VOLUME 115 NUMBER 6
Iyar 18, 5785
May 16, 2025
Parshas Emor
Candlelighting Time 7:51
On the second day of Pesach a special offering was brought in the Beis Hamikdash, referred to as the Korban Omer. It consisted of barley and permitted the use of that grain in Eretz Yisroel. Although we don’t have the opportunity to bring that unique sacrifice, we count the days after from when it would have been brought until the Yom Tov of Shavuos. When the Torah describes how the offering was performed it states that it should be done ‘according to your desire.’ This language is never stated by any other mitzvah except by the sacrificial order and the Korban Omer. Why is it necessary to point out this particular facet of this mitzvah?
Rav Shlomo Kluger points out an essential element of this mitzvah, counting the Omer, counting the days from the official time of the Korban Omer until the very special Yom Tov of Shavuos. His theme is that in general mitzvos are performed for their very sake. In other words, each mitzvah has a theme which is supported by the nature of the mitzvah that is performed. As an example, the mitzvah to bring a sacrifice enables the person to visualize that even though he has been spared a scathing punishment which might very well have been appropriate, however, Hashem in His tremendous merciful posture has allowed the sinner to take note of what is transpiring with the offering he has brought. The animal’s blood is splattered on the walls of the altar instead of his. The limbs of the animal and its fatty portions are burnt on the pyre of the altar instead of him. The message is clear, repent and realize the extent of your inacceptable conduct! The intent of the sacrifice is not for the offering itself, rather to encourage and inspire us to examine our lives and reconstruct them in a manner that is consistent with the Torah. That message is not what the Korban Omer is all about.
It is noteworthy that the Korban Omer consisted of barley. The commentators point out that barley is essentially an animal staple. Yet we bring it to permit usage of barley for our own needs. Although we left Egypt on a high which was prompted by the abundant miracles that we witnessed in Egypt, that was a temporary elevation of the spirit. Without our involvement to merit that summit and pinnacle of growth we would not have absorbed and internalized that amazing experience. Hence, we have the 49 days of the Sefira, the counting from the second day of Pesach until the zenith of this time of the year, the Yom Tov of Shavuos the time when we received the Torah from Hashem on Mt. Sinai. That barley offering spurs us on to reach and expand our horizons in Torah and fulfillment of mitzvos so that we can accept the Torah on Shavous with the same level of spirituality that we attained when left the bondage of Egypt. The Korban Omer is not for itself rather to achieve a means of ascension in preparation for the receiving of the Torah.
K’Sav V’Kabalah writes that the word ‘Omer’ actually means to work and progress. The theme of this time of the year is to increasingly enhance our lifestyle vis-a-vis the Torah’s standards thereby elevating our service to Hashem. Just as our ancestors regained the incredible heights that they had merited at the time of the exodus from Egypt, so too, we can also discover strength within ourselves to reach new and better levels of study of Torah and performance of mitzvos.
A BYTE FOR LAG B’OMER
On Lag B’Omer Rabban Shimon Bar Yochai revealed the secretive portions of the Torah and requested that the sun should not set until he had completed his disclosure. This indicated that the light and illumination of Torah far surpasses the feeble light of this world and is subordinate to the power of Torah. B’NEI YISSOSCHOR
GOOD SHABB0S
