Over the past few days we have discussed how, on the simple level, Sefirat HaOmer is a message to the farmer working in the field, in the season between barley planting and wheat planting. We count down between two offerings brought at two agricultural milestones, and there are Bitachon lessons in this for the farmer:
1- To realize, with the Korban HaOmer, that all of the success in the fields, and the supervision of everyone’s food, is all from Hashem.
2- We want to invoke the number 49, 7×7, to connect the farmer to the Shemittah and Yovel cycle, in order to remind him that the field does not belong to him, and that
G-d owns the land.
We ended with a note about the odd coincidence of how this message comes at the same time as we commemorate Yetziat Mitzrayim and Matan Torah.
It seems odd, based on the two different opinions of the Rishonim. In one camp they had a big chart with barley offering on one side, a wheat offering on the other, and a 49 day checklist in between.
In the other camp they had a picture of Yetziat Mitzrayim/leaving Egypt, and Matan Torah/ receiving the Torah, and a 49 day count between those events. So it seems odd that there are two totally different approaches to Sefirat HaOmer.
As we were raised, most people understand that’s it’s not a coincidence. We are going from Yetziat Mitzrayim to Matan Torah.
So how do we explain this seeming contradiction?
Firstly, the Sefer Hachinuch explains the approach that we are counting in anticipation of the Torah:
The entire essence of the Jewish people is the Torah. The heavens and the earth were created for the Torah. We got out of Mitzrayim in order to get to Har Sinai, as the pasuk says, “I’ll send you out, so that you can serve G-d on this mountain.” That’s the main reason we got out of Egypt.
Furthermore, he says that since the Torah is the essence of the Jewish people, and the reason we were redeemed, we are supposed to count down to that day, in order to show our great desire, like a servant looking forward to getting out of his workday and into the shade. We are looking forward to it more than we looked forward to getting out of Egypt. That’s why we count down- to show how important and great Matan Torah is to us.
That is what most people think during the Omer. So how does that match our farmer’s message? The answer is that our Torah is not just for Rabbis. The Torah is for everybody, including the farmer in the field. Therefore, G-d made the system of sabbatical. The farmer works for six years and takes off in the seventh year for that very reason, so that we have the ability to learn.
The only reason a farmer would not be learning is because he has to spend his time working his field.
The only thing interfering with the farmer’s learning is his Bitachon. That’s why we have the message of the farmer’s Bitachon, at the same time that we are counting down to Matan Torah. Because they really are connected. Sefirat HaOmer is not just a reminder that the land belongs to G-d, and it isn’t connected it to shemittah just for the sake of remembering that G-d owns the land.
The whole purpose of shemitah is to enable the farmer to learn Torah; to set aside some time in his busy schedule, and realize that G-d owns the land. So the Bitachon message that comes at this time of year is not solely that he should see success in his field. The Bitachon message is there to enable him to learn.
That is why it comes at this time of year.
In our daily request for Torah, in our prayers, we mention Bitachon, because without Bitachon, you can’t learn. The businessman can’t learn, and the rabbi can’t learn, because he needs someone to support him.
Bitachon is essential in order to receive the Torah.
That is why, when it introduces the law of shemitah in Parashat Bahar, it starts with the words BaHar Sinai (on Har Sinai). Rashi asks why Har Sinai is placed near the topic of Shemitah.
And the answer is that without shemitah there is no Har Sinai. Without Bitachon, and the realization that G-d controls our business, there is no Har Sinai.
Therefore, the Sefirat HaOmer message isn’t just for the farmer. It’s for any working man. During Sefirat HaOmer, we should be thinking about the messages of the korban HaOmer, which we have discussed for the past two days: that G-d takes care of our food and parnassah, and G-d owns the land. And we have to remember the lessons of shemitah. The purpose of all of that is to take out some time to learn.
One of the lessons of the pandemic, for many people, was the realization that we don’t have to go to work as early as we thought. A lot of things can be managed from home. People now realize that they have more time than they thought they did. Therefore, they can probably learn more also.
There are many people that I know that now stay in Shul a little bit later in the morning, to learn. They don’t run out of Shul as fast as they used to.
Let us take this Sefirat Omer message about the field, and translate it into learning Torah.
So all of our messages, at this time of year, are not “coincidental.” It’s not a coincidence that we get a Bitachon message while waiting to receive the Torah. They go hand-in-hand. Hopefully these three lessons are clear and connect.
Have a wonderful day.