5784 Parshat Emor Dvar Torah by Ms. Tamar Teller

 {ט} וַיְדַבֵּר ה׳ אֶל מֹשֶׁה לֵּאמֹר: {י} דַּבֵּר אֶל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְאָמַרְתָּ אֲלֵהֶם כִּי תָבֹאוּ אֶל הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר אֲנִי נֹתֵן לָכֶם וּקְצַרְתֶּם אֶת קְצִירָהּ וַהֲבֵאתֶם אֶת עֹמֶר רֵאשִׁית קְצִירְכֶם אֶל הַכֹּהֵן: {יא} וְהֵנִיף אֶת הָעֹמֶר לִפְנֵי ה׳ לִרְצֹנְכֶם מִמָּחֳרַת הַשַּׁבָּת יְנִיפֶנּוּ הַכֹּהֵן.

Hashem spoke to Moshe, "Tell Bnei Yisrael after arriving in the land which I have given to you and you have harvested, that you should bring the first of the omer harvest to the kohen. And you should wave the omer before Hashem on the day after Pesach."

Then, the Torah gives an additional command:

{טו} וּסְפַרְתֶּם לָכֶם מִמָּחֳרַת הַשַּׁבָּת מִיּוֹם הֲבִיאֲכֶם אֶת עֹמֶר הַתְּנוּפָה שֶׁבַע שַׁבָּתוֹת

תְּמִימֹת תִּהְיֶינָה.

And you should count from the day after Pesach from the day of the bringing of the omer that is waved, seven complete weeks.

The omer offering consisted of barley. There is another law that corresponds to this korban, the issur of chadash. All grain that had grown that year to date was for­bidden to eat until this korban omer was brought.

There are many questions we find with the omer offering:

• Why is the korban called the "omer"?
• Why was the omer brought on the 16th day of Nissan? What happened on the 16th of Nissan that determined that this korban should be brought on that date?
• What is so crucial about this offering, that we tie our entire counting between Pesach and Shavuot to this offering: "The first day of the omer," "the second day of the omer," etc.? If sefirat haomer is the way we prepare for the Torah, in what way is the korban omer an inte­gral part of that preparation?
• What is special about the korban omer that it permits all the grain grown that year to be eaten?

The word "omer" means measurement. It was the amount of barley grain that Bnei Yisrael had to bring. However, why would a term of measurement be the name of the korban? The midrash in Vayikra Rabbah 28 draws the connection and gives a reason for the korban omer:

אָמַר רַבִּי בֶּרֶכְיָה, אָמַר הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא לְמשֶׁה לֵךְ אֱמֹר לָהֶם לְיִשְׂרָאֵל כְּשֶׁהָיִיתִי נוֹתֵן לָכֶם אֶת הַמָּן הָיִיתִי נוֹתֵן עֹמֶר לְכָל אֶחָד וְאֶחָד מִכֶּם, הֲדָא הוּא דִכְתִיב (שמות טז, טז): עֹמֶר לַגֻּלְגֹּלֶת, וְעַכְשָׁיו שֶׁאַתֶּם נוֹתְנִים לִי אֶת הָעֹמֶר אֵין לִי אֶלָּא עֹמֶר אֶחָד מִכֻּלְּכֶם, וְלֹא עוֹד אֶלָּא שֶׁאֵינוֹ שֶׁל חִטִּים אֶלָּא שֶׁל שְׂעוֹרִים, לְפִיכָךְ משֶׁה מַזְהִיר אֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל וְאוֹמֵר לָהֶם: וַהֲבֵאתֶם אֶת עֹמֶר.

Hashem said to Moshe, "In the wilderness I provided a daily omer of manna for every Jew. As payment, let the Jews now bring for Me an omer offering every year on the 16th of Nissan."

This midrash is telling us that the purpose of the korban omer is to remind us of the omer of manna that Bnei Yisrael received in the desert. That is why the korban is called "omer." When Bnei Yisrael traveled through the desert, a great miracle took place and manna rained down from Heaven. When we remember manna, it is a reminder that it is Hashem who provides us with bread from Heaven.

The manna stopped falling on the seventh day of Adar (the day of Moshe's death), after the Jews entered Eretz Yisrael, and the manna they had left over in their vessels lasted until the 15^th day of Nissan. It was therefore on the 16th of Nissan that they brought the offering of the omer, the first ripened barley, as a thanksgiving to Hashem. Bnei Yisrael realized that the manna and the bread that grows from the ground are very much the same. They are both are brought forth by Hashem. (Gemara Kiddushin 38a).

The Sefer HaChinuch (in Mitzvah 302) discusses the concept of gratitude (hakorat hatov) as it relates to the mitzvah of the korban omer. He says that at harvest time, when we are ready to literally reap the fruits of our labor, we remind ourselves of the chesed Hashem has done for us. By bringing a korban from our produce before enjoying it ourselves, the issur of chadosh, we demonstrate our gratitude to Hashem.

Gratitude is fundamental to our service to Hashem. Therefore, in preparing for matan Torah, we must properly reflect on all the goodness that Hashem has granted us, such as the gift of the manna, and develop a feeling of gratitude, which we engage by bringing the korban omer. In fact, the korban omer needed to be waved in all directions (t'nufo). This was to emphasize that everything comes from Hashem. That, too, is why we count sefirah for seven complete weeks and tie it to the omer offering. If we brought an omer offering only one day of the year, perhaps the crucial lesson that it teaches us would be lost; so, we review this lesson 49 times, over and over, until it becomes second nature.

We pray and hope that the Beit Hamikdash will be rebuilt, and the korban omer can be brought once again, speedily in our days. Until then, during sefirat haomer, we are reminded to recognize and show appreciation for all that we have and continue to receive from Hashem.