In this week’s Parsha, Parshat Emor, we receive the mitzvah of Sefirat HaOmer. 

וּסְפַרְתֶּ֤ם לָכֶם֙ מִמׇּחֳרַ֣ת הַשַּׁבָּ֔ת מִיּוֹם֙ הֲבִ֣יאֲכֶ֔ם אֶת־עֹ֖מֶר הַתְּנוּפָ֑ה שֶׁ֥בַע שַׁבָּת֖וֹת תְּמִימֹ֥ת תִּהְיֶֽינָה׃ עַ֣ד מִֽמׇּחֳרַ֤ת 

הַשַּׁבָּת֙ הַשְּׁבִיעִ֔ת תִּסְפְּר֖וּ חֲמִשִּׁ֣ים י֑וֹם וְהִקְרַבְתֶּ֛ם מִנְחָ֥ה חֲדָשָׁ֖ה לַיהֹוָֽה׃ (ויקרא כ”ג, ט”ו- ט”ז)

And from the day on which you bring the sheaf of elevation offering—the day after the sabbath—you shall count off seven weeks. They must be complete: you must count until the day after the seventh week—fifty days; then you shall bring an offering of new grain to Hashem.

The Torah explains that we start counting Sefirat HaOmer from the day after we bring the Omer HaTnufa, the korban brought on the first day of Pesach and end with bringing the korban of Shavuot, Lechem HaTnufa. 

The Slonimer Rebbe in his book Netivot Shalom asks why the Torah doesn’t specify the actual date we start and stop counting? Instead, the time period of Sefirat HaOmer is book-ended by the specific korbanot brought on Pesach and Shavuot. 

The Netivot Shalom explains that Pesach, Sefirat HaOmer and Shavuot are all one unit. They are not three separate holidays in the Jewish Calendar. Rather, it is a 50 day period that starts with Pesach, leaving Egypt, and culminating with Shavuot, the receiving of the Torah. The days bridging these two monumental moments is Sefirat HaOmer, which are meant to be days of working on one’s self to reach a state of purification. The days of Sefirat HaOmer are days to work on our character, working towards our best selves. Letting go of the bad while acquiring good. This time of year is when we journey from a state of impurity to a state of purity. 

There are two types of freedom one can experience – “freedom from”, or, “freedom to be.” “Freedom from” is a negative freedom, it simply means we are not tied down, held back. “Freedom to be” is a positive freedom, it allows us to express ourselves in the most authentic way. 

Yitziyat Mitzrayim, leaving Egypt, was freedom from slavery. But the purpose of leaving Eygpt was not simply to no longer be slaves to Pharoah and the Eygptian nation. Rather, there was a greater purpose. The freedom from Egypt was in order to create the space for “freedom to be”, positive freedom. The freedom to receive the Torah, the freedom to live our purpose. 

Pirkei Avot states in Chapter 6, Mishnah 2: 

וְהַמִּכְתָּב מִכְתַּב אֱלֹהִים הוּא חָרוּת עַל הַלֻּחֹת, אַל תִּקְרָא חָרוּת אֶלָּא חֵרוּת, שֶׁאֵין לְךָ בֶן חוֹרִין אֶלָּא מִי שֶׁעוֹסֵק בְּתַלְמוּד תּוֹרָה

“And the tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, graven upon the tablets” (Exodus 32:16). Read not haruth [‘graven’] but heruth [ ‘freedom’]. For there is no free man but one that occupies himself with the study of the Torah. 

The Torah is what allows us to be our true selves, our best selves. The Torah shows us how to live an authentic life with purpose and meaning. Without the Torah, we are not truly free! The Torah is what allows us ultimate freedom! 

Leaving Egypt, the journey in the desert, receiving the Torah – all happened many, many years ago. However, these same experiences recur every single year on a spiritual level. Each year on Pesach we leave our personal Egypt, and are freed from the negative energies that are holding us back. Each year on Shavuot we receive the Torah anew. 

The Netivot Shalom asks, how can we receive the Torah? How can we be worthy of something so precious? He answers that the key to this is purified middot. Perfecting your character traits. You can only become one with the Torah when you have become a purified vessel to contain it. This is the purpose of Sefirat HaOmer. We are continuously working on ourselves, every single day for seven full weeks. Day by day, step by step. Sefirat HaOmer is the bridge that takes us from Pesach to Shavuot. From slavery to the ultimate freedom. 

Going back to the original pasuk from our parsha, the Torah states that the korban brought on Shavuot is a “mincha chadasha”, meaning a new korban. The Netivot Shalom comments on this verse and says, we have the potential to become a “briah chadasha”, a whole new creation. Sefirat HaOmer has the power to transform the individual into a completely new being, ready to receive the Torah on Shavuot. 

I give us all a bracha that, first and foremost, we can build a relationship with the Torah and Hashem that is a relationship of freedom, one where we can experience our true selves through it. Moreover, let us tap into the amazing power of Sefirat HaOmer to become our best individual selves!