop our trust that He will always supply us with everything we need. The practical expression of this trust is when we pray to Him for all that we need.
Today is the last of the three optional daytime fasts of BeHaB that follow the Pesach festival after the end of Nissan. The practice is based on Job 1:5, where Job sacrificed to atone for possible inappropriate behavior on the part of his children during their feasting. The fast is observed from dawn until nightfall, and Selichot (penitential prayers) are recited in the synagogue. Great spiritual gains are available for those who are able to observe these fasts.
All medicines come from the earth. Therefore during the season when the earth gives forth her bounty and puts strength into all the trees and plants, i.e. during the month of Iyar when the fruits ripen, all medicinal plants have greater power, because the earth then puts strength into them. However at other times, even if one were to take exactly the same medicines, they would not have the same power. This is why people take medicines in the month of Iyar - May.
Rabbi Nachman, Likutey Moharan I, 277
Wednesday night-Thursday May 18-19 / 18 Iyar
LAG BA-OMER
Today is the 33rd day of the Omer
count (Lamed=30; Gimmel=3), exactly two thirds of the way from
Pesach to Shavuot, famous as the day when the plague that had struck
Rabbi Akiva's students ceased in the merit of his foremost disciple, Rabbi
Shimon bar Yochai, known as RaShBI, who
revealed the kabbalistic teachings of the Zohar.
While Rabbi Akiva's other students failed to show each other sufficient
respect, R. Shimon said, "For me, everything depends on loving
fellowship" (Zohar).
Lag BaOmer is considered the day of the Hilula (=heavenly ascent,
lit. "wedding") of R. Shimon, and hundreds of thousands flock to
the site of his burial cave on Mt Meiron facing
Safed in the northern Galilee. All over the world Jews light bonfires and rejoice
in honor of RaShBI. This is a propitious day for binding ourselves to all the
true Tzaddikim and for the study of the secrets of the Torah.
Parents: Please ensure that your children are under proper supervision if they light Lag BaOmer bonfires!
Lag BaOmer is also the Yahrzeit of Rabbi Moshe Isserles (1520-72) author of the Mappah, glosses on the normative Torah law code Shulchan Aruch which give the Ashknezi legal rulings where they differ from those of the main work. His grave is in the old Jewish cemetery in Cracow, Poland.
Thursday night-Friday May 19-20 / 19 Iyar
Today is the Yahrzeit of Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Riminov (d. 1815), an important Hassidic leader who emphasized the benefit of daily recital of Parshat HaMann (Exodus 16:4-36 about the Manna) accompanied by prayers for livelihood.
Shabbat Friday night-Saturday May 20-21 / 20 Iyar
Torah reading: Israel: Behukotai;
Diaspora: Behar.
After the Shabbat afternoon service we read the fourth chapter
of Pirkey Avot.
Tuesday May 24 / 23 Iyar
Anniversary of the massacre of hundreds of Jews by crusaders in the German town of Worms.
Thursday night-Friday May 26-27 / 26 Iyar
Today is the Yahrzeit of Rav Saadia Gaon (c. 882-942), outstanding Jewish philosopher and defender of the Oral Torah against the Karaites, and of Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto ("Ramchal", 1707-46), towering kabbalist of the modern era.
Shabbat Friday night-Saturday May 27-28 / 27
Iyar
Torah reading: Israel: Bamidbar;
Diaspora: Bechukosai.
SHABBAT MEVARCHIM SIVAN
After the synagogue
Torah reading we bless the coming month of Sivan. Rosh Chodesh
(the New Moon) will be on Monday night-Tuesday 3-4 June. The Molad
(junction of the sun and the moon) will be on Monday May 30 2019
at 06:04 and 2 chalakim a.m.
After the Shabbat afternoon service we read the fifth chapter of Pirkey
Avot.
The first ten days of Nissan correspond to the letter Yod of the holy name A-D-N-Y "our Lord"; the four days of checking the Paschal lamb from 11-14 Nissan correspond to the Dalet; the fifty days from the first day of Pesach to the eve of Shavuot correspond to the Nun, and Shavuot itself corresponds to the Aleph, signifying our complete acceptance of the kingship of G-d through our service in this period.
Saturday night-Sunday May 28-29 / 28 Iyar
Yahrzeit of Samuel the Prophet.
Today is Yom Yerushalayim ("Jerusalem Day") marking
the reunification of the Holy City on 7 June 1967
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