COUNTING THE OMER – WHY IS IT CALLED THIS?

 April 23, 2006

The period of time between the second day of Pesach and Shavuous is called “Sfiras Haomer”, “Counting of the Omer”.  On the first day we say, “It is the first day of the Omer”, and each day we add one day until erev Shavuous we say, “It is the 49^th day of the Omer”.  There is a disagreement regarding the prefix we use before the word Omer while counting.  Do we say “B’Omer”, which means “In the Omer”, or do we say “L’Omer”, which means “To the Omer”? 

The Mitzvah to count the Omer is mentioned in the Torah.  We say a Brocha before counting, saying that the Torah has commanded us, “Regarding the counting of the Omer.”  Most are in agreement that the Biblical commandment refers to the counting that was done in the Bais Hamikdosh, and now the counting is Rabinnic in emulation and  remembrance of the Mitzvah that was done when the Bais Hamikdosh was standing. 

The Omer itself was a grain (Minchah) offering burned on the Alter of the Bais Hamikdosh on the second day of Pesach.  The Gemorah in Pesachim describes how, on the second night of Pesach, the people went out into the fields and cut barley to be brought as the Omer offering the next day. 

The Torah says, “You shall count for yourselves … from the day that you brought the Omer. It will for you seven complete weeks…You will count fifty days.  Then you will offer a new Mincha offering to Hashem.”  The new Minchah offering the Torah is referring to consists of the two loaves of bread offered on Shavuous.

There are two fundamental questions we will ask about this Mitzvah of ‘counting the Omer’.

1. Why is the seven week period called the Omer period?  There is only one Omer offering made, and that is the barley offered on the second day of Pesach.  There is no other Omer offering.  There is no Omer offered during the seven weeks, and the concluding Minchah offering given on Shavuous is called the Shtei Halechem, the two loaves of bread, which is not referred to as an Omer.  So why is the entire seven week period given the appellation “Omer”, as in “the Xth day of the Omer”?

2. A second, and somewhat related question is: why are the two choices for counting “B’Omer” (in the Omer) and “L’Omer” (to the Omer)?  The Torah says, “You shall count for yourselves… from the day that you brought the Omer”.  On the surface it would seem that the Torah uses the term ‘from’ to suggest that we should say, “M’Omer” (from the Omer”).  If the counting begins from the day that we bring the Omer, why don’t use the expression “M’Omer” (from the Omer)?

Certainly the period between Pesach and Shavuous represents a transition.  We are counting the days from leaving Egypt, when the Jews were on the 49^th level of impurity, to Shavuous when we had risen, day by day, to the level of being ready to receive the Torah.  The fact that we count the days from slavery to Matan Torah is certainly understandable.  It is just puzzling why this period is called the Omer period, and why don’t we count the days “From” the Omer?

We will suggest an answer to these questions.  There are two words in Hebrew that are pronounced “Omer”.  The first word Omer begins with an Eyen, and refers to the barley offering given on the second day of Pesach.  The second word Omer begins with an Aleph, and means “Saying”.  In fact, in Hebrew grammar the letters Eyen and Aleph are interchangeable. 

Perhaps we are counting the days of transition between the first meaning of the word Omer (barley offering) to the second meaning of the word Omer (Saying).  The second meaning of the word Omer (Saying) can be referring to two things:

1. The ‘saying’ that Hashem did by giving us the Torah at Har Sinai.
2. The ‘saying’ that man uses when he uses his highest and most exalted ability, the faculty of speech.

If the ‘saying’ refers to Hashem’s giving us the Torah, we are counting the days of transition between the two ways that Hashem relates to the world.  At one end Hashem cares for the physical needs of the world.  Barley is a grain normally given to animals.  We begin the Sfira period by focusing on how Hashem nurtures animals.  Then we count the days of transition until Hashem revealed the most lofty way he has related to world, by giving us the spiritual insights of the Torah.  The seven weeks is the transition from Hashem’s involvement in the physical to His involvement in the spiritual – from Hashem’s feeding of animals to His spiritual feeding of Man.

‘Saying’ could also be referring to the fact that Man’s ability to speak is what sets him apart from all other animals.  Our speech allows us to reach great heights, as when we express new ideas, say kind words to each other, or give praise and thanks to Hashem.  On the other hand, we can use our speech to virtually kill other people with Loshon Hara.  From this perspective, the Sfira period is highlighting the transition from the ‘dumb physical animal’ within us, all the way to our exalted, spiritual nature as exemplified by our ability to speak.

It’s very possible that the heights that are climbing towards during the Sfira period refers to both types of ‘saying’.  The ‘Saying’ that we are leading up to on the 50^th day refers to both the way Hashem spoke to us when He gave us the Torah, and how the Torah is a guide to our maximizing our spiritual potential as exemplified by our ability to speak.

We now have a possible answer to our two questions.  The seven week period is called the Omer period because we are transitioning from the Omer with the Eyen (the barley offering), to the Omer with the Aleph, referring to Hashem’s speaking to us by giving the Torah, and how the Torah is a guide to our uplifting ourselves spiritually as exemplified by our amazing power of speech. 

This is why we use the preposition “In” or “To”.  The barley offering on the second day of Pesach is only the beginning of the process.  While counting, we are “In” the period of transition, moving ‘To” the second meaning of the word Omer – “Saying” spelled with an Aleph.  This culminates in Matan Torah, when Hashem spoke to us, revealing to us how we can make use of our spiritual potential, of which speech is one of our greatest abilities.