According to most authorities, m’ameir only applies (a) to things that have not been previously gathered and (b) only in the place where the things grow and their gathering normally occurs. Therefore, if you knock the bowl of fruit off your host’s Shabbos table, it’s okay to pick up the fruit and put it back in the bowl. However, if produce scatters outside, one is rabbinically prohibited from gathering it as a weekday activity that is dangerously close to m’ameir (see Talmud Shabbos 143b).

Additionally, once produce has been processed, such as weaving wool into a garment or carving a stick into a wooden spoon, m’ameir no longer applies.

Follow OU Torah on Facebook and Twitter!

Our Sages comment that the word hayom, “this day” means that “the Torah should be ever fresh in your mind, as though you received the Torah today.”  As for the duty to repent, Rambam teaches, “A man should always regard himself as if his death were imminent and think that he may die this very hour, while still in a state of sin.  He should therefore repent of his sins immediately and not say, ‘When I grow old I shall repent,’ for he may die before he becomes old.”

This matter of days and Torah is fresh in our minds as we turn our attention to S’firat Haomer and the coming of Shavuot, for what more concrete example of the importance of Torah and the power of days than the counting down from the beginning of Pesah to the Chag Matan Torah?  Yet, despite our celebration of the revelation at Sinai, the chag is not named in the Torah.  How can we help but be intrigued by this omission of the name of the day towards which we ultimately count – Chag Shavuot – or better yet Chag Matan Torah, the holiday of the giving of the Torah.   There is the sense that the Torah is hiding the festival’s name

“And you shall count for yourselves from the morrow of the Sabbath, from the day^- you brought the sheaf of wave-offering; seven complete Sabbaths:  Even unto the morrow of the seventh Sabbath You shall count fifty days . . .”  Why not simply inform us to count towards the significant date of  Matan Torah? Why doesn’t the Torah find it important to communicate that this counting is not merely related to Pesach, but rather that this day on which we received the Torah, this consequential Jewish historical event, is worthy in its own right?

Yet, it doesn’t.  And so the Talmud considers Shavuot to be the culmination of Pesah, not even a chag in its own right.  Does this diminish the power of that day at Sinai?  Not at all.  It is simply that the commemoration of the giving of the Torah must not be limited to a particular time.  It applies at all times .  This day is each and every day.   As it is written, “This day the Lord thy God hath commanded thee to do these statutes and judgments.”

Every day is Yom Matan Torah.  Every day, the excitement, enthusiasm, and vigor of being a committed and learned Jew must be renewed and reinforced.  It is with this understanding that the Keli Yakar found significance in the Torah’s use of the phrase Vehikravtem mincha chadasha – “and you shall offer a new offering” – in regard to Shavuot.  Each and every day, the Torah must be received anew, just as if it was received from Sinai each and every day.

The joy and satisfaction of Torah study must not be limited to special days, or occasions. It is to be ongoing, continually renewed and continually renewing.  Torah study must always spiritually excite and emotionally uplift.   It is for this reason that the Keli Yakar  says the same enthusiasm and ecstasy that occurred at the Revelation at Sinai must be searched for and found everyday.

The Keli Yakar posits the same rationale for the Torah’s omission of the name Rosh Hashanah and its direct association with din and repentance.  Should a man sin all year round and think of repenting only as he comes closer to Yom Hashem, when God sits in judgment?  No.  Rather, he should imagine that God sits in judgment recording his deeds everyday.   If he can think this way, he will continually engage in repentance, each and every day.

Analysis, reflection, and introspection of man’s deeds and misdeeds must be an everyday experience.  For the thoughtful Jew every­day is a Yom Matan Torah and Yom Hadin.  Such an attitude might also help us understand Lag B’Omer, the thirty-third day of the counting of the Omer when, according to the Talmud, the plague that caused the death of 24,000 disciples of Rabbi Akiva ended.

24,000 brilliant young scholars!  Lost!  Our Sages ask why so many scholars died.  According to Talmudic and Midrashic sources, they died because they did not sufficiently respect one another. Their scholarship, Torah learning, and erudi­tion were taken for granted. For them, Torah learning was pursued as if any other knowledge, without an excitement, en­thusiasm, and fire resulting in new insights, renewed motivation, and novel ideas.  They reveled in their Torah brilliance rather than the brilliance of Torah.  They tallied up the pasukim and dapim they memorized, rather than the power of the words they were memorizing.

