Our focus with this article is about the second month of the Hebrew festival calendar – the month of Iyar, and the tribe associated with this month. When we check the scriptures of Numbers 2:1-3:39 to discover which tribe is second in the camping order of the Israelites in the wilderness, that tribe is Issachar.
As we know, the previous month of Nissan is highly important; for within this month are the powerful festivals of Passover, the Days of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Firstfruits and the beginning of the Counting of the Omer. Following that, Iyar is a highly important month and can be classed with as much significance as Nissan. Why?
Iyar is the month with a special attribute, and is inexplicitly tied to the powerful process we undertake for seven weeks called “The Counting of the Omer”. What happens when we follow through with the Omer counting of the seven weeks plus one day? We have arrived at the Feast of Shavuot (Pentecost), where we celebrate the giving of the Torah and the Ruach haKodesh. The Counting of the Omer connects the festivals in Nissan with Shavuot in Sivan. This is the attribute of Iyar… for the whole month is involved in the Counting of the Omer and CONNECTS these two portions of festivals, revealing that they are tied together. There is a greater level of understanding that we can glean from this attribute of connection of these two festival seasons.
We must ask the following questions; why is this Counting of the Omer so important? Why is Iyar important as the connection between the month of Nissan (with the Festivals of Passover, Days of Unleavened Bread and the Firstfruits) and the month of Sivan (with the Feast of Shavuot)?
Iyar is considered by the sages as the month of physical and spiritual healing.
It is during this month that the manna began to fall and became the sustenance for the children of Israel after they left Egypt. Since this was a gift from Hashem, this food was the perfect food, providing all that the human body needed to stay alive and to be completely healthy. Simultaneously, manna is symbolic of the One Who is the Bread of Life – Yeshua. This includes His word, written down for us as our guide – the Bible. When we choose to obey His word in the scriptures, we are choosing the perfect spiritual food so that physically and spiritually we live well, we go well and we will be well (this is mentioned by Moses in multiple verses in Deuteronomy). This is significant as we approach Shavuot, and use the time during the Counting of the Omer to partake of the ‘manna’, we become cleansed and healed which makes us ready to receive His Ruach haKodesh at Shavuot.
So, how does the tribe of Issachar fit in? What is this tribe’s association to Iyar and to the attribute of connection?
Three resources give us the information we need to understand Issachar (and any of the other tribes for that matter). One is the naming of the child by the mother; the second is the blessing given to the son by Jacob and third, is the blessing given to that son’s descendants (tribe) by Moses.
Leah named her fifth son, Issachar, to acknowledge the reward that God had given her for her efforts at being a good wife to Jacob. The name Issachar means recompense or reward. Genesis 30:17-18.
Jacob’s blessing gives another level of insight into this tribe’s special attribute for the nation. In Geneses 49:14, Jacob states this: “Issachar is a strong donkey, Lying down between the sheepfolds. 15 “When he saw that a resting place was good And that the land was pleasant, He bowed his shoulder to bear burdens, And became a slave at forced labor.“
Literally, the description of the donkey is what ties Issachar to the attribute of connection. Donkeys were the main mode of transportation of people and goods at the time of Jacob. This mode of transportation ‘connected’ everyone with everything. Sages go a bit farther to reveal what the ‘donkey’ of Issachar transported. They say that Issachar took on the yoke of Torah and transported its words throughout the tribes. Donkeys can carry heavy loads and the spiritual symbolism of the weight of Torah is what is focused upon here. Issachar carried the rulings and stories and teachings of the Torah so that all the tribes would understand HaShem’s will and be in unity. This attribute of Issachar’s to connect the people of Israel with the Torah and to bring forth the potential for healing of the people was the nations reward (Leah’s naming of Issachar). Remember what Moses said in Deuteronomy 30:19-20? He said; “…Choose life…” (paraphrased) because the reward of that is length of days living in the land which was promised to the fathers. As the bearer of the Torah, Issachar made sure to have the Torah on hand for this very purpose.
Finally, Moses’ blessing reveals this very aspect of Issachar making sure that the words of Torah were connected to the people. In Deuteronomy 33:18-19 Issachar will, “…call peoples to the mountain; There they will offer righteous sacrifices;…” This confirms the function of Issachar as the donkey connecting the people with the manna, the word, the Bread of life and the Word of HaShem.
Connection of Iyar… tying together the festivals of Passover, Days of Unleavened Bread, Feast of Firstfruits and the Counting of the Omer with Shavuot. Connection of Issachar… tying the word of Hashem with the people and the people with the word of HaShem. The end result… healing and health, both physically and spiritually.
Written by the will of HaShem.
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