Why We Count the Omer: The Spiritual Path to Receiving the Torah

“You shall count for yourselves from the day after the Shabbat… until the day after the seventh Shabbat you shall count fifty days” (Vayikra 23:15–16).

The ultimate purpose of the Exodus from Egypt was the giving of the Torah. As God told Moshe: “When you bring the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain” (Shemot 3:12).

The Sages note the extra letter nun in the word ta’avdun (“you shall serve”), since the verse could have simply said ta’avdu. From this they learn that when the Jewish people were informed of their impending redemption from Egypt, they were also told that they would receive the Torah on the fiftieth day after leaving Egypt.

To receive divine wisdom of the holy Torah, which contains within it all the wisdom of the world, as Ben Bag Bag said: “Turn it over and turn it over, for everything is in it” (Pirkei Avot 5:22) — a period of preparation was required.

The Forty-Nine Days of Spiritual Purification

While in Egypt, the Jewish people had descended into the forty-nine gates of impurity, surrounded by forty-nine layers of spiritual darkness. They therefore required forty-nine days to remove these layers.

Dirt that has accumulated over a long period cannot be cleaned all at once. For this reason, the Jewish people were given fifty days to free themselves from the mentality of Egyptian slavery, with everything that entailed, and to reach a state of spiritual freedom so they could receive the Torah in purity.

There is no greater freedom than being a servant of God who studies Torah. As the Sages teach: “There is no truly free person except one who engages in Torah” (Pirkei Avot 6:2). A person who studies Torah becomes like a king who rules over his desires, rather than a servant enslaved to them.

During those days between the Exodus and the giving of the Torah, the Jewish people expressed a deep longing to free themselves from the impurity and moral corruption of Egypt and become truly free through receiving the Torah.

Even after the Torah was given, the commandment to count the days remained. The counting serves as a reminder to later generations of the greatness of their ancestors, who purified themselves in anticipation of receiving the Torah and longed eagerly for that moment.

Refining Character As Preparation to Receive the Torah

In reality, “a person is close to himself” (Yevamot 25b) — meaning that a person feels closer to the body than to the soul. This is because the body is visible, while the soul is not.

For this reason, when the body craves a certain desire and the evil inclination burns like fire, it becomes very difficult to overcome it. A person can then become enslaved to his own impulses.

The only way to break the power of desire and become its master is through the holy Torah.

Therefore the Sages interpret the verse: “Engraved on the tablets” (Shemot 32:16) — do not read it as charut (“engraved”), but as cherut (“freedom”).

The holy Torah grants freedom from the Angel of Death — the evil inclination itself, which is identified with the Angel of Death (Bava Batra 16a).

One who is able to set aside his own desires becomes like a king, because he demonstrates mastery over himself rather than servitude to his impulses. The Torah teaches us which desires must be restrained and how to overcome them.

The essential work of preparation for receiving the Torah is therefore refining one’s character traits. Uprooting negative traits on one hand and cultivating positive traits on the other prepares the inner vessels without which Torah cannot truly be received.

Awakening the Longing for the Desired Day

To strengthen the anticipation for the long-awaited day of receiving the Torah, the Sages established that we count in the form: “Today is one day of the Omer,” rather than saying, “We still have forty-nine days left to count.”

This method of counting increases anticipation and keeps the expectation filled with joy and longing rather than despair.

The way to merit the deep yearning for the Torah that renews itself each year during these days is through Torah study itself. Learning Torah with effort and dedication strengthens a person’s longing and passion for it more and more.

(Adapted from “Mishkeni Acharecha,” Vayikra, Volume II.)