Sefirat Ha’Omer
by Torahhigh.com
Sefirat Ha’Omer (The counting of the Omer) begins
on the second night of the holiday of Pesach (Passover), and extends
until the holiday of Shavuot (The “Festival of Weeks”, the holiday of the
giving of the Torah). The Hebrew dates are from the 16th of
Nissan until the 6th of Sivan, which correspond in this year from
April 8th until May 27th.
The Torah commands Bnei Yisrael (The Children of
Israel) to count seven weeks from the holiday of Pesach, and then bring
the Omer offering to the Beit-Hamikdash (The Temple). We count this
process today by announcing the day of the Sefirah (The counting process)
on the night to which it corresponds, beginning with the second night of
Pesach.
If you have been reciting the Brachah (Blessing)
every night along with the announcement of the day of the Sefirah, continue to
do so. If you have not been reciting the Brachah every night, you can still
participate by reciting the announcement of the day of the Sefirah, without
the Brachah. After the announcement of the day of the Sefirah, we say a
request that: “The Merciful will return to us the worship in the Temple, soon
in our days, Amen, Selah”. The counting process of the Sefirah can be found in
any Siddur (Prayerbook), usually after the Maariv (Evening)
service. It is preferable to announce the day of the Sefirah right after the
stars come out.
Sefirat Ha’Omer, the counting of the 49 days in between
Pesach and Shavuot, has many meanings associated with it.
The first meaning associated with Sefirat Ha’Omer is
that it is the optimal time for personal growth. There is a popular question
asked in the Talmud (The Oral Torah) as to why there is a difference
between the offering at the time of the Pesach holiday and the offering at the
time of the Shavuot holiday. At the time of the Pesach holiday, we bring an
offering consisting of Se’or (Barley), while at the time of the Shavuot
holiday, we bring an offering consisting of Chitah (Wheat). The Rabbis
inquire into this difference with great fervor, and they resolve this question
with an easy observation. The offering consisting of Se’or is an offering fit
for an animal, as barley is the prime food for various field animals, rather
than people. However, the offering consisting of Chitah is fit for a person,
as wheat is the staple in all human meals. The Rabbis learn that at the
beginning of the Sefirat Ha’Omer, one is as an animal, thinking that he
deserves whatever reward Hashem has seen fit to give him; for, after all, we
were slaves for many years in Egypt, and it was because we deserved it that we
were taken out. This is why we bring the food of an animal, say the Rabbis,
because we think that we deserve this freedom, and that we have earned it. In
reality, we were saved not because we earned it, but rather out of the
Goodness that is Hashem, and out of His Mercy. We did not earn our freedom,
but rather we were blessed with it. The process of the Sefirah is to come to
realize that nothing we have is ours because we have earned it; for if this is
what we think, then we are thinking like animals, and only concerned for our
own selves, and what we deserve. Our task to realize that Hashem deserves all
of the credit in this story, and that we should think like humans, that we
only possess our freedom because our Father in Heaven has blessed us with it.
We begin the Sefirah as animals, eating the Se’or, and we end the Sefirah as
servants of Hashem, eating the food of Humans, the Chitah. We learn an
appreciation for all of the things that Hashem has chose to bestow upon us.
The Arizal (Rabbi Yitzchak Luria, mystical scholar) explains that the
Sefirah is like the groom and bride the week before they are to be wed. There
is a custom that the couple cannot see each other for seven days before the
wedding ceremony, and the seven weeks of Sefirat Ha’Omer are representative of
these seven days. During these seven days, the groom and bride begin to
appreciate each other, because, as a famous poem and song tell us, “you don’t
know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone”. So too are the Jewish people supposed to
learn appreciation for Hashem, and all that He gives them in their time of
need. At the end of the Omer is Shavuot, which is when Bnai Yisrael received
the Torah on Har Sinai (Mount Sinai) straight from the mouth of Hashem.
In Yeshayahu, Hashem explains the encounter at Har Sinai as “the love of bride
and groom”. Shavuot is when we meet Hashem under the Chuppah (Alter),
and we begin to relate with our spouse with a higher level of appreciation
than ever before.
