“RABBI’S MUSINGS (& AMUSINGS)”
Erev Shabbos Kodesh parshas Acharei-Kedoshim
26h day of the Omer – Avos perek
3
11 Iyar 5781/April 23, 2021
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לרפואה שלימה נטע יצחק בן רחל
AFIKOMEN OF LAG
BAOMER
For
children it’s unquestionably one of the highlights of the Seder – hiding the
afikomen. Some call it stealing the afikomen, some opine that doing so is
inappropriate. But whatever it’s called, children love the little midnight game
of hide and seek during the Seder.
This
year, at the beginning of the first Seder, our four-and-a-half-year-old twins
hid the afikomen with their older brothers. But they were long asleep before it
was time to eat the afikomen. So, on the first day during the seudah, we made a
mock afikomen, giving them a chance to hide a piece of matzah.
Towards
the end of the seudah, Gavriel, one of the twins, told me I had to look for the
afikomen. When I asked him where it was he replied that I had to look and he
wouldn’t tell me. I asked him how I can look for it if he didn’t tell me where
it was. He thought for a second and then replied that it was hidden inside a
fold up bed upstairs. His older brothers were not happy when I came downstairs
holding the coveted afikomen.
That
night, the twins stayed up for the entire second Seder. (In fact, at 1:30 am
after we were done, they still weren’t going to sleep...) This time after they
hid the afikomen, Gavriel’s older brothers warned him that he was not allowed
to reveal the hiding place to me, even if I asked.
I was tired and wanted to proceed but my wife gave me
those eyes which told me that I was going to go look for it.
This
time Gavriel wouldn’t fall for my efforts to convince him to tell me where the
afikomen was hidden. So I went into one of the bedrooms, smiled, and announced
that I had found it. Gavriel had a confused look on his face, and immediately
ran to his bed to check under the pillow where the afikomen was stashed. I
followed him from a distance. A moment later, to the chagrin of my children, I
again emerged with the afikomen.
The
concept of our children hiding the afikomen and we, their parents, looking for
it, contains a beautiful symbolism of one of our most important tasks as
parents. Every child has unique qualities that make him special. As one
educator once said, “every child has gifts. Some discover them later than
others.” Very often those qualities and talents remain latent and need to be
recognized. Our task as parents is to search for the hidden afikomen within our
children and to reveal it, particularly for our children.
The
truth is that this idea is not limited to our children. We also have the
responsibility to search for and reveal our own greatness and to recognize our
own vital contribution.
Lag
Baomer is a celebration of the revelation of the hidden inner light. The days
of Sefira mourn the fact that the students of Rabbi Akiva did not treat each
other within adequate respect. They failed to recognize and respect the
opinions and contributions of their colleagues. But Rav Shimon bar Yochai was
able to elevate even the most mundane individuals.
The
fires of Lag Baomer which light up the dark night, are symbolic of the light of
Rav Shimon, which lit up the darkest of places and ignited the souls of the
most distant and forlorn individuals.
In a
sense, Rav Shimon bar Yochai revealed the afikomen of every person he
encountered with genuine love. Even greater was the fact that he did not need
to employ psychological tricks to do it.
Shabbat Shalom & Good Shabbos
R’ Dani and Chani Staum