The Omer: A Long Chol Hamoed

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The Sefira can be seen as one long chol hamoed period from Pesach and Shavuot, beginning with the Exodus from Egypt and climaxing with the dramatic revelation at Sinai. Chol Hamoed is not quite a Yom Tov yet it overrides the regularity of a weekday. It occupies some realm in the middle; floating between the mundane nature of a weekday yet adopting that special kedusha of yom tov.

What Was the Purpose of Yetziat Mitzrayim?

The entire goal of leaving Egypt was not solely to physically exit the country, but to leave the shackles of slavery itself. Hashem wanted to free us from the yoke of Pharaoh in order to take on the yoke of Torah. The sefira period is meant to prepare us for the yoke of Torah. Truly, it is meant to be a time of simcha, a time to focus on chashivut haTorah. This is the nature of the Chol Hamoed, of the Sefira we find ourselves in. A regular seven weeks, infused with the spirit of both Yetziat Mitzrayim and kabbalat Hatorah, injected with the energy of both Pesach and Shavuot.

There are different ways to prepare ourselves for Shavuot, the Yom Tov of Kabbalat HaTorah. There are 48 ways to acquire wisdom listed in Pirkei Avot and each day of the Omer, one of the ways can be explored and integrated. On the final day, the 48 ways can be reviewed and consolidated. There are also seven sefirot through which Hashem runs the world, and each one can be discussed and internalised into each week. Chessed, gevura, tiferet, netzach, hod, malchut and yesod. This pattern plays out both by week and by day with each day of Sefira possessing its own unique energy based on day and week combination¹.

We may think that at Pesach, we were already exalted. We were taken out of Egypt by Hashem Himself, embraced by His miracles and protected from 10 frightening plagues and a raging sea. Yet, the love and inspiration we feel at Pesach is nothing more than a fleeting feeling concealing our animal selves unless we actively work to integrate the inspiration. This is the work of the Omer. To concretise those feelings of love and awe we felt for Hashem and let it seep into our actions.

Omer is all about process. Rabbi Fischer explains the depth of the story featuring the rock and the drops of water which inspired Rabbi Akiva to begin learning the aleph bet. He continues that had all the drops accumulated into one massive bucket and that water poured over the rock, it would not have made a single indent. Yet, the individual drops gradually pierced a hole. It is not the power of the water, but the potency of the repeated pitter patter of the droplets. It is not one massive overnight transformation to receive Torah, rather it is working on one small behavior each day which prepares us to receive it.

How do we reconcile the mourning of the sefira with the joyous preparation for Torah?

Rabbi Kalish² explains that when someone is given a car to drive for the first time it is incredibly exciting. Yet, there is also the danger of not driving carefully enough and risking an accident. We could spend the weeks before receiving a car celebrating or we could set aside time to watch a video of a crash, to caution us what not to do. The tragedy of Rabbi Akiva’s students dying is so horrifying that, like a car crash, it cautions us to steer carefully in the ways of Torah. Receiving Torah is a joy, but receiving Torah is also awesome and terrifying. Before we accept it, we need to know what happens when we veer. This will help us truly enjoy it.

Sefirat Haomer is named for the korban omer, made of barley, essentially animal fodder. It represents that we start at the bottom of the spiritual ladder, with our natural, animalistic tendencies and work our way up. After the purifying process of the Omer, we arrive at Shavuot where we offer up the shtei halechem, bread, which is human food. We enter as a band of ex-slaves and we grow into mentschen, into true people worthy of bearing the Torah.

The mazal (spiritual energy or constellation) of Nissan is the sheep. Like innocent lambs, we followed our Shepherd, Hashem out of Egypt, across the sea and through the desert. We were weak from physical labor, vulnerable and utterly dependent on Hashem – and loyally followed Him. The following month is Iyar, the month where most of the Omer falls. The symbol of Iyar is the bull. Headstrong and fearless, the bull independently runs forward, with no need for a shepherd or guide. The bull represents us working on our avodat Hashem, with strength and independence. When we perform this avoda correctly, we merit the sign of Sivan: twins, where we truly become close partners, side by side with Hashem and His Torah.

Our journey likewise resembles the mazalot of these three pivotal months. Like sheep, we begin by following Hashem like lost children after their father. We branch out, becoming a bull, an individual mensch through the daily work of the Omer. Finally, we reunite, like old lovers, with Hashem, entwined in a twinlike love over Torah.