Why Do We Count the Omer?

From the second night of Passover until the day before the holiday of Shavuot, the Jewish people engage in an unique mitzvah called sefirat ha'omer (counting of the omer). The Torah commands us during this time each year to count seven complete weeks for a total of 49 days. At the end of the seven-week period we celebrate Shavuot, which means "weeks."

This is considered a mitzvah, so the count, which takes place each night, is preceded by a blessing. However, we may only recite the blessing if we have not missed a single night of counting. If we have omitted the counting even one night during that stretch, we may no longer recite the blessing, but instead must listen as our friend says the blessing and then do the counting.

During the times of the Holy Temple, at the end of counting a special grain offering was brought. This offering was 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.

Why do we count these days? We learn several reasons. The foremost is that the count demonstrates our thrill for the impending occasion of receiving on the Torah, celebrated on Shavuot. Just as a child often counts the days until the end of school, or for 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).

We also learn that this period is meant to spiritually prepare and refine ourselves. When the Jewish people were in Egypt nearly 3,400 years ago, they had assimilated many of the immoral ways of the Egyptian people. The Jews had sunk to an unprecedented level of spiritual defilement and were on the brink of destruction. At the last possible moment the Children of Israel were miraculously redeemed. They underwent a spiritual rebirth and quickly ascended to the holiest collective state they had ever reached. They were so holy, in fact, that they were compared to angels when they stood at the foot of Mt. Sinai to receive the Torah.

It was during that 49-day period that they underwent such a radical transformation. From the lowest lows to the highest heights in just seven weeks!

The commandments of the Torah are not meant merely as our history, but instead represent on ongoing life-lesson for every Jew. We view the Torah as freshly received every day of our lives and approach it and its commandments with appropriate vigor.

So too must we digest the lesson of the counting of omer. It is specifically during this time that we strive to grow and mature in our spiritual state. The Torah does not allow us to become satisfied with our current level of spirituality. Instead it tells us to set high goals for ourselves and then methodically strive to reach that goal.

The growth that occurs during this time is akin to a marathon. We pace ourselves and seek to improve day by day until we reach the day that we again receive the Torah. In this process we look deep within ourselves and work on all of our negative attributes. If we are challenged in the realm of acts of kindness, we go out of our way to do more charitable works. If we are lacking in the area of justice, we hold ourselves to the highest possible standards and are exacting and demanding in our personal behavior and habits. And so it goes for all of our traits.