The days between Passover and Shavuot are called the Omer Counting Days. Originally, these were days of preparation for Shavuot, days of rectification. However, during the time of Rabbi Akiva, these days took on a painful significance, with the death of twenty-four thousand of his disciples.
These disciples were the spiritual backbone of the Jewish people, and following their deaths, these days were designated as days of mourning and reflection.
Our sages set this event as a sign for generations. They taught that the plague struck the disciples of Rabbi Akiva because they 'did not show respect for one another.' Hence the lesson – how important it is to respect one another, to love one another, to stay away from discord, from quarreling, from gratuitous hatred.
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In real life
Unfortunately, the urge for controversy never leaves us for a moment. It penetrates every corner, every public, every community. It always finds a reason for a quarrel, and wraps it in the appropriate justifications. It knows how to speak to everyone in their own language and trap them in its web, the web of argument and division.
It is also said that in the Land of Israel there is a particular intensification of this instinct, in an attempt to ignite a fire of hatred in the Holy Land, to pit one against another, and to fan the flames of strife. We are required to be particularly vigilant and cautious so as not to fall into the trap, and not to be dragged along by the wiles of the instinct that attempts to justify the dispute with all sorts of pretexts.
Every morning we ask, "Do not lead me into temptation," because we are not always able to stand the test. It is one thing to learn the story of the sages about the old man Hillel, who was infinitely patient even with that poor man who stood on Shabbat Eve at the door of his house and called out, "Who is here, Hillel?"; it is another thing entirely to act according to this scale of values in real life.
Internalizing the need to beware of controversy as if it were fire can help us avoid it in times of trial. At that crucial moment, the urge provides us with countless reasons and justifications for why to fight back, why not be among those who are offended and not offended. As is its custom, it also dresses its arguments in the guise of Torah and fear of God, and then the challenge becomes doubly difficult.
The advice that will help us stand the test is to constantly remember that discord and hatred of brothers are like wildfire, consuming everything. How do we view today the two organizations that failed to cooperate in the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising? Who cares about the claims, just or unjust, of each side?
To cleanse oneself of hatred
We are all required to do self-work in this area. To cleanse ourselves of hatred for other communities and other Jews. To see the good in others. To believe that every Jew, no matter who they are, has treasures of goodness, faith, love, and caring. We just need to uncover them.
It is especially important to increase love during the days when we are fighting our enemies, when so many of us are risking our lives and working nights for our safety and security. Let us transform these days into days of unity and love, days of gratitude and appreciation, days of connection and learning virtue, and God, the Almighty, will say enough is enough for our troubles and send us the Messiah of our righteousness.
