Finite Founded on Infinite
The mass of the land is vast, huge. But the waters of the ocean open up an altogether different concept. In the tongue of the Gemara, the sea is termed water that has no end. ((Yevamot 121a.)) They are infinite. The infinity of the waters corresponds to the endless life of the World to Come. In a flawed world death is an inevitability we cannot escape; the evil inherent to humanity and its surroundings is expelled by the decomposition of death. But in the perfection of the World to Come death will be no more. The life of the sea gives us a small inkling into what to expect. ((This is the secret of why fish is considered a special Shabbos food: on Shabbos, the time that corresponds to the World to Come, it is proper to eat the fish of the sea.))
This allows us a deep insight into a blessing that we recite each morning, as we give praise to He who founded the firmament upon the waters. The earth, the finite land mass, is founded on the infinity of the ocean. In other words, the foundation of a finite world was enacted for the purpose of bringing us to the infinity of the World to Come. Our finite earthly existence is based on an infinite existence which is the true intent of our creation. As the verse states, “Life is His will” ((Tehillin 30:6.)) —His will is true life, infinite life.
All the labor of our lives is focused at bringing us to the sea, the resting place to which all waters head. ((Kohelet 1:7.)) Without abate, the Heavenly desire for eternal life is expressed in the waves of the sea, which bash constantly against the shore they wish to overwhelm. They cannot do so—they cannot engulf the world, for Hashem has placed barriers in their path. ((Tehillim 104:9.)) These are the limits or confines of the land on which we live. But one day the limits will be no more. Then we shall cross the boundary between finite and infinite.
From Counting to the Uncountable
This boundary is crossed annually upon reaching the festival of Shavuot. The word middah, the “measure” of the land mentioned in the verse, ((Iyov 11:9.)) reaches a numerical value of forty nine; the word yam, on the other hand, the sea mentioned in the second part of the verse, reaches fifty.
The count of the Omer, a count that reaches forty-nine but that brings us to fifty, is a path leading from a finite existence to the infinite that we cannot touch. We count from one through to forty-nine, a count that remains in the boundary of finite. The fiftieth day is uncountable. The crossover from forty nine to fifty is the crossover from finite to infinite, from worldly to otherworldly. ((Zohar thus states that the count of the Omer corresponds to the forty-nine “countable” Gates of Understanding, whereas the fiftieth remains with Hashem, beyond the concept of human counting.))
The revelation of fifty, the day that we cannot count but is rather counted from Above, implies a new revelation of Torah. As mentioned, the verse parallels the Torah both to the vastness of the land and to the endlessness of the sea. The Torah that we possess before Shavuot is parallel to the land; the Torah of Shavuot is as the sea. The two are incomparable.
Changing Gears
This is why we need the renewed acceptance of Torah that Shavuot brings us yearly. Every year is a year of avodah, a year of service that starts at a starting point and ends—we hope—at the target of growth and rectification that it was due to bring. From a vantage point of this year, the avodah of the next year is out of sight. It is entirely “beyond.” Just as each of us has a portion of Torah, so each year has a unique part within that portion. This part is handed out yearly at Shavuot.
In effect, Shavuot takes us from the known path of the past year, a path that we can count and quantify, and brings us to the unknown way of a new avodah—a path that is ‘infinite’ with respect to the one we now tread. Without Shavuot we would be unable to progress from one year to the next; we would be unable to escape the confines of our current level of avodah.
This idea is beautifully expressed by the difference between the length of land and the width of the sea. The concept of length refers to expansion in a particular direction, taking us from one point to the next. The length of a road, for instance, describes the passage of the road from one place to another. The varied features of any particular item are likewise described predominantly along its length.
Width, on the other hand, describes an expansion of an entity within itself, without any passageway from one point to another. Widening a road will not take us to any new locations. The road expands, yet in doing so it does not lead. The expansion of a landscape’s length reveals new horizons. The expansion of its width reveals no new locations, but widens or deepens the revelation of the very same place.
The year of avodah is an expansion in terms of length. Each day is a day of growth, of new achievement. But achieving an expansion of width, an expansion of the very plane of our service in Torah, is entirely beyond our reach. We can accelerate, but we cannot change gears. This is handed out, for those who merit it, from Above. The day on which we receive the “handout” is Shavuot.
The fruit of the tree
On Shavuot we are judged regarding the fruit of the tree. The tree, as stated by the verse, is a metaphor for the human frame. ((Devarim 20:19, according to the hermeneutical interpretation of Chazal.)) Fruit, in turn, are the mitzvos that we are able to perform. ((Sotah 46a.)) Our mitzvos are our fruit. On Rosh Hashanah we are judged regarding our very existence, the very life of the human tree. The decree of our avodah, of our potential for bearing fruit, is given on Shavuot.
The bark of a tree defines its length. The fruit, however, together with the branches that bear them, define its width. The revelation of Sinai, bringing us to a new phase in our part in Torah and our portion in the World to Come, is given to those who count; to those who reach the maximal expansion of the plane on which they live. After stretching length to the fullest—after reaching forty nine—we merit a new revelation of width on day fifty.
Unique among produce is fruit, which unlike grains, vegetables, and meats, can be consumed as soon as they ripen, requiring no human input to ready for human consumption. Even as we stand on finite land, the natural sweetness of fruit gives us a glimpse of the World to Come. ((See, for instance, Pesachim 8b, for a demonstration of the remarkable sweetness of fruit.))
The judgment of Rosh Hashanah pertains to the person of our world, of Olam Ha-Zeh. On Shavuot we are judged with regard to our Olam Ha-Bah, our portion in Torah.
May we be found worthy in judgment, and merit to receive Torah in the fullest sense of the word.
©2010 by Yehoshua Pfeffer
