Ne'ila

A thought came to me during Ne'ila, regarding the Shita of Rebbi:

The year 5744 (6129-385) had 385 days. The year 5746 (6129-383) had 383 days. The year 5775 (6129-354) will have 354 days. If 5776 (6129-353) would not be a leap year, it would be 355 days. Perhaps one can say that the decision to make year 5776 a year of 355 days should be taken 355 years before year 6129.

Perhaps I had a vision, about the Ne'ila of Rebbi's Shita. May we not miss it, and see the Geula soon, very soon. Shana Tova.

Hillel The Elder

Yeranen Yaakov has another inspired post. My comment is that the event אוי לנו כי פנה היום כי ינטו צללי ערב, regarding Bayit Sheni, appears to be the death of Hillel in 3771.

Hillel brought about a spiritual revolution, through his Midot, his love of man, his humility, his ethics. Jewish Law follows Hillel, not because of his superior learning, but because of Hillel's moral standing. Chazal teach in Shabbat 30b:

לעולם יהא אדם ענוותן כהלל, ואל יהא קפדן כשמאי

One should always be a humble person like Hillel, and not a formalist like Shammai.

Too often, Halacha is applied in Shammai's way. Too often, basic ethics and exemplary behavior are sacrificed on the altar of Halachic stringencies. May the coming year, 2000 years after his death, see the revival of Hillel's revolution.

P.S. Someone showed me this:

One rabbi close to the affair called the new process "unprecedented humiliation," and said it was the direct consequence of new guidelines to prove Jewishness the Chief Rabbinate recently implemented.

That is what I meant...