Q:
Now that we finished counting the Omer and we had Shavuos and we already received the Torah, so what should be the focus of our service of Hashem from after Shavuos until Rosh Hashana?
A:
Now rabosai, I’m going to tell you something that I always say: The happiest season of the year is the summertime; yes, the good old summertime. And so, let’s learn to enjoy life right now. There’s nothing like summertime. In the summertime if you’re a landlord, you don’t spend any money on heating the building. Think of all the money you save in the oil bills! That’s a happiness. You think it’s silly? It’s not silly at all.
Summertime, there are no colds! Unless you sit in front of the air conditioner all the time and you drink only cold drinks – watch out for that! But otherwise, you won’t catch a cold. Respiratory illnesses? Not in the summertime! No coughing, no sneezing! The summertime is a pleasure! What a great blessing it is! In the summertime you get vitamins free of charge. Walk out in the street and the sun is showering vitamins on you; the sun is a vitamin dispensary. In wintertime there are clouds and you don’t always get the vitamins you need. Sometimes you have to take extra vitamin pills. In the summertime, you get all you want. And so, boruch Hashem for the summertime. In the summertime fruits are plentiful. That’s when the apples are coming. Ah! Red apples and luscious cherries and plums and peaches; they’re plentiful in the summer and the prices go down in all the fruit stores. Now you’re living! Look how much there is to enjoy in the summertime. When you walk out in the street, don’t complain, “Oh, it’s a hot day.” Don’t be a fool! Hakodosh Boruch Hu is giving you so much energy from the sun and it’s free of charge. Millions of tons of horsepower energy are pouring onto this earth free of charge in the summertime; it’s causing the earth to become enriched and the fruits to develop. And it doesn’t cost you a penny to get all that energy from the sun. So when you walk out into the street you have to say, “Boruch atah Hashem yotzer ha’meoros.” Don’t say Hashem’s name of course. But something you must say! You have to thank Hashem for the summertime. So, this person asks: What’s the service of Hashem from Shavuos until Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur? The service is singing to Hashem. Learn how to sing to Hashem. And don’t think it’s a small thing. Tov lehodos laHashem – Do you know what’s good in this world? To sing to Hashem and to thank Him. That’s what’s good. It’s the only good there is. What do you think was the avodas Hashem that we were mekabel when we accepted the Torah on Har Sinai? The most important service of Hashem is gratitude to Hashem! So now you know that from Shavuous until Rosh Hashanah we’re busy singing and thanking Hashem for the manifold benefits He’s giving to us; and we’ll never do it enough. אילו פינו מלא שירה כים אין אנו מספיקים – We’ll never thank You enough! That’s the very great service in the summertime. It doesn’t mean you have to stop learning. We can continue learning and doing Torah and mitzvos. Nevertheless, the avodah of gratitude for the summertime, the happiness of the summertime and thankfulness for the summertime is a very important avodah to be busy with. |