Emor 5642 Second Ma'amar

In this week’s parsha we find the mitzvah of counting the Omer, the seven weeks between the beginning of Pesach and Shavuos.  The pasuk instructs us, “וספרתם לכם  ... שבע שבתות תמימות תהיינה/You shall then count … seven weeks; they shall be complete.” (VaYikra 23:15)  Since the pasuk tells us clearly that we should count the fifty days beginning on the second day of Pesach and culminating on Shavuos, it seems that the words תמימות תהיינה/they shall be complete, are extraneous.  

The Midrash[1] addressing this question teaches that these weeks are considered complete when the nation does the will of God.  What does this mean?  To understand this Midrash we need to understand the significance of תמימות/complete.  In Tehillim (37:38) we find, “יודע ה' ימי תמימים .../God knows the days of the complete …”  God knows everything so what is this pasuk teaching us?  The Sfas Emes explains this pasuk elsewhere[2] noting that the word יודע/know connotes connection.  The Sfas Emes explains that the days of the righteous are closer, as it were, more connected, to God.  The righteous try to do God’s will and God reciprocates by helping them along.  Chazal[3] therefore teach, explaining this pasuk, that just as the righteous are complete, so are their days complete.

The days between Pesach and Shavuos, are particularly suited for coming close to God.  After the Exodus the nation was like a newborn child.  God wanted us to use these days to leave the impurity of Egypt and reach purity so that we would be able to receive the Torah and be close to Him.  Therefore God gave us these days as a gift.  This is why the pasuk says, “וספרתם לכם .../You shall then count (lit. for yourselves) …”  God gave us these days for our own benefit so that we may use them to come close to Him.

This is also the reason these days of Sefiras HaOmer are mentioned together with the holidays.  Just like the days of the righteous are closer to God, so to the holidays are closer to God.  This is why they are called, “מועדי ה'/the times of God”.  In fact, the days between Pesach and Shavuos are likened to the days of Chol HaMoed.  Just like the days of Chol HaMoed are preceded and succeeded by holidays (holy days), so too, the days of Sefiras HaOmer are preceded by Pesach and succeeded by Shavuos.

The Sfas Emes teaches that the days themselves help us to reach purity.  But this is true only if we want to reach purity as Chazal[4] teach us, one who wants to be pure is helped from Heaven.  This then explains the first Midrash above.  These days are considered complete and help us to reach completeness only if we strive to do the will of God and be complete ourselves.  They will only help us, if we strive to help ourselves.  May we merit it.  AMEN!

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[1] VaYikra R. 28:3

[2] Sfas Emes Chayei Sarah 5631 First Ma’amar

[3] Breishis R. 58:1

[4] Yoma 38b

Emor 5632 First Ma'amar

Parshas Emor begins with the laws of purity of priests. Something which is pure is not mixed with anything else. When we say that gold is pure, for example, we mean that it contains nothing but gold. When we say that a person has pure intentions, we mean that his actions have no ulterior motives. The priests’ service in the mishkan exemplifies serving God with purity. How can we serve God with purity? What technique can we apply in order to serve God with no ulterior motives?

The first Midrash on this week’s parsha addressing this question brings the pasuk in Tehillim, “אמרות ה' אמרות טהורות .../God’s sayings are pure sayings…” “אִמרה/Saying” alludes to the ten מאמרות/sayings with which God created the world. The Sfas Emes explains that the saying itself gives existence to the Creation. The creating power of God, through the saying, is hidden within the creation. It follows that the saying is the source of purity within everything. To stress the point, the beginning of this week’s parsha, dealing with the laws of purity of priests, repeats the word “say.” “אמור אל הכֹהנים בני אהרֹן ואמרת אליהם .../Say to the priests the children of Aharon and say to them…” The redundancy is glaring.

The repetition is significant and gives us a clue as to how we can attain purity in our own actions. A similar repetition in parshas Ki Savo sheds light on our parsha. In parshas Ki Savo we find, “את ה' האמרת היום/Today you have made God unique.” In the next pasuk we find, “וה' האמירך היום/And God has made you unique today.” Chazal explain that the nation of Israel made God unique by declaring, “שמע ישראל ה' א-לֹהינו ה' אחד/Listen Israel, God is our Lord, God is One.” God made Israel unique by declaring, “מי כעמך ישראל גוי אחד בארץ/Who is like your nation Israel, one nation on earth.” When we consider a relationship to be unique, we mean that there is a special connection that we have that excludes all others. The relationship is pure in the sense that it applies to one and to no other. Considering God unique to us is the essence of pure service. We reject all others. We reject our own desires and we subjugate ourselves to the will of God. The word used for “unique” in these p’sukim has the same root as “אִמרה/saying.”

In parshas Ki Savo we learn how to attain a level of pure intentions in serving God. There is a two step process in attaining purity. First God brings us close to Him. He makes us unique among the nations. Then, we accept this closeness and make Him unique. Instead of following our own desires, we will follow only His. This is the essence of purity. To the extent we subordinate our own desires to God’s we become pure.

The Torah contains other examples of this two step process in reaching a level of pure intentions in our actions. Each example serves to clarify the process so that we are better able to apply it to our daily lives.

The first example is the relationship between the Exodus and the mitzvah of counting the Omer. First God brought us close to Him by bringing us out of Egypt. Our subservience to Him was a natural reaction to the miracles and revelation which we witnessed. In addition to freeing us from our bondage to the Egyptians, He freed us from our bondage to our own desires and subjugated us to Him. Then, during the period of Sfiras HaOmer we accepted His closeness, quelled our own desires in favor of His and our worship became pure. How does Sfiras HaOmer indicate accepting God’s closeness and purity of worship?

The Kabbalists teach us that we have seven primary (emotional) midos/characteristics. Each week of the seven weeks of Sfiras HaOmer relates to one of these midos/characteristics. During the fifty day period after God took us out of Egypt we worked on perfecting our midos/characteristics in preparation for the giving of the Torah. Every year since, the period of Sfiras HaOmer is especially conducive for this task. In fact, purification is one of the reasons for the mitzvah of Sfiras HaOmer. The prayer following Sfiras HaOmer begins, “Master of the Universe, You commanded us … to count Sfiras HaOmer in order to purify us …”

A second example of the two step process in attaining pure intention is found in the relationship between Shabbos and the days of the week. On Shabbos, God is more manifest in the creation. It is easier to focus only on God. God brings us close to Him on Shabbos so that after experiencing Shabbos, we can draw that special revelation into the week.

Finally, the redundancy at the beginning of our parsha, as well, alludes to this process. “אמור/Say” connoting connection and purity, suggests that God brings us close to Him. We are a unique nation unto God. “ואמרת אליהם/And you will say to them” suggests that we accept His closeness in everything that we do and in our desires. He is unique to us. To the extent that we accept God in our actions, our motives become pure.