From the second night of Pesach until Shavuot, we count the forty-nine days of the Omer, the seven-week period known as S’firah. Leviticus 23:15 outlines the instructions emphasizing that the seven weeks must be תְּמִימֹת “complete.” There is a midrash which challenges the translation of “complete” and replaces it with “perfect”: “Rabbi Chiya taught: ‘Seven perfect weeks.’ When will they be perfect? When the Jews do the will of God” (Midrash Rabah 28:3). Why does the commandment of counting the Omer depend so much more on one’s doing the will of God? Is not the counting of the Omer by itself enough to make the seven weeks perfect or complete? Rabbi Yaakov Tzvi Mecklenburg, a nineteenth century German Rabbi and Torah scholar best known for his Torah commentary Hak’tav V’hakabbalah, explains the midrash by analyzing the wording of the biblical verse, in particular the phrase וּסְפַרְתֶּם לָכֶם “count for yourselves” noting the addition of the word lakhem “for yourselves.” What is the significance of adding this extra word? Why does it not simply say וּסְפַרְתֶּם “you shall count…”? It is to teach us that the commandment of counting the forty-nine days between Pesaḥ and Shavuot is not simply for us just to count the days. There is a higher purpose, not a quantitative one but rather a qualitative one, and that is to elevate and perfect ourselves.

Rabbi Mecklenburg explains the above teaching by pointing out numerous examples from the Torah in which the word לְךָ“for you” is added to connote a purpose meant “for you.” The first and arguably the most famous example from Genesis 12:1 is the namesake of the third parashah of the Torah: Lekh L’kha. God literally tells Abraham to go forth to the Promised Land but, as the midrash points out, the addition of the word l’kha indicates that God in essence tells Abraham to go forth and find his authentic self, to learn who he is meant to be. Similarly, our purpose in counting the Omer is to use those days to refine and purify ourselves. In fact, the word וּסְפַרְתֶּם from Leviticus 23:15 used for “counting” also connotes study and supervision. Moreover, S’firah has the same root as the Hebrew word for “sapphire.” The Omer is therefore a time for us to shine and refine ourselves like a clear sapphire jewel. If we simply count the Omer, the seven weeks may be “complete,” but if we do the will of God and perfect ourselves, only then can the seven weeks be called “perfect.” As Rav Baruch always said during this period: we do not just “count” each day; we make each day “count.”

Unfortunately, following the tragic events of October 7, we have been engaged in a separate and more difficult counting. The S’firah is traditionally known as a period of semi mourning, commemorating the deaths of twenty-four thousand of Rabbi Akiva’s students. This year as we count the Omer, we continue to mourn the horrific murder of over twelve hundred Israelis and foreigners at the hands of Hamas, as well as the plight of the remaining hostages in Gaza. Rabbi Fryer Bodzin shared with the spiritual leadership team what Sutton Place Synagogue in New York City is doing this year. Each day, they are counting the Omer, but they are also counting the days of captivity since October 7. You can find more information here: https://www.spsnyc.org/omer We at Beth Tzedec are also participating in this counting. Like everyone, we pray to finally get to stop this count, but in the meantime, we will keep hope and keep counting until, God willing, this period of anxiety is turned into a joyous reunion bringing our hostages home safely. In addition to focusing on perfecting ourselves, this year in particular, let us also focus on perfecting the world. Shabbat Shalom and Chag Kasher v'Sameach.