Day 16 of the Omer

מעֶן האָט געֶזאָגט אַמאָל פאַרְ'ן טאַטעֶן — אִין אַ פאַרבְּרֵיינְגעֶן סְפִירָה-צַייט אִין דִי יאָהרעֶן תּרנ"א-נ"ג: דעֶם אַלטעֶן רֶבִּין'ס חֲסִידִים פְלעֶגעֶן אַלעֶמאָל צֵיילעֶן. דעֶר וואָרט אִיז דעֶם טאַטעֶן זֵייעֶר געֶפעֶלעֶן געֶוואָרעֶן. וְאָמַר: אַזוֹי אִיז דעֶר עִנְיַן הָעֲבוֹדָה. דִי שָׁעוֹת דאַרפעֶן זַיין געֶצֵיילטעֶ, דאַן זַיינעֶן דִי טעֶג געֶצֵיילטעֶ. אַז עֶס גֵייט אַוועֶק אַ טאָג, דאַרף מעֶן ווִיסעֶן וואָס מְ'האָט אוֹיפגעֶטאָן אוּן וואָס מְ'דאַרף וַוייטעֶר טאָן... בִּכְלַל דאַרף מעֶן זעֶהן אַז דעֶר מאָרגעֶן זאָל זַיין אַ סַך שׁעֶנעֶר ווִי דעֶר הַיינט.

Once, when my father [the Rebbe Rashab] was present at a farbrengen held during the period of the Counting of the Omer in one of the years from 5651-5653 (1891-1893), someone said: “The Alter Rebbe’s chassidim were always counting.”

This saying found favor in my father’s eyes. He commented: “This holds true with regard to Divine service. One’s hours must be counted. In this way, the days will also be counted. When a day passes, we must know what we have accomplished and what we have yet to accomplish…. All in all, we must make sure that tomorrow will be far better than today.”1

Living in This World

Counting days helps us make the days themselves count. The mere ticking of a clock can inspire us to make full use of the time we have been granted. When we realize that every moment of life is a gift from G‑d, our natural desire is to utilize those moments to serve Him to the fullest.