Another meaning associated with Sefirat Ha’Omer is that
it is the optimal time to mend our ways of interaction with our fellow human
being. There is an idea that Rosh Hashanah, which is the beginning of the
Jewish calendar year, corresponds to Pesach, the beginning of the Jewish
historical year, which occurs exactly one half year later. Just as Rosh
Hashanah is a new beginning, so too is Pesach a new beginning. The S’fas Emes
(Rabbi Yehudah Leib Alter, the second Gerer Rebbe,) writes that if a
person observes Sefirat Ha’Omer as it should be observed, from Pesach to
Shavuot, then it is as if he is exempt from being judged on Rosh Hashanah. His
words seem very peculiar, as we know that every Jew stands before Hashem in
judgment on Rosh Hashanah, so how is it that anyone can be exempt from this
judgment? On Rosh Hashanah, all Jews are judged based on the scale of Mitzvot
(Commandments fulfilled) versus Aveirot (Transgression of the
commandments). If one’s personal Mitzvah count is higher than the personal
Aveirah count, then he is sure to be judged favourably. Rosh Hashanah is about
personal judgment, and we pray in order to save ourselves. However, Pesach is
very different. Pesach is alternatively called Chag Ha’Aviv (The festival
of the Spring), because in the spring all the crops begin to grow in the
fields. During the Omer, we watch these crops grow, and we pray that Hashem
allows this crop to succeed. Shavuos is alternatively called Chag Hakatzir (The
festival of the crop cutting), because we take these crops that we have
grown, and we bring them as offerings to the Beit-Hamikdash. On Pesach, we
have a special prayer called Tefilat Tal (The prayer of the dew), in
which we ask Hashem for the proper conditions for growing the crops. As
mentioned above, Pesach, and the Omer in general, corresponds to Rosh
Hashanah. However, at Pesach we are not praying to save ourselves, but rather
at Pesach we are praying to save the entire Jewish people. The crops that are
grown in the field supply all inhabitants of the land with the food necessary
to survive, from the richest to the poorest person. The S’fas Emes is
explaining that one who prays and tends to his field during the time of the
Omer is not doing such work for personal gain, but rather for the good of the
entire nation. He does not think just of himself, but he cares for the welfare
of all his brothers and sisters. For this he would be looked upon favorably in
the time of judgment, and if these are representative of his actions, he has
no worries come Rosh Hashanah time. This is the potential power of the Omer, a
chance to prove ourselves to Hashem, and not out of personal gain, but for the
good of all of Bnei Yisrael.
Another meaning associated with Sefirat Ha’Omer is that
it is the optimal time to do Teshuvah (Repentance). In between Rosh
Hashanah and Yom Kippur are what are known as Yemei Teshuvah (Days of
Repentance), and there are seven such days between the holidays. These
seven days are compared to the seven weeks of Sefirat Ha’Omer, as they provide
the same opportunity as one another. Just as in the seven days between these
two holidays we are supposed to devote ourselves to repenting and mending our
ways, so too are we to devote ourselves to repenting and mending our ways
during the Omer. The Yemei Teshuvah are really called Aseres Yemei Teshuvah (The
Ten Days of Repentance), but we count only seven days in this group, as
three of these days are holidays. This is also the same with Sefirat Ha’Omer,
as it really starts on Pesach, and extends until Shavuot. In the Torah,
Shavuot is referred to by the title Atzeret (finale), as Shavuot is
really the end of a fifty-day process that begins with Pesach. The Rabbis even
refer to the days of the Sefirah as Chol Hamoed (The mundane days of the
holiday), which means that Pesach and Shavuot are just two ends to the
same holiday. Just as we are to repent at our time of need in the days from
Rosh Hashanah through Yom Kippur, we are to repent and mend ourselves from
Pesach to Shavuot.
The immediate past Slonimer Rebbe, Rabbi Shalom Noach Brezovsky, finds an odd connection at the beginning of Parashas Beshalach (The weekly portion of Beshalach). The Torah says “V’chamushim alu Bnei Yisrael m’Eretz Mitzrayim”, which is usually explained by the Rabbis as “and the Children of Yisrael left the land of Egypt armed with weapons”. Another famous interpretation is that the word “chamushim” does not refer to weapons, but rather to the fact that one fifth, “chamishis”, of Bnei Yisrael left Mitzrayim (Egypt). The Slonimer Rebbe explains that the reference of one fifth does not refer to the number of Bnei Yisrael that left Mitzrayim, but rather that only one fifth of each person left Mitzrayim. He means to say that at the time of the Exodus, Bnei Yisrael did not have full faith in Hashem, and in fact they were only one fifth sure. The Rabbis tell us that at the time of Bnai Yisrael receiving the Torah on Har Sinai, they had perfect faith in Hashem and in His actions.