This is the reason for the counting of the omer from the day when they left Egypt till the day of the giving of the Torah, which was the purpose and the end of their leaving.Īccording to the Rambam, one counts the days from leaving Egypt until the receiving of the Torah because the entire purpose of the Exodus was to receive the Torah. ![]() The days are counted from the first of the festivals, up to it, as is done by one who waits for the coming of the human being he loves the best and counts the days and hours. In his Moreh Nevuchim (3:43), the Rambam extends the import of this mitzva beyond the practical significance for the ancient farmer: In the continuation of the passage cited above, the Abudraham offers another reason for the mitzva:īecause the word is in distress between Pesach and Shavuot over the wheat and trees, as the Talmud describes in the beginning of Tractate Rosh Ha-Shana… Therefore, He commanded to count the days, in order that we should remember the world’s distress and return to Him with a full heart and plead before Him to have mercy on us and the creatures and the world, and that the wheat should be as it should be, as it is the source of our existence, and “if there is no flour, there is no Torah.”Īccording this view, the counting of the omer does not serve to remind the farmer of the upcoming festival, but rather to remind us of the precarious situation of the world during this time, so that we should pray that the wheat harvest, upon which the world’s sustenance depends, will be sufficient. Rabbeinu Yerucham ( Toldat Adam Va-Chava, netiv 5, part 4) explains the mitzva in this manner as well, and he therefore suggests that one counts at night because one is less burdened by the harvest at night. Therefore, he is commanded to count forty-nine days, after which he celebrates Shavuot in Jerusalem. The Abudraham explains that the farmer, who spends the time after Pesach occupied with the wheat harvest, may lose track of time and forget to come to Jerusalem for the celebration of Shavuot. The reason for which the Holy One, blessed be He, commanded to count the omer was because each Israelite was involved in his own harvest and each one was dispersed in his own threshing floor, and He commanded to count in order that they should not forget the time of their ascent for the festival ( aliyah la-regel). Yosef Abudraham ( Spain, thirteenth century), in his Sefer Adudraham ( Tefillot Pesach), offers the simplest explanation of this mitzva: The Rishonim offer different reasons for the mitzva of sefirat ha-omer and disagree as whether to view this mitzva within its historical/agricultural context or within the context of the period between the Exodus from Egypt and the impending giving of the Torah. In this shiur, we will discuss the reasons behind this mitzva, its source, and the manner in which it is performed. The count continues until the holiday of Shavuot, upon which the shetei ha-lechem, two loaves made from wheat, are brought. The offering of this korban signals the permissibility of the consumption of chadash (new grains from the new harvest, which were forbidden until this offering). ![]() We are to count from the day upon which the korban ha-omer (a sacrifice consisting of an “ omer” of barley) was offered. And you shall keep the Feast of Weeks unto the Lord your God after the measure of the freewill-offering of your hand, which you shall give, according as the Lord your God blessed you. Seven weeks you shall number unto you from the time the sickle is first put to the standing corn you should begin to number seven weeks. The Torah commands in two places that each person should count the days and weeks from the second day of Pesach until the holiday of Shavuot:Īnd you shall count unto you from the morrow after the day of rest, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the waving seven weeks shall there be complete even unto the morrow after the seventh week shall you number fifty days and you shall present a new meal-offering unto the Lord. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |