Fifty Days Correspond to Fifty Years
The Alshich Hakodosh writes that the fifty days of Sefiras
Ho'Omer symbolize the fifty central years of a person's
life: from the time he reaches the age of twenty, when he
becomes accountable for his deeds, in the Heavenly court, and
is liable to punishment, up till the designated age of "the
span of our life is seventy years."
These good years deserve to be counted one by one, to be
given meaning and be filled with content. "And you shall
count for yourselves from the morrow of the Shabbos-
festival." This alludes to the morrow of the twentieth
birthday, from which time one is judged for his deeds and
becomes accountable for them in the Beis Din Shel
Maaloh.
From that time onwards, his days/years should be enumerated,
year by year, as are the days of Sefiroh counted, day
by day, until the number of fifty is completed and one
reaches the seventieth year. The sevenfold Shabbosos
of years should be whole and perfect, devoid of sin, until
the morrow of the seventh Shabbos, which is the morrow
of a person's seventieth birthday, his stronghold in this
world.
He must count his days/years and not let any one of them be
absent or deficient in his service to Hashem! And then
— "You shall bring an offering of a minchoh
chadoshoh unto Hashem," which should include Torah and
good deeds, a gift offering unto Hashem of what he has
accomplished here in this world. (Toras Moshe Vayeiro
— Perek 23 15-16)
Fifty Days of Yearning
In Mas'eis Binyomin it is written that the reason one
does not recite Shehechiyonu on the commandment of
counting the Omer is as follows: at the exodus from
Egypt, the Children of Israel knew that they would be
receiving the Torah after fifty days. These fifty days seemed
to them like a thousand days, so strongly did they yearn for
the Torah.
These were therefore days of suffering for them since they
felt they were not yet ready and deserving of receiving the
Torah. Consequently, one does not recite the
Shehechiyonu blessing over days of sorrow . . .
(Yalkut Yitzchok p. 62)
Bringing the Omer — A Preparation for Torah
Maran HaRav Shmuel Rozovsky zt'l explains the
preparation involved for the receiving of the Torah,
represented by the commandment of Sefiras Ho'Omer:
The world was created so that all the creatures be cognizant
of Hashem's rule and acknowledge that there is no power
besides Hashem.
In this same manner one can explain the idea behind the
counting of the Omer as a preparation to receiving the
Torah. This, too, is a form of acknowledging that everything
belongs to and originates from Hashem, which is why we bring
the first-fruit offering from the staple of wheat.
This begins the preparation process for kabbolas
haTorah. For without that acknowledgement of Hashem's
uniqueness, it is impossible to receive Torah. So long as one
feels the `material me,' one cannot accept the yoke of
Torah.
This, too, was the end purpose of the miracles — to
demonstrate that even nature is wholly miraculous. As the
Ramban explains in Parshas Bo, the open miracles come
to teach us that covert miracles, hidden under the guise of
nature, are equally wondrous.
The commandment of bringing the Omer sacrifice on
Pesach is an expression, a corollary, of the lesson of the
exodus from Egypt where we acquired the recognition that
everything is a manifestation of Hashem's will and no one can
help or hinder that Divine will.
The fact that a person is expected to do anything by himself,
that is to exert himself for his own benefit in any manner,
is in order to conceal the miracle of Hashem's omnipotence so
that he come to that realization in spite of his puny
efforts. In other words, it is a trial, an exercise in faith.
(Zichron Shmuel p. 585)
The Seven Cycles of Weeks
The Torah relates to the days of the counting of the
Omer as a grouping of "seven Shabbosos [that]
shall be complete/perfect." In other words, the days of the
Omer are designed to absorb and be permeated with the
seven Shabbos days included in that span.
HaRav Shamshon Rafael Hirsch zt'l explains as
follows:
The significance and impact of Shabbos spreads out to the
weekdays preceding and succeeding the Shabbos. The days
leading up to it find their culmination and purpose in the
upcoming Shabbos; they beg that we live up to them, that the
labor performed during them be worthy of presenting
themselves before Hashem.
This is the significance of "Seven Shabbosos shall be
complete/perfect." Let seven complete cycles of Shabbos
transpire. Let the Shabbos exert its edifying power over
those days within its sphere of influence.
This teaches us the way to attain the purpose of the
Counting; over the span of seven cycles shall Shabbos apply
and wield its educational influence over our lives, over our
activities and labor. Seven times must we accept anew the
yoke of Hashem's kingship upon ourselves.
We must learn that the world which is seemingly controlled by
man, and which controls him, is actually under the
controlling power of Hashem. Only then will we be worthy of
remembering the accomplishment, the achievement which the
Counting is designed to lead to: the acquisition of the
Torah.
It is certainly understood that the preparation for the Torah
is inherent in Shabbos since Shabbos trains a person to
subjugate himself to Hashem and to accept upon himself the
yoke of His service with gladness. Shabbos, after all,
preceded the Jewish people, and the restoration of Shabbos to
the world also preceded the giving of the Torah.
It edified and trained the people to subjugate themselves to
Hashem by desisting from labor. It especially liberated them
from the constant, overemphasized concern for their means of
livelihood. It thus prepared the nation for liberation in
becoming and being the People of Hashem.
The Omer Seen as a Living Creation
After the marvelous revelation of the Seder night, we are
again cast into obscurity (as is explained in Shaar
Hakavonos, appendix 4 and elsewhere). These are the days
of the Omer whereby a person is expected to toil to
improve and perfect himself in anticipation of the Giving of
the Torah, which he merits according to his toil and effort
during the days of the Counting.
This concept is brought in seforim, explaining that
the offering of the Omer was from barley, which is
animal feed. We begin as animals, as it were, devoid of
intellect, and proceed from one level to the next until we
can congnizantly receive the Torah, which is the light of
knowledge.
This is what is written, "You were shown to understand that
Hashem is the A-mighty; there is nothing besides Him." This
refers to the Giving of the Torah. On Shavuos, an offering is
brought from the Two Loaves, of wheat, which is human food.
This elevates man from the level of animal to that of
human.
That is the mission: that we take the enlightenment we
experienced from Pesach, endowed to us as a gift from Above
and not as something we deserved, and apply ourselves to
extricate ourselves from the forty-nine levels of impurity,
through our own efforts, in leaving all that Egypt signifies.
We must strive to recapture that enlightenment by our own
toil, our own impetus and input, until we deserve and reach
the level of receiving the Torah. (From Kol BeRomoh,
Volume II, p. 70, from the Mashgiach, R' S. Wolbe
zt'l)
