The Barley Omer and the Prayers That Broke Tyrants

"And the LORD spoke... Speak to the children of Israel... and you shall bring the sheaf of the first of your harvest to the priest" (Leviticus 23:10). "What profit has a man of all his labor in which he labors under the sun?" (Ecclesiastes 1:3). Rabbi Benjamin bar Levi said: the sages sought to suppress the book of Ecclesiastes, for they found in it words that incline toward heresy. They said: should Solomon really have said "What profit has a man of all his labor"? One might think even the labor of Torah is included! They reconsidered and said... as the whole midrash is written in Midrash Rabbah, until: "and you do not even bring Me the Omer." Rabbi Avin said: come and see how much Israel troubled themselves over the commandment of the Omer. As we learned there: they reaped it and placed it in baskets, brought it to the Temple court, and singed it with fire to fulfill the commandment of parched grain - the words of Rabbi Meir; and the sages say they beat it with reeds and stalks so it would not be crushed, then placed it in a perforated tube so the fire would reach all of it. And we learned there: they spread it in the court and the wind blew on it, then put it in a grist mill and extracted from it one tenth measure sifted through thirteen sieves. Rabbi Levi said: behold, you have labored and plowed and sown and weeded and hoed and reaped and bound and threshed and made a heap - if I do not bring you a little wind to winnow it, by what would that man live? Are you not then giving Me payment for the wind? "What profit has he who labors for the wind?" (Ecclesiastes 5:15). Rabbi Elazar said, it is written: "They do not say in their hearts, Let us fear the LORD our God, who gives rain, the former and the latter rain in its season, who keeps for us the appointed weeks of the harvest" (Jeremiah 5:24). These are the seven complete weeks between Passover and Atzeret. Rabbi Hiyya taught: "seven complete weeks shall there be" (Leviticus 23:15) - when are they complete? When there is no scorching heat, harsh winds, and harsh dews among them. Rabbi Banaah said: the Holy One said to Israel, My children, when I gave you the Omer, I gave each one of you an omer per head, "according to the number of your persons, each man for those in his tent shall take" (Exodus 16:16); and now that you bring Me the Omer, you bring Me only one Omer for all of you, and not even of wheat but of barley. Therefore Moses warns Israel and says, "and you shall bring the Omer." "And you shall bring the sheaf..." "Whose harvest the hungry eats up, and takes it even out of the thorns, and the robber swallows up their substance" (Job 5:5). "Whose harvest" - this is Nimrod; "the hungry eats up" - this is our father Abraham; "and takes it even out of the thorns" - not with weapon nor shield but with prayer and supplication, as it says, "When Abram heard that his kinsman was taken captive, he led forth his trained servants, eighteen and three hundred, and pursued as far as Dan" (Genesis 14:14). "And the robber swallows up their substance" - who pressed upon Nimrod's wealth? Abraham and all who joined with him. Another interpretation: "whose harvest" - this is Pharaoh; "the hungry eats up" - this is Moses and Aaron, who took it not with weapon but with prayer, "the LORD said to Moses, Why do you cry to Me?" (Exodus 14:15). Another: "whose harvest" - this is Sihon and Og, and Moses and Aaron prevailed by prayer, "the LORD said to Moses, Do not fear him" (Numbers 21:34). Another: this is Sisera, and Deborah and Barak, "From heaven the stars fought, from their courses they fought against Sisera" (Judges 5:20). Another: this is Sennacherib, and Hezekiah and Isaiah, "King Hezekiah and Isaiah son of Amoz prayed about this and cried to heaven" (2 Chronicles 32:20). Another: this is Haman, and Mordecai and Esther, "sackcloth and ashes were spread for many" (Esther 4:3). Another: these are the thirty-one kings, and Joshua and Caleb, "the LORD said to Joshua, Get up; why are you fallen on your face?" (Joshua 7:10). By what merit did Israel merit to be given the land of Canaan? By the merit of the Omer. Therefore Moses warns Israel, "and you shall bring the Omer." "And he shall wave the Omer before the LORD for your acceptance" (Leviticus 23:11). How did they wave it? Rabbi Hami bar Ukba in the name of Rabbi Yose bar Hanina: he moved