PEREK SHIRAH: The camel is saying, “G-d shall roar from upon high and cause His voice to sound forth from His holy place, His shout echoes profoundly over His dwelling place. (Jeremiah 25:30)______________________________________________
PIRKEI AVOT: Ben Zoma would say: Who is wise? One who learns from every man. As is stated (Psalms 119:99): "From all my teachers I have grown wise, for Your testimonials are my meditation."
Who is strong? One who overpowers his inclinations. As is stated (Proverbs 16:32), "Better one who is slow to anger than one with might, one who rules his spirit than the captor of a city."
Who is rich? One who is satisfied with his lot. As is stated (Psalms 128:2): "If you eat of toil of your hands, fortunate are you, and good is to you"; "fortunate are you" in this world, "and good is to you" in the World to Come.
Who is honorable? One who honors his fellows. As is stated (I Samuel 2:30): "For to those who honor me, I accord honor; those who scorn me shall be demeaned."
SEFIRAH: Gevurah shebeHod (discipline and judgment within the context of glory and gratefulness)
In the thirtieth week, the last week of Nissan and the week of Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day, it is the turn of the camel in Perek Shirah to proclaim that, “the Lord roars from upon high; His voice is heard from His holy place; His roar echoes loudly over His dwelling place. (Jeremiah 25:30) The verse of the camel describes how Hashem strongly laments the destruction of the Temple. Due to its destruction, the Jewish people have had to survive for a very long period of time without its basic source of spiritual sustenance, just like the camel survives for long periods without water. Nissan is the month of redemption, both the redemption from Egypt as well as the future redemption. However, even on Passover itself we have an egg on the Seder plate as a sign of mourning to remember the destruction of the Temple and that the final redemption has not yet taken place. This week also marks the yahrzeit of Yehoshua Bin Nun, on the 26th day of this month.
As is explained in the same Midrash cited in week twenty-eight, the camel represents the Babylonian exile, when the First Temple was destroyed. Moreover, like the beast of burden, the camel also appears to be a reference to Yishmael.[1] As we complete the month of Nissan, we relive all the exiles and the redemptions that the Jewish people experienced throughout history, while hoping to soon experience the final redemption that will take us out of the current exile.
Thirty is an intensification of the qualities of balance represented by the number three. The number thirty also has the numerical value of the name Yehudah. As mentioned previously, Nissan is represented by the Tribe of Judah. Pirkei Avot teaches that thirty is also the age of koach, strength and potential. (See Week 28) At thirty, one is at the height of his or her physical and intellectual capacity. It was at the age of thirty that the kohanim would begin serving in the Temple. Such strength and potential are associated with Judah and his descendant, King David, who unlike Esau, acknowledged and repented from their mistakes, and were able to fully tap into their capacity for good.
In Pirkei Avot this week, Ben Zoma teaches: "Who is wise? One who learns from every person; Who is strong? He who conquers his evil inclination ... Who is rich? He who is satisfied with his portion.” This teaching is closely related to the tragic events that took place during the time of the Counting of the Omer. The death of Rabbi Akiva’s 24,000 disciples was caused by the difficulty they had in respecting, accepting, and learning from each other’s interpretations and applications of their master’s teachings.
The destruction of the Temple and the exile in which we find ourselves to this day (which includes also the events of the Holocaust) is due to sinat chinam, baseless hatred. We will be redeemed from this final exile through ahavat chinam, baseless love for each individual.
Ben Zoma’s lesson is closely related Yehoshua Bin Nun. He was Moses’ closest disciple and successor, and yet also could relate to everyone: “on the verse describing Joshua as ‘a man in whom there is spirit,’ Sifrei explains “that he was able to meet the spirit of every man.”[2]
Ben Zoma’s second question and answer, “Who is strong? He who conquers his evil inclination,” also appears related to the yahrzeit of Joshua. The Rebbe once said regarding his yahrzeit that, “On this day, assistance from heaven is granted to become a conqueror, like Yehoshua Bin Nun, ‘the most prominent of the conquerors.’"[3] During this week, we prepare for the conquests related to the following month (Iyar), and learn to become strong conquerors like Joshua.
In this week, the combination of sefirot results in gevurah shebehod. The Counting of the Omer, especially after the end if Passover and the month of Nissan, marks a period of service to G-d that can be potentially difficult, requiring both strength and discipline in order to conquer our evil inclination.
An additional lesson that we can extract from the words of the camel is that we must always remember our mission in the world: to create a dwelling place for G-d in this world, starting by creating a sacred space for Him within ourselves.
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[1] Talmud, Brachot 56b (where the description of a dream with a camel follows description of a dream with Yishmael); Midrash Asseret Melachim, Midrash Pitron Torah
[2] Tanya, Compiler’s forward
[3] From the Rebbe’s Letters, available at: Sichos in English
All the above is from The Kabbalah of Time
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