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Counting Seven Weeks

TANAKH

Counting seven weeks from the moment the sickle is first used on the standing grain is an important commandment that prepares for the Feast of Weeks (Shavuot). The book of Deuteronomy, the fifth book of the Torah, outlines this commandment and emphasizes the importance of bringing a freewill offering to God during Shavuot.

You shall count off seven weeks; start to count the seven weeks when the sickle is first put to the standing grain. Then you shall observe the Feast of Weeks for your God יהוה, offering your freewill contribution according as your God יהוה has blessed you.

Deuteronomy 16:9-10

Six Actions with Eternal Rewards

TALMUD

Certain virtuous actions are said to yield benefits both in this world and in the World-to-Come. The Babylonian Talmud, in tractate Shabbat, enumerates six specific actions that provide these dual benefits.

Rav Yehuda bar Sheila said that Rabbi Asi said that Rabbi Yoḥanan said: There are six matters a person enjoys the profits of in this world, and nevertheless the principal exists for him for the World-to-Come, and they are: Hospitality toward guests, and visiting the sick, and consideration during prayer, and rising early to the study hall, and one who raises his sons to engage in Torah study, and one who judges another favorably, giving him the benefit of the doubt.

Shabbat 127a:14

The Balance of Moderation: Eight Actions to Avoid in Excess

TALMUD

Certain actions, while beneficial in moderation, can be detrimental to both the body and the soul when done in excess. The Talmudic tractate Gittin, from the early medieval period, discusses eight such actions and their impact.

Eight actions are difficult for the body and the soul to handle in large amounts and are beneficial in small amounts, and they are: Traveling on the road, engaging in the way of the world, i.e., engaging in sexual intercourse, having wealth, work, drinking wine, sleep, hot water, and bloodletting.

Gittin 70a:24

Divine Allocation of the Land: Three Methods of Distribution

TALMUD

The division of the Land of Israel was a complex and divinely guided process, ensuring each tribe received a suitable portion through three distinct methods: lots, the Urim and Tummim, and payments. The Jerusalem Talmud elaborates on this multifaceted process, highlighting the divine intervention that made each place desirable to its inhabitants.

It was stated similarly: The Land of Israel was distributed by two urns, one containing the lots, the other containing the names of the tribes. Two young priests were standing, what each of them brought up he won. By three ways the Land of Israel was divided up, by lots, and Urim and Tummim, and by payments. That is what is written Joshua threw them lots before the Eternal at Mispeh. Lots, these are the lots. Before the Eternal, these are the Urim and Tummim. Between large and small, these are payments…

Jerusalem Talmud Yoma 4:1:3

Seven Hidden Matters and Three Divine Thoughts

TALMUD

The Talmud reveals seven matters hidden from humanity and three divine thoughts essential for the world's existence. The Babylonian Talmud, in tractate Pesachim, discusses these profound mysteries and their significance.

Apropos the list of items created during twilight, the Gemara cites that the Sages taught: Seven matters are concealed from people, and they are: The day of death; and the day of consolation from one’s concerns; the profundity of justice, ascertaining the truth in certain disputes; and a person also does not know what is in the heart of another; and a person does not know in what way he will earn a profit; and one does not know when the monarchy of the house of David will be restored to Israel…

Pesachim 54b:2-3

Three Foundations of the World

MISHNAH

The world stands on three foundational principles: the Torah, the Temple service, and the practice of acts of piety. Pirkei Avot, a tractate of the Mishnah, offers ethical teachings and maxims from the Rabbis, traditionally studied on Shabbat afternoons in the summer months.

Shimon the Righteous was one of the last of the men of the great assembly. He used to say: the world stands upon three things: the Torah, the Temple service, and the practice of acts of piety.

Pirkei Avot 1:2

Three Beneficial Practices in Moderation

TALMUD

Certain things, while potentially harmful in excess, can be beneficial when used in moderation. The Sages in a baraita highlight three such things: leavening in dough, salt in a cooked dish, and refusal for the sake of propriety.

On this note, the Gemara cites that which the Sages taught in a baraita: There are three things that are harmful in excess but are beneficial when used sparingly. They are: Leavening in dough, salt in a cooked dish and refusal for the sake of propriety.