it back and forth to nullify harsh winds, and up and down to nullify harsh dews. Rabbi Simon in the name of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi: back and forth to Him to whom the whole world belongs, up and down to Him to whom the upper and lower worlds belong. Rabbi Yohanan said: let the commandment of the Omer never be light in your eyes, for through the Omer Abraham merited to inherit the land of Canaan, "I will give to you and to your seed after you the land of your sojournings" (Genesis 17:8), on condition that "you keep My covenant" (Genesis 17:9) - and what is this? The commandment of the Omer. Resh Lakish said: through the Omer the Holy One made peace between a man and his wife, "the man shall bring his wife to the priest, and bring her offering, a tenth of an ephah of barley meal" (Numbers 5:15) - and what is this? The Omer. Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: it is what stood for them in the days of Gideon, "behold a man telling a dream, a cake of barley bread tumbling into the camp of Midian, and it struck the tent so that it fell" (Judges 7:13); what is the cake of barley bread? The Rabbis say: because that generation was emptied of the righteous, and by what were they saved? By the merit of barley bread - the commandment of the Omer. Rabbi Levi said: it is what stood for them in the days of Haman. When Mordecai saw Haman coming toward him with the horse in his hand, he said: it seems this wicked man comes to kill me. He came and told his disciples: flee, lest you be scorched by my coal. They said: in life and in death we are with you. What did he do? He wrapped himself in his prayer shawl and stood to pray. That wicked one came and sat beside them and said: with what are you occupied? They said: with the commandment of the Omer that Israel used to offer in the Temple. He said: and was that Omer of silver and gold, or of wheat and barley? They told him, of barley. He said: and how much was its value, ten thousand talents? They said: ten talents are sufficient. He said: arise, for your ten talents have prevailed over my ten thousand talents of silver. When Mordecai finished praying, Haman said: take this garment and put it on. He said: do you scorn the kingdom? Is there a man who would wear royal garb without bathing? Haman went seeking a bathhouse and found none. What did he do? He girded a loincloth and bathed him. After he came out, Haman said: take this crown. He said: do you scorn the kingdom? Is there a man who would wear a crown without a haircut? Haman went seeking a barber and found none, so he went to his house, brought barber's tools, and sat cutting his hair, and began to sigh. Mordecai said: why do you sigh? He said: woe to the father of this man, who was made an overseer and a controller, and now serves as bathhouse-keeper and barber! He said: and have I not seen you - was not your father a bathhouse-keeper and barber twenty-two years in the village of Karyanos? He said: arise, mount this horse. Mordecai said: I have no strength, for I am an old man. Haman said: arise, mount, for I am the one who caused this to myself; bow your neck and tread on me, to fulfill in you "and you shall tread upon their high places" (Deuteronomy 33:29). When he mounted the horse, Mordecai began to praise the Holy One: "I will extol You, O LORD, for You have lifted me up and have not let my enemies rejoice over me. O LORD my God, I cried to You and You healed me. O LORD, You brought up my soul from Sheol; You kept me alive" (Psalms 30:2-4). His disciples said: "Sing to the LORD, His faithful ones, and give thanks to His holy name, for His anger is but a moment, His favor is for a lifetime; weeping may linger for the night, but joy comes in the morning" (Psalms 30:5-6). That wicked man said: "As for me, I said in my prosperity, I shall never be moved... You hid Your face, and I was dismayed" (Psalms 30:7-8). Esther said: "To You, O LORD, I call, and to my Lord I make supplication" (Psalms 30:9-10). Israel said: "Hear, O LORD, and be gracious to me; O LORD, be my helper. You have turned my mourning into dancing for me" (Psalms 30:11-12). Rabbi Yitzhak said in the name of Rabbi Pinhas: Mordecai was occupied with the recitation of the Shema and did not interrupt, as it is said, "that my glory may sing praise to You and not be silent; O LORD my God, I will give thanks to You forever" (Psalms 30:13).