Counting our change | Rabbi Stewart Weiss | Beit Midrash

Shabbat and Holidays
Sefirat Haomer

קטגוריה משנית

Our Sedra devotes a full section, in its
discussion of the Moadim/Festivals, to the Omer &
its rituals. But what is quite strange is that
rather than discuss the Omer in the section
dealing with Pesach - where you’d think it would
naturally belong - the Torah starts a whole new
section, ("Speak to Bnei Yisrael," etc.) on the
subject of the Omer. Why the separate section?

Rav Soloveichik offers a fantastic insight.
Pesach is a time of unlimited joy & achievement.
Anything we truly desire to attain is attainable
on Pesach. The Exodus from Egypt & our liberation
from slavery, leading us to become the greatest
nation on Earth, are among the many miracles of
Nisan, & attest to the Nisim & Niflaot - the
wonders and miracles – that are possible this month.

But Sefira, counting, is by its very definition
imperfect & lacking. The fact that we are
building up towards some-thing indicates that we
have not yet attained it; we’re still missing
something, & apparently we have a long way to go until we achieve it.

Says the Rav: This is the paradox of Man. On the
one hand, Man is G-d’s greatest creation, king of
all other creatures, virtually limitless in his
ability to create new worlds. "What man can
perceive, man can achieve." Yet at the same time,
man must set certain limits for himself &
recognize his own mortality. He must never be
fully satisfied with where he is today, but
rather must seek to grow in holiness & G-dliness
& come closer to Hashem. Each day is an
achievement, a plateau - but tomorrow we must
scale even higher! And that is why the greatest
praise we can bestow upon a scholar is to call
him a Talmid Chacham, a student seeking even more wisdom.

Note that the word Omer is used not only in
connection to Sefira, but also in relation to the
Mahn that fell from Heaven. Mahn is a metaphor
for money (mahn-ee!). We can achieve amazing
things with wealth but it, too, has its limits.
So while working & earning are necessary, G-d
commands us to stop collecting it when Shabbat comes.

Perhaps now we have a deeper understanding of why
the Torah says that we begin counting the Omer
mi-macharat Ha-Shabbat, on the day following the
"Shabbat" (which Chazal interpret as referring to the 1st day of Passover).

Only when Shabbat was over, could the people
collect the Mahn; & only when the first Chag of
Pesach ends, did they bring the Omer. The lesson:
Yes, Man must strive for his daily bread, but he
must also know that it is spiritual richness - as
represented by Shabbat & Pesach - which is the
true pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.