Counting the Days and Making Them Count

Torah Thoughts on Parshas Emor by Rabbi Yaakov Silverman

"וּסְפַרְתֶּם לָכֶם מִמָחֳרַת הַשַׁבָּת מִיוֹם הֲבִיאֲכֶם אֶת עֹמֶר הַתְּנוּפָה שֶׁבַע שַׁבָּתוֹת תְּמִימֹת תִּהְיֶינָה"  וַיִקְרָא כ''ג:ט''ו

“And you shall count for yourselves, from the morrow of the Shabbos, from the day when you bring the omer of the waving, seven weeks; they shall be complete.”  Vayikra 23:15

The mitzvah of Sefiras Ha’Omer is discussed in our parashah and starts "מִמָחֳרַת הַשַׁבָּת" – “from the day following Shabbos”. Chazal teach us that this is actually a reference to Pesach, as we recently began counting the Omer on the second day of Pesach. However, the Torah does say “following Shabbos” and that threw off the Tzeddukim. Since they only accepted the written Torah and not Chazal’s interpretation of the Torah, the timing of their mitzvah of Sefirah was, literally, מִמָחֳרַת הַשַׁבָּת – after the Shabbos of Bereshis. How are we to understand this bizarre machlokes? 

The time of Sefirah is the opportunity for a step-by-step growth leading up to Matan Torah on Shavuos. When Hashem took us out of Mitzrayim we witnessed miracles the likes of which we had never seen. There was an overwhelming revelation of Hashem’s involvement in the world that was really beyond our grasp. Immediately following all of those nissim, we needed to take a step back and actually work on building up to be ready to appreciate the enormity of Hashem’s ability. As every day passed, we worked on finding Hashem in every aspect of our daily lives. We pushed ourselves to find Him within nature and recognize that everything is included in His Master Plan. Every year we tap into that energy of the Omer and attempt to reclaim the incredible growth associated with this time. As each day passes, we have a chance to understand another nuance of Hashem’s interaction in our world and the different combinations of middos that He uses to guide us. 

The Tzeddukim interpreted the Torah to mean to count the days of the week as they have always been. There was no deeper level to the involvement of Hashem in our lives that would transcend the forces of nature. They maintained that the mitzvah is to begin “following Shabbos” – beginning with Sunday, the first day of the week, never tampering with the system as it already existed. On the other hand, Chazal understood that Hashem wanted us to realize there is no nature that runs without His involvement. They realized that the natural and repetitive week-cycle of the year does not dictate our own counting of days and weeks. A Jew’s mission is to count personal weeks and set our own days, overriding and even disregarding the established order of Sunday, Monday, etc., to engrain within us that nature is not a force on its own without Hashem moving it along.

This belief of the Tzeddukim was based on their fundamental lack of understanding of the power of Chazal and Talmidei Chachamim. They thought both the world and the Torah needed to remain as is and never be embellished by human understanding. Chazal teach us that just as Hashem can maneuver the forces of nature, we, too, have the power to create a time period unique to our growth, a 49-day period of time in which we find Hashem in every area of our lives.