The Weekly Sedra – Parshas Emor

The Rebbe says:

1. In this week’s Torah portion Hashem (G-d) commands the Jewish people to count the forty nine days beginning from the second day of Passover until the giving of the Torah (Shavuot),. This is called “Sefiras Ha’Omer (the counting of the Omer)”.

2. The Rebbe now begins discussing Sefiras Ha’Omer:

One of the verses commanding the Jewish people to count the Omer says, “You shall count for yourselves – from the morrow of the rest day (Mi’ma’cha’ras HaShabbos), from the day when you bring the Omer of the waving – seven weeks, they shall be complete”.

Our Sages tell us that the true way to understand the words, “from the morrow of the rest day (Mi’ma’cha’ras HaShabbos)”, is that we should begin counting on the second day of Passover. In other words, even though the Hebrew words are “Mi’ma’cha’ras HaShabbos”, literally meaning “from the morrow of Shabbos”, our Sages explain that the Torah does not mean Shabbos (Sabbath) here as in the seventh day of the week, it means the Yom Tov of Pesach (Holiday of Passover).

The Talmud tells us that the Boethusians deliberately took the Torah literally and understand the words, “from the morrow of the rest day (Mi’ma’cha’ras HaShabbos)”, to mean the day after Shabbos, which is Sunday. In other words, the Boethusians hold that the counting of the Omer must begin on Sunday every year.

3. The Rebbe asks a question:

Why indeed does the Torah write this commandment in a way which can be mistakenly understood to mean Sunday? Wouldn’t it have made more sense to simply write “from the morrow of the first day of Passover”?

4. The Rebbe now begins the journey of answering this question by opening a discussion about our exodus from Egypt:

Regarding our exodus from Egypt the Torah says, “When you (Moses) take the people out of Egypt, you will serve G-d on this mountain”. In other words, the whole point and culmination of our exodus from Egypt was to receive the Torah.

Between our exodus from Egypt and receiving the Torah we counted the Omer. In other words, before we were able to reach the culmination of our exodus from Egypt- receiving the Torah, we had to first count the Omer, which was the intermediate between our exodus from Egypt and receiving the Torah.

This is why we find that regarding the three Hebrew months of Nissan, Iyar, and Sivan, the Torah mentions our exodus from Egypt. Nissan is the month in which we had our exodus from Egypt, Iyar is when the bulk of the counting of the Omer takes place, and Sivan is when we received the Torah, therefore, the Torah mentions our exodus from Egypt in connection to these months because these three months represent the three levels of leaving Egypt.

5. The Rebbe continues discussing these three months of Nissan, Iyar, and Sivan, and their significance:

As we said earlier, Nissan is the time of our exodus from Egypt- Passover, Iyar represents the counting of the Omer, and Sivan is the time of receiving the Torah- Shavuot.

Passover is clearly connected to Matzo. The counting of the Omer is connected to barley because the Omer offering (an offering brought in the Holy Temple on the second day of Passover, which commenced the counting of the Omer) contained barley. The festival of Shavuot is connected to leavened bread (Chametz) because the offering brought in the Beis Hamikdash (the Holy Temple) on Shavuot contained two loaves of leavened bread.

6. The Rebbe now asks two questions on this:

Question one: All of the other meal offerings (Menachos) consisted (mainly) of wheat, not barley. Bearing this in mind, we must wonder why the Omer offering was different then all the other meal offerings and consisted (mainly) of barley?

Question two: If leavened bread (Chametz) is forbidden on Passover, because it represents our ego and evil inclination, why would it be allowed throughout the year and even made into a commandment on Shavuot?

7. The Rebbe begins answering these two questions:

At the time of our exodus from Egypt the Jewish people were not proper vessels for
G-dliness, they were sunk into the “forty ninth gate of impurity”, as it says; “You were naked and bare”. However, even though the Jewish people weren’t deserving of redemption, Hashem revealed Himself and took them out of Egypt.

The downside of this free and undeserving revelation from Hashem is that it didn’t make a lasting change in the Jewish people because they weren’t proper vessels for it. Therefore, when the revelation was over, the Jewish people were back to square one- they were still coarse individuals with a powerful evil inclination to deal with.

The Alter Rebbe (Rebbe Shneur Zalmen of Liadi) says that this explains why the Torah tells us that the Jewish people “fled” out of Egypt. Seemingly, it doesn’t make any sense for the Jewish people to flee because when they left Egypt Pharaoh was begging them to go. However in light of the above this becomes readily understood: Since the Jewish people were still very much connected to their evils they could not handle lingering an extra second in Egypt which was the most immoral place of the world at that time.

However the real intention of this world is for the G-dly soul to work with the animal soul and elevate it. Surely the G-dly soul did not need to come down into this world for itself; it didn’t need any fixing. The only reason it came down into this world is to elevate the animal soul, as it says, “Love G-d with all your hearts”- with both of your inclinations.

Additionally, the G-dly soul actually gains from this experience. When the G-dly soul is successful in channeling the animal soul’s energy into good things, it is infused with the great passion of the animal soul, as it says, “Many crops come through the power of the ox (the animal soul)”.

This process of working with the animal soul and refining it is epitomized during the counting of the Omer. As we systematically go through every one of our characteristics we cleanse a different aspect of ourselves each night.

Now we can understand why the Omer offering was brought specifically from barley:

The Talmud tells us that barley is “the food of animals”. Therefore, being that the idea of the Omer is to refine and elevate the animal soul, we bring the Omer offering from animal’s food; we offer up the animal’s sustenance and passion.

We can now also understand why we are allowed to eat leavened bread throughout the year and there is a commandment to offer two loaves of leavened bread on Shavuot:

Leavened bread represents our intellect. Thus, when we were in Egypt, meaning, when we were at the level where it was possible for us to transgress and go against Hashem’s will (Heaven have mercy on us), it was not a time to make calculations; it was a time to run away. However then came the counting of the Omer, when we were working on ourselves and therefore we were able to handle our intellect without it getting in the way of our subservience to Hashem. And finally, when we are standing at Mount Sinai and receiving the Torah and we are at a level of total nullification before Hashem we are able to refine our intellect so that he too can be a full fledged vessel for G-dliness.

In short, after we have finished refining ourselves during the counting of the Omer and we are now standing with total subservience before Hashem, we are able to handle “leavened bread”, and since we have the strength to, we must elevate it. (This also goes for the rest of the year because we take the strength from Shavuot).

8. The Rebbe now answers our original question as to why the Torah said, “You shall count for yourselves Mi’ma’cha’ras HaShabbos (lit. from the day after Shabbos)”:

In order for us to be able to refine and elevate our animal soul we need extra special strength. Therefore the Torah tells us that we will be able to count the Omer, in other words, refine our animal soul, with the strength of the day after Shabbos:

Shabbos is the highest level of this limited world (time and space). Even though Shabbos is a great light, it is still within the seven days of the week (the limits of time and space). Therefore, the Torah tells us that we have the strength of the day after Shabbos; with strength which is even higher then Shabbos and the limits of the world.

Translated and adapted by Shalom Goldberg. Taken from Likutei Sichos volume one, second Sicha.