They hoarded their successes in learning the Torah rather than being humbled by them.

They were “satisfied” with their learning, not challenged or enlivened by it.

Lag B’Omer came to be known as “Scholar’s Festival” to remind those who devote themselves exclusively to the pursuit of Torah learning that there is more to Torah learning than the “quantity” of knowledge, more than book knowledge and text absorp­tion.  Torah learning encompasses the “quality” of learning as well, the love and devotion for fellow students, an excitement for the Divine word, growing sensitivity and feelings emanating from the subject being studied, a reaction to learning Torah that is to be likened to that of Matan Torah.  Students of Torah are charged with examining their activity with the gauge of Mincha Chadasha.  Is this day of learning like Yom Matan Torah and Yom Hadin?

The Ramban notes that when the Torah communicates the obser­vance of Shavuot, it makes use of a phrase found only once more in the Torah, in regard to Yom Kippur – “And you shall proclaim on this very day (b’etzem ha-yom ha-zeh) a holy convocation…”.  This call to observe Shavuot is the same call to refrain from work on Yom Kippur – “and you shall do no manner of work b’etzem ha-yom ha-zeh, on this very day.”

Why are both Shavuot and Yom Kippur referred to as “this very day”?

Who would ever question or doubt the unique and unequaled features of Yom Kippur? The affliction of the soul, the abstention from physical pleasures, and the consecration of the day are powerfully evident.  Who could ever confuse Yom Kippur with any other day in the calendar – chag or no?

Yom Kippur is such a powerful spiritual presence that its spiritual effects must linger on b’etzem ha-yom ha-zeh, every day.

A Chassidic master once taught that the blowing of the shofar at Neilah is simply a signal to begin preparing anew for the coming Yom Kippur, to count every subsequent day as ha-yom ha-zeh.

The same must be true of the effect of Shavuot, on this very day, every day.  The awe, trepidation, and ecstasy of the very day of Shavuot must be an each and everyday experience. No matter what day it is, on etzem ha-yom ha-zeh, one must excite, inspire, innovate, and communicate as God did on “this very day.”

The charge to make each day of learning like Yom Matan Torah rests not only with students but with their teachers as well.  Everyone involved in teaching Torah would do well to reflect and ask: Am I seeking new methods and exciting approaches for our Torah presentations? Am I creative and innovative in my Torah methodology and curriculum?

It is incumbent on students to learn.

It is incumbent on teachers to teach as we want our students to learn.  The goal of effective Torah education must be to attempt to make each day, every day, a unique and special experience for students so that they leave our classrooms as our forefathers departed from Sinai – awed and inspired.

Each and every day.

The Midrash in Tanhuma (Ki Tavo) sums it up:  What is meant by “this day”? Had the Holy One, blessed be He, not ordained these precepts for Israel till now? Surely the year in which this verse was stated was the fortieth? Why does the Scripture therefore state: “this day”?  This is what Moses meant when he addressed Israel: “Every day let the Torah be as dear to you as if you had received it this day from Mount Sinai.”

Happy the man, and happy he alone,

He who can call today his own;

He who, secure within, can say_s

Tomorrow, do thy worst; for I have lived today.

Be fair or foul, or rain or shine,

The joys I have possessed, in spite of fate, are mine.

Not heaven itself upon the past has power. But what has been, and I have had my hour.

So much may happen in a single hour,

A field of flowers may be touched by frost;

A war may start, a King may lose his power; A precious thing may be forever lost.

So many lovely things may pass away,

My dear, we dare not trust in a frail tomorrow; Let’s grasp and hold today while we may.

John Dryden

In memory of HaRav Yosef Betzalel ben HaRav Yaakov Moshe Rabinowitz ZTL who made each day, every day, a unique and special experience for students… who left his classroom as our forefathers departed from Sinai – awed, inspired, eager for more.   Each and every day!   Yehi zichro baruch.

Previous video

The Ten Commandments’ prominence in Judaism and in Western Civilization has been trumpeted in movies, and throughout history. But what spiritual message do the Commandments teach us? The Commandments and their deceptively simple structure betray deep meaning and the underlying principle of Judaism.

Previous video                                                                                                       Next video

The Ten Commandments’ prominence in Judaism and in Western Civilization has been trumpeted in movies, and throughout history. But what spiritual message do the Commandments teach us? The Commandments and their deceptively simple structure betray deep meaning and the underlying principle of Judaism.

Previous video                                                                                               Next video

The Ten Commandments’ prominence in Judaism and in Western Civilization has been trumpeted in movies, and throughout history. But what spiritual message do the Commandments teach us? The Commandments and their deceptively simple structure betray deep meaning and the underlying principle of Judaism.

Previous video                                                                                             Next video

The Ten Commandments’ prominence in Judaism and in Western Civilization has been trumpeted in movies, and throughout history. But what spiritual message do the Commandments teach us? The Commandments and their deceptively simple structure betray deep meaning and the underlying principle of Judaism.

Next video

The Ten Commandments’ prominence in Judaism and in Western Civilization has been trumpeted in movies, and throughout history. But what spiritual message do the Commandments teach us? The Commandments and their deceptively simple structure betray deep meaning and the underlying principle of Judaism.

Our current practice to stay up all night learning Torah is attributed to Rav Yosef Karo, the 16th-century codifier of the Shulchan Aruch, though its roots are much older. The Zohar speaks of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, who lived in the second century, staying up all night. His reason for doing so is compared to an attendant helping to prepare a bride prior to her wedding. (A common metaphor for the revelation at Sinai is a wedding between God and the Jewish people.) The ultimate basis for the tradition is a Midrash in Shir HaShirim Rabbah to the effect that on the morning when God was to give them the Torah, the Jews slept in, showing a lack of enthusiasm. Throughout the generations, we rectify this national flaw through the many enthusiastic volunteers who spend the entire night engaged in study to show their love of God and appreciation for the gift of His Torah.

There is no particular course of study required for the night, though the Arizal, the famed Medieval Kabbalist, organized a selection of Biblical and Talmudic passages into a text called the Tikkun Leil Shavuot (“Order for the Night of Shavuot”). Some have colloquially come to refer to the all-night study session itself as “tikkun leil Shavuot.” While not technically accurate, it is also not wholly inappropriate. The word “tikkun” in Hebrew can also mean a repair or a correction. While such was not the intention of the Arizal, it is perhaps a fitting way to refer to the night’s activities, seeing as they are intended to make up for the oversight of our ancestors.

The custom as originally established was specifically to stay up learning the Tikkun Leil Shavuot text, which contains excerpts of the books of Tanach, the Jewish Bible, as a means of preparing to receive the Torah in the morning. This original practice now appears to be the exception rather than the rule in most communities. The current practice in most modern American synagogues is to hear speakers, to study in small groups or in pairs, or some combination of the two. Unlike a Passover Seder or reading the Megillah on Purim, staying up on Shavuot night is not an obligation, neither biblically nor rabbinically. It is a voluntary practice, much to be praised, but not for everyone. In fact, it’s preferable that some people do sleep; the recitation of the morning blessings is complicated by not sleeping, so one who has slept typically serves as leader for that portion of the morning service. (If staying up were in fact an obligation, it is unlikely that we would ask someone to forego doing so in order to “take one for the team.”)

The evening’s events are typically punctuated by breaks for food and drink. As with the text for study, the fare can vary widely from community to community. Cheesecake and ice cream are common, but sushi and barbecue are also not unheard of. (Customs likewise vary as to eating meat or dairy meals on Shavuot, so one must exercise caution in his or her late-night snacking.)

Despite its superficial similarity to cramming for exams, the idea behind the Shavuot all-nighter is actually quite different. The purpose of cramming for exams is short-term and immediate: “I have a test in the morning.” While perhaps effective for its intended purpose, cramming is not effective when it comes to long-term retention and internalization of the material. When it comes to Shavuot night, however, there is no test. Our goal is more profound. We seek to demonstrate our love for God and draw closer to Him through His Torah. On Shavuot morning, when we read about the revelation at Sinai and re-enact in microcosm the transmission of the Torah to the Jewish people through Moses, we have prepared ourselves, emotionally and intellectually, to appreciate the “Guidebook to Life” that God has given us. There may not be an exam and our night of study may not be graded, but it helps to direct us on a path that leads to endless credits.

Follow OU Torah on Facebook and Twitter!

Many of the melachos have reciprocal relationships that are equally prohibited: writing and erasing, igniting and extinguishing, sewing and tearing, etc. Kotzeir, however, is not the reciprocal of zorei’ah (planting). For example, if one were to pull down the shade to prevent light from reaching a houseplant in order to impede its growth, that would be an oddly spiteful thing to do to a plant, but it would not violate the melacha of kotzeir. In order to transgress kotzeir, one would have to pluck the plant (or part of it).

Kotzeir is the reason that using a tree is rabbinically prohibited on Shabbos. Accordingly, one may not climb a tree or use something directly suspended from a tree, such as a swing or a hammock. This is also the reason that horseback riding (of all things) is prohibited on Shabbos. It is common for a rider to break off a branch from a nearby tree for use as a switch (see Talmud Beitzah 36b).

This simple Latin phrase has come to define the thrust of our modern age – live life to its fullness; go for it; do it now!  But does it accurately capture the importance of each day to Jews?  At the least, does it remind us that days are not like seconds on the clock, ticking away, one indistinguishable from another.  There are so many days that we single out in our calendar, days imbued with particular holiness that they demand particular ritual and observance.  But certainly, these days are particularly holy and each and every day demands an urgency on the part of Jews.  But not simply to satisfy our temporal wants.  Each day merits… no, demands… the urgency of holiness.  Yet it is often a “special” day that causes us to pause and appreciate what it means to truly “seize the day” each day.

There are two Torah commandments whose obligation is constant and ever-present, to learn Torah and to repent.  The Torah is clear about this urgency in the Sh’ma:  “These words, which I command you this day, make them as a sign upon your heart and between your eyes…”

Our Sages comment that the word hayom, “this day” means that “the Torah should be ever fresh in your mind, as though you received the Torah today.”

This matter of the urgency of days and Torah is fresh in our minds as we turn our attention to S’firat Haomer and the coming of Shavuot.  For what more concrete example of the importance of Torah and the power of days than the counting down from the end of Pesah to the Chag Matan Torah?   Our counting of days is an anticipation of what is to come… and yet, what are we counting towards?  We celebrate the revelation at Sinai, yet the chag is not even named in the Torah.  Does this diminish the power of that day at Sinai?  Not at all.  It simply teaches us that the commemoration of the giving of the Torah must not be limited to a particular time.  It applies at all times .  This day is each and every day is matan Torah.   As it is written, “This day the Lord thy God hath commanded thee to do these statutes and judgments.”

The joy and satisfaction of Torah study must not be limited to special days, or occasions. It is to be ongoing, continually renewed and continually renewing.  Torah study must always spiritually excite and emotionally uplift.

For the thoughtful Jew every­ day is a Yom Matan Torah.  Embracing this attitude might also help us understand Lag B’Omer, the thirty-third day of the counting of the Omer when, according to the Talmud, the plague that caused the death of 24,000 disciples of Rabbi Akiva finally abated.

24,000 brilliant young scholars!  Lost!  Why?  According to Talmudic and Midrashic sources, they died because they did not sufficiently respect one another. Their scholarship, Torah learning, and erudi­tion were taken for granted.  For them, Torah learning was pursued as if any other knowledge, without an excitement, en­thusiasm, and fire resulting in new insights, renewed motivation, and novel ideas.  They reveled in their brilliance rather than the brilliance of Torah.  They were “satisfied” with their learning, not challenged or enlivened by it.

Their learning was no different than the “counting” of days rather than the “seizing” of days.

Lag B’Omer came to be known as “Scholar’s Festival” to remind those who devote themselves exclusively to the pursuit of Torah learning that there is more to Torah learning than the “quantity” of knowledge.  Torah learning encompasses the “quality” of learning, the love and devotion for fellow students, an excitement for the Divine word, a reaction to learning Torah that is to be likened to that of Matan Torah. 

This is Carpe Diem! to the Jew, to make each day of learning like Yom Matan Torah.  The responsibility to do so rests not only with students but with their teachers as well.  Teachers must reflect and ask, Am I seeking new methods and exciting approaches for our Torah presentations? Am I creative and innovative in my Torah methodology and curriculum?

Students must learn, but teachers must teach as we want our students to learn, with enthusiasm and holiness, so that each day is a unique experience for students.  They should leave their classrooms as our forefathers departed from Sinai – awed and inspired.

Each and every day.

Carpe Diem.

Rabbi Dr. Eliyahu Safran serves as OU Kosher’s vice president of communications and marketing.