LEAD TIDBIT:
The Important Reminders
We are in between Pesach when G-d took us out of Egypt and Shavuot, when He gave us the Torah. Y’tzi’at Mitzrayim and Matan Torah. Two very important events for the People of Israel and for each and every Jew.
But we have to remember that it’s two out of three. Not THE two, two out of three. Over the years of Torah Tidbits, frequent mention has been made of the package deal. When G-d first appeared to Moshe at the S’neh, and again in the beginning of Va’eira, and repeatedly throughout the Torah, G-d speaks of three parts to the process: Being taken out of Egypt, being given the Torah, AND being brought into Eretz Yisrael (and building the Beit HaMikdash, which we will consider part of this third prong of G-d’s Plan).
In fact, if you think about it, one has to be very “dense” to miss the third part of the package, especially between Pesach and Shavuot. We count the days from the day we brought the Barley Offering (in the Beit HaMikdash - guess where) until we will bring the Two Loaves offering (again, guess where). The days we count are identified as days of the Omer, which points to Eretz Yisrael and the Beit HaMikdash. Shavuot is Yom HaBikurim, which tells us (or should tell us) that Shavuot is not “just” Zman Matan Torateinu, but also the celebration of our entry into Eretz Yisrael and the building of the Beit haMikdash.

And in our own time, there are historical events that are commemorated during this period of time between Pesach and Shavuot that also remind us of the Eretz Yisrael point of the triangle.

Yom HaAtzmaut falls 30 days before Shavuot, the traditional amount of time before a Chag when we begin to study and prepare for the Chag. Its position on the calendar allows Yom HaAtzmaut to input into the thought process and mental preparation for Shavuot.

And so does Yom Yerushalayim, falling exactly one week before Shavuot. It makes Yom Yerushalayim not just the joyous celebration of the miraculous victories in ‘67 and of the reunification of Jerusalem, but it connects the different factors to each other and binds us to each of them.

And if Yom HaAtzmaut and Yom Yerushalayim can remind us of the Eretz Yisrael component of G-d’s promises and prophecies, then things must work the other way too.

The State of Israel and the City of Jerusalem hollow and empty without Torah learning, Torah observance, Torah values. This does not mean to force anything down anyone’s throat, but it should set for us a goal and challenge to be worked on diligently.