How Jews Facet a Sapphire with 49 Facets
From the second day of Pesach until the holiday of Shavuot, we fulfill the mitzvah of Sefirat HaOmer—the counting of the Omer. In Temple times, on the first day we were required to bring a special offering to the Temple—an Omer, a sheaf of barley—and then count 49 days. Even today, when the Temple is no longer standing, the mitzvah of counting the Omer remains. Incidentally, we count not only the days but also the weeks. For example: “Today is the eighteenth day of the Omer, which is two weeks and four days.”
The Torah does not simply say “count”, but “usfartem lachem”—“count for yourselves.” What does “for yourselves” mean? The Talmud explains that there are two ways of counting days. Sometimes the Sanhedrin performs calendrical calculations and announces the results to the entire community—for example, that the New Moon will be on a certain day. At other times, the obligation to count rests upon each individual. This is what “count for yourselves” means. No one can fulfill the mitzvah of Sefirat HaOmer on behalf of someone else; each person must do it themselves.
As we count the days of the Omer, the text of the prayer mentions each time the spiritual attribute that we purify on that particular day. There are seven such attributes:
Chesed—kindness, generosity;
Gevurah —discipline, restraint;
Tiferet—harmony, compassion;
Netzach —steadfastness, determination;
Hod —humility;
Yesod—connectedness, bonding;
Malchut—nobility, leadership.
At the same time, each attribute contains all the others within it, yielding 49 levels through which we must ascend higher and higher, purifying and preparing ourselves to receive the Torah.
It is important to understand that it is not enough to purify only the qualities of the G-dly soul—that is, in simple terms, our “higher” thoughts and convictions. We must also refine the qualities of our animal soul, meaning our earthly, everyday drives and emotions. A hint of this is found precisely in the Omer offering itself: barley is animal fodder!
the Alter Rebbe teaches that the word “usfartem” (“and you shall count”) derives from the same root as “sappir” (“sapphire”).
When, by counting the days of the Omer, we purify ourselves, we become like a transparent, radiant precious stone. Only then can we prepare ourselves to receive the Torah and develop within ourselves the soul’s refined sensitivity required to perceive it—just as only a person with a well-developed sense of hearing can appreciate exquisite music.
The 49 days of counting the Omer are the instruments for tuning our souls.
(Rabbi Menachem Mendel Pevzner)
P.S. The Zohar HaKadosh warns—three times!!!—that women do not count the Omer; there is a deeper reason for this than the fact that women are exempt from time-bound mitzvot.
