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By Rabbi Nissim Lagziel, Mashpia in Oholei Torah: 

BEGIN WITH A GRIN

A boy says to his mother, “Ma, I just found out that I can’t use a calculator for my exam. I was really counting on that…”

COUNTING THE STEPS

This week, we will read parshas Emor, a parsha that deals with with two main topics: mitzvos having to do with the priesthood and our holidays. At the beginning of the parsha, the Torah teaches us about the prohibitions of impurity and marriages specific to a kohen, and about the deformities that invalidate a kohen from serving in the Beis HaMikdash. Later in the parsha, we learn about additional offerings we must bring on holidays and the special mitzvos pertaining to the holidays.

As part of the many mitzvos having to do with the holidays, we read about the mitzva of counting the omer, which we are currently doing (hopefully, with a bracha). There’s the famous question which the Rishonim and Acharonim addressed, why does it say (23:16), “Count fifty days,” when we all know that we count only forty-nine days?

Without getting into the numerous answers given to this question, we will focus directly on the answer given in Chassidus, from the treasury of the Alter Rebbe in Likutei Torah. The inner work of Sefiras HaOmer represents the drawing down of the spiritual levels of the “fifty gates of bina,” those lofty gates of G-dly apprehension and revelation.

The problem is that a human being can only reach until the forty-ninth gate through his efforts. The fiftieth gate is beyond man’s ability to attain. The chiddush of Sefiras HaOmer is expressed in that since the Jewish people did all they could during the days of sefira, drawing down the forty-nine gates by consistent counting for seven weeks (seven times seven = 49), G-d provides the fiftieth gate to them as a gift!

That coveted gate, the fiftieth, was revealed to us at Mattan Torah, on Shavuos. It is revealed to us every year as a result of our avoda during sefira, each year on a higher level.

Chassidus teaches that the fiftieth gate has many levels, so that it is possible that what for one person is the fiftieth gate, for another person is still included in the forty-nine. Furthermore, it is very possible (as well it should be!) that what was the fiftieth gate for someone in 5782, became part of the forty-nine in 5783, because the person reached higher in his inner avoda and his spiritual level and what had previously been for him beyond comprehension and beyond limitation now became understandable, measured and limited!

The real fiftieth level, in its ultimate and loftiest sense, we will get only in the Geula. This is hinted at by the prophet, “As in the days of your going out of Egypt I will show you wonders – nun pela’os (Zohar chelek 1, 261, b). Just as the exodus from Egypt led to the Giving of the Torah when we received the revelation of the fiftieth level, so too, in the future Geula, we will receive the fiftieth gate in its entirety!

Since the avoda of Sefiras HaOmer the first time is what led to this yearned for G-dly revelation of Mattan Torah, it is understood that our avoda of sefira now is our preparation for the G-dly revelation of the Geula!

STEPPING INTO THE LIGHT

Based on this, the Rebbe explains with simple genius the enormous question about the laws of sefira. We count at night, and the day follows the night, as with all laws of the Torah, although the offering of the omer is a korban mincha, and in the laws of korbanos and kodshim in general the night follows the day. The question is, if the mitzva of sefira is to count the days after the korban omer was brought, and with korbanos the night follows the day, why is the law different (the opposite!) with sefira where the day follows the night?

According to the Chassidic explanation mentioned before, the question is easily answered. The chiddush of the future Geula over the Geula of Egypt and Mattan Torah is that with the exodus from Egypt, and even Mattan Torah, the revelation from above was without avoda. True, they counted and prepared, they worked on themselves and improved, but it wasn’t possible, within such a short time, forty-nine days, for them to leave the forty-nine gates of impurity and become so refined that they deserved to receive the Torah. (This is also the reason why a short time after this G-dly revelation at Mattan Torah, they fell and sinned with the golden calf.)

In the future Geula, which will come through the lengthy (way too long) avoda of the Jewish people, avoda which began when we left Egypt and which, unfortunately, hasn’t ended, the world itself will become refined and fit for the G-dly revelation of the Geula, so it penetrates the reality of the world and even physical “flesh” will see G-dliness, “and all flesh together will see that the mouth of G-d has spoken.”

Although the avoda of created beings cannot achieve those ultimate levels still, when a person does all he can, to the fullest extent of human ability, he is granted from above the coveted revelations of the fiftieth gate, and in a way that it is received internally!

That means that in the revelations of the Geula there are two opposites that co-exist. A G-dly light that is beyond the world – the fiftieth gate – will be revealed, a light that would be impossible to attain through the avoda of created beings, and this revelation will be within the world and will permeate the existence of the world and of human beings.

Since the counting of the omer is the service of preparation for the future Geula, the counting is the other way round! It’s counting that includes two polar opposites. On the one hand, we count the days since the offering was made, in which the night follows the day. On the other hand, the counting is done in a way in which the day follows the night.

The explanation is simple. In creation, “and it was evening and it was morning.” Life begins in darkness and only through avoda (hard work) is it possible to reveal a bit of light. With korbanos and kodshim it’s different; the order is the opposite. We begin with G-dly light and even if after that there is some little “night,” the strong, infinite light illuminates it and turns it into “day.”

In counting the omer we do both! We count and work, according to the order of creation, starting with the darkness and purifying it in an internal incremental manner to the point that it will turn into brilliant light. But we are aware of the fact that we are limited, and that through our avoda we can only reach a certain boundary. Therefore, the counting comes through the empowerment of “kodshim” from the power of the G-dly revelation from above, which is eternal and infinite, a revelation of the fiftieth gate that will be fully revealed, and internally, in the Geula!

TO CONCLUDE WITH A STORY

The following story is the key to inner change which comes (on the one hand) from the person, and (on the other hand) through a higher power that guides. I heard it from the person himself and thank him for it.

R’ Nachum Markowitz was an Israeli bachur who came to learn in 770. He wasn’t that interested in learning and was hardly ever present in yeshiva. To fill his time he worked for the Shemira organization in Crown Heights but he felt an emptiness.

About the year 5736, he had yechidus with the Rebbe and he submitted a note in which he wrote that he worked for Shemira but wasn’t really satisfied. Keeping to the learning schedule was hard for him and he did not see what his purpose in life was.

The Rebbe told him to establish times to learn the Written and Oral Torah but just for five minutes a day, no more. And from time to time he should add just one minute.

He did so and began learning the parsha of the week (the Written Torah) with Rashi’s commentary (the Oral Torah), while looking at the clock so it would only be five minutes. It sometimes happened that he would have to stop himself in the middle of a sentence, in the middle of an interesting story, because the limit was five minutes.

This got him to thinking all day about what he learned and he looked forward to the next five minutes so he could continue the story that had been interrupted the day before. Then it became six minutes, and so on.

“The Rebbe, in his wisdom and with his blessing gave me back a taste for learning, and it changed my life.” That’s how you change a person from within!

Good Shabbos!

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