Berakhot 34a:5

Four Actions That Change Destiny

TALMUD

Specific actions like giving charity, praying, changing one's name, and improving one's deeds can transform a person's fate. Rabbi Yitzḥak's teaching in the Talmud outlines these transformative actions and supports them with scriptural references.

And Rabbi Yitzḥak said: A person’s sentence is torn up on account of four types of actions. These are: Giving charity, crying out in prayer, a change of one’s name, and a change of one’s deeds for the better. An allusion may be found in Scripture for all of them: Giving charity, as it is written: “And charity delivers from death” (Proverbs 10:2); crying out in prayer, as it is written: “Then they cry to the Lord in their trouble, and He brings them out of their distresses” (Psalms 107:28)…

Rosh Hashanah 16b:6

The Three Divine Keys

TALMUD

Certain aspects of life and existence are so crucial that they are directly controlled by God alone, as opposed to an intermediary. Rabbi Yoḥanan teaches that the keys to rain, birthing, and the resurrection of the dead are exclusively held by God, highlighting His direct involvement in these areas.

§ The Gemara cites related statements concerning the idea that rainfall provides evidence of God’s might. Rabbi Yoḥanan said: There are three keys maintained in the hand of the Holy One, Blessed be He, which were not transmitted to an intermediary, i.e., God tends to these matters Himself. And they are: The key of rain, the key of birthing, and the key of the resurrection of the dead.

Taanit 2a:12

The Significance of Ten

MISHNAH

The number ten appears repeatedly in the context of miracles, plagues, and trials, indicating a divine pattern of intervention and testing. Pirkei Avot, a tractate of the Mishnah, offers ethical teachings and maxims from the Rabbis, traditionally studied on Shabbat afternoons between Passover and Rosh Hashanah.

Ten miracles were wrought for our ancestors in Egypt, and ten at the sea. Ten plagues did the Holy one, blessed be He, bring upon the Egyptians in Egypt and ten at the sea. [With] ten trials did our ancestors try God, blessed be He, in the Wilderness, as it is said, “and they have tried Me these ten times and they have not listened to my voice” (Numbers 14:22).

Pirkei Avot 5:4

The Spiritual Significance of Seven

CHASIDUT

The number seven is deeply symbolic in Judaism, representing creation, completion, and elemental spiritual forces. In his contemporary work, Zev Reichman explores the mystical and spiritual dimensions of the number seven, particularly in relation to the days of the week and God's creation of the world.

The number seven recalls the days of the week and also God’s creation of the world. On each of the seven days of creation, He formed a different elemental spiritual force. These spiritual forces devolved into the material world. The number seven symbolizes these forces and the totality of the natural world’s origins.

Flames of Faith 1:16

The Twelve Tribal Leaders

COMMENTARY

The twelve tribal leaders of Israel are not just historical figures but foundational to the identity and structure of the Israelite tribes. Radak, a medieval Jewish commentator, provides linguistic and exegetical insights into the significance of these leaders in various biblical contexts.

שנים עשר נשיאים לאומתם, twelve princes corresponding to the number of their families (tribes). Each one of the ones named by the Torah was a tribal chief, member of a family which grew into a mighty tribe bearing the name of their first founder. We find further detailed examples of these tribes in Chronicles I 5,19. A number of these tribes have been mentioned in different contexts in the Books of the Prophets.

Radak on Genesis 25:16:4

The True Strength in Numbers

COMMENTARY

The Torah’s census focuses not on military or economic power, but on the intrinsic worth of each individual. Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, in his commentary on the Torah portion 'Ki Tisa,' delves into the deeper significance of the census described in the Book of Exodus.

If only by way of midrash, and with no suggestion that this is the plain sense of the verse, I offer another interpretation. Why do nations normally take a census of their population? To establish their strength: military (the number of people who can be conscripted into an army), economic (the number from whom taxes can be raised) or simply demographic (the numerical growth or decline of the nation). The assumption beneath every census is: there is strength in numbers. The more numerous a people, the stronger it is.

Covenant and Conversation; Exodus; The Book of Redemption, Ki Tisa, Counting Jews 11

Omer Calendar, counting seven weeks from Passover to Shavuot. Netherlands, 18th century

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