The Omer: Counting Each Day and Making Each Day Count

The period of time between Pesach and Shavuot is called the Omer. It is meant to be a period of spiritual growth in preparation for the giving of the Torah¹. The Mitzvah of counting the Omer is found in Vayikra² where the verses state:  “And from the day on which you bring the sheaf of elevation offering — the day after the Sabbath — you shall count off seven weeks. They must be complete: you must count until the day after the seventh week — fifty days; then you shall bring an offering of new grain to the L-rd”.

From Animals to Humans

Although we refer to this time period as ‘the Omer’, this term is actually a measurement, as the verse³ says “The Omer is a tenth of an ephah”. In fact, the Omer was a measurement of barley that was offered up as a sacrifice to Hashem on the second day of Pesach. On Shavuot, we also offer a sacrifice to Hashem, however this one differs in that we offer up two loaves of bread. What do these seemingly technical details of the sacrifices teach us about the time period known as ‘the Omer’?  On Pesach, we offer up barley which is animal food, whereas on Shavuot we give a sacrifice of bread which is human food. Through this time period, we, so to speak, transform from animals to humans; we are elevated to a much higher spiritual level. We work on refining our character traits which transforms us from being slaves to our base, animal instincts, to being more complete and elevated people. Each day of the Omer represents a different character trait. The full name of the period of the Omer is Sefirat Haomer, related to the Kaballistic Sefirot, which are the modes through which Hashem interacts with this world. Significantly, the word ‘sefirot’ is related to the Hebrew word ‘lesaper’ which means ‘to refine’, because in this time we are supposed to refine ourselves and work on our character traits. By the time we reach Shavuot, we have worked on ourselves to the extent that we are ready to receive the Torah.

Pesach is a huge inspiration; we witness the ten plagues which the Egyptians experienced, are finally freed from our slavery in Egypt, and experience another huge miracle of the splitting of the sea. But how does this inspiration become a part of me? How does it affect me after Pesach has gone? That’s the purpose of the Omer.

Whenever we have inspiration, it’s only as good as the little steps we put in to make it a part of our everyday lives. Pesach is a huge inspiration; we witness the ten plagues which the Egyptians experienced, are finally freed from our slavery in Egypt, and experience another huge miracle of the splitting of the sea. But how does this inspiration become a part of me? How does it affect me after Pesach has gone? That’s the purpose of the Omer. This time period allows for us to take the inspiration with us to make us even stronger and closer to Hashem through the rest of the year and the rest of our lives. We take the inspiration of our miraculous leaving of Egypt, and make it real. True growth isn’t a sudden explosion of change. Real lasting growth comes slowly in a series of tiny steps, and that is what the period of the Omer is for. 

A Special Power for Growth

On the second day of Pesach at the time when we offered up the Omer of barley, the Jewish people were on the 49^th level (out of 50!) of impurity. By the time the Jewish people received the Torah 49 days later, they were on the 49^th level of purity. Ordinarily, the Jewish people would only be able to traverse 1 level a day, bringing them to level 0 of purity by Shavuot. However, with Hashem’s help, they were able to climb an extra level each day, thereby bringing them to level 49 of purity. We can see from here that in this time period Hashem gives us a special power for growth, and He effectively doubles our efforts to bring us twice as high as we would ever be able to achieve by ourselves.  

Why is it that there are some things which we count and other things which we don’t count? For example, you wouldn’t count the number of stripes on a top, but you might count the number of tops you have. What’s the difference between the two? When we count things, it is a sign that each entity has individual importance. By counting each day of the Omer, we are indicating that each and every day holds intrinsic importance and is valuable. This time of the Omer is in fact a microcosm of our whole lives, reminding us that each day of our entire lives is valuable and can be, and should be, used for growing closer to Hashem. 

To conclude, the Omer is a time where we anticipate the giving of the Torah on Shavuot. This time enables us to take the inspiration of Pesach and bring it into our daily lives by counting each day and working on our character traits. This growth occurs in small steps to create a change that is both profound and lasting, and which molds us into more elevated beings who are ready to receive the Torah on Shavuot.

1. Ramban Vayikra 23 ↩︎
2. Chapter 23:15,16 ↩︎
3. Shemot 16.36 ↩︎