![]() If we are challenged in the realm of acts of kindness, we go out of our way to do more charitable works. In this process, we look deep within ourselves and work on all of our negative attributes. We pace ourselves and seek to improve day by day until we reach the day that we again receive the Torah. The growth that occurs during this time is akin to a marathon. Instead it tells us to set high goals for ourselves, and then methodically strive to reach that goal. The Torah does not allow us to become satisfied with our current level of spirituality. It is specifically during this time that we strive to grow and mature in our spiritual state. So too must we digest the lesson of the counting of the Omer. We view the Torah as freshly received every day of our lives, and approach it and its commandments with appropriate vigor. The commandments of the Torah are not meant merely as our history, but instead represent on ongoing life lesson for every Jew. From the lowest lows to the highest heights in just seven weeks! It was during that 49-day period that they underwent such a radical transformation. They were so holy, in fact, that they were compared to angels when they stood at the foot of Mt. They underwent a spiritual rebirth and quickly ascended to the holiest collective state they had ever reached. At the last possible moment, the children of Israel were miraculously redeemed. The Jews had sunk to an unprecedented level of spiritual defilement, and were on the brink of destruction. When the Jewish people were in Egypt nearly 3,400 years ago, they had assimilated many of the immoral ways of the Egyptian people. We also learn that this period is meant to spiritually prepare and refine ourselves. ![]() Just as a child often counts the days until the end of school or an upcoming family vacation, we count the days to show our excitement at again receiving the Torah (as we do in fact receive the Torah in a renewed sense every year). ![]() The foremost is that the count demonstrates our thrill for the impending occasion of receiving the Torah, celebrated on Shavuot. Why do we count these days? We learn several reasons. ![]() These offerings were waved in different directions, similar to how the lulav is waved during the holiday of Sukkot, to demonstrate G‑d Almighty’s all-encompassing presence. If we have omitted the counting even one night during that stretch (and did not make it up during the daytime without reciting the blessing), we may no longer recite the blessing, but instead must listen as a friend says the blessing and then do the counting.ĭuring the times of the Holy Temple, at the beginning of the Omer count and on the following holiday of Shavuot, special grain offerings were brought. However, we may recite the blessing only if we have not missed a single day’s counting. This is considered a mitzvah, so the count, which takes place each night, is preceded by a blessing. At the end of the seven-week period we celebrate Shavuot, which means “weeks.” The Torah commands us that during this time each year we count seven complete weeks, for a total of 49 days. From the second night of Passover until the day before the holiday of Shavuot, the Jewish people engage in an unique mitzvah called Sefirat HaOmer ( counting of the Omer).
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