Counting the Omer Is Deeper Than You Think - Rabbi Yoram Eliassi

Omar counting the Omar. How does it work? What's the story behind it in a nutshell? We on the second day of Pes we bring barley offering of barley which is an animal food on after the 50th day 50th day we bring breadot we bring qurban offering of bread. So we elevate from an animal food to become haadam gumach of 50. 50 is sh 50 a day is a shot. We're elevating ourself, right? To become a human being and receive the Torah, an image of God that we're talking about, right? Not just anybody, you have to make preparation to receive something holy. Shabbat, you prepare to receive Shabbat. Six days of the day you work to be to reach Shabbat the seventh day. Same thing. Receiving the Torah, you need preparation. So, we are counting to prepare to become is 50, right? That's why the food goes from being barley to bread. We just said honor of man. We shouldn't be bending down eating grass like an animal. We are what? Eating bread, right? So now, but we are now counting, right? We are counting 50 days. Now tell me, in the world of AI, technology and high-tech and chips. Do you think it makes sense for us to count just a number like kids in the first grade 50 days in a row? What's the big deal? I mean, we're we're way beyond. We're way our Torah scholars are way beyond that. Our Torah is way beyond that. What do you think? What's the what's the first thing that would pop in your mind if uh you were in this >> because it's tradition. >> Tradition. Well, there's a lot of tradition, right? I mean, we the tradition is important. I'm not believing tradition, but it seems like a little bit of uh childish and people that want to you want to bring closer to Torah. The last thing you want to do and say, you know what, let's start counting like kids >> 50 days. >> We count our age, count how many years we've lived also, >> right? Well, well, it's but why? Give me a taste. >> Why? >> Yeah. Why? We do a lot of things. Why? >> I haven't. >> So, so the idea is I'll give you a few ideas. One, number one, we count the important what's we count. We count every day. We count to Shabbat. If you look at the prayer book, first day, second day, Shabbat, third day Shabbat. In the Torah, we see that Jewish people are being counted. We're important to him. We are his firstborn. He's counting us. We counting Torah, receiving the Torah. Torah is important. Torah is eternal. You want to tap into eternality. You have to prepare for it. Count for it's important, right? People count their money. It's important to them, right? And you count your age because you feel important. You did something. You accomplished something in your life. Now, before I want to digress for one minute about people counting money, right? We have few names right for money. Zuzim is one name. Zaz the money. People make a big deal about money. What's a big deal? Money zaz moves from one hand to another hand. It's not stable. It's not eternal. Ma [clears throat] is a fixed amount of time. You have this money. It's potential. You do something with it. After gone after after that it's gone or you know the next generation who knows what happens to it. What are you counting? Why are you giving so much to the money? A person always yearns for having more money. He has 100. He's not enough. He wants 200, RIGHT? FOR WHAT? IT NEVER ENDS the year. Gold. This will give me people think they have money or gold. It will give them happiness. properties enters his hand and then he transferred to somebody's hand after 120 years is not eternal. We count the eternal. The idea is in Torah we don't have I have the word I have in the Torah doesn't exist. you have yeseshi in relation to me there exists potential a million bucks for for instance and with this potential I can do this right because it doesn't last right [clears throat] is in relation to me right we don't have I have million bucks so we we as a Jewish people we want to count something that is eternal Shabbat is the sixth of the next world Torah is eternal you tap into the you tap into the next world right so we count that the Jewish people are eternal too right So another reason the world that we have is a world of seven. Seven days of the week, seven colors, seven notes of music. When Moshe comes, we'll get eight. Another level we get 10. But for now, the world is seven. Seven sephiot. The 10, the three are in the head. They're not in this world. So as I said, as seven days, you have six sides. These six sides are disconnected. They're standing alone. They're not united. What unites them is seven. Now if you want to get the potential of that thing when you multiply that thing with itself 7 * 7 is 49. We have 49 midot that we need to unite. By counting Omar we are uniting all these 49 midot so they're not standing alone because they're standing alone. What's the problem if you stand alone? If you stand alone it means you are disconnected. you will not last. When you unite all the parts, you give him lasting. That's why the 50th we don't counter. That's what unites everything. The 49 midot that we have is united into one and connected and that gives it lasting, right? So, we want to unite everybody because this connection doesn't last. It doesn't exist as if because it won't be there, right? It's on its own, right? That's why Shabbat's so important, right? Because Shabbat the six days are non-existent without Shabbat because there's nothing to unite them. Right? So that's another reason we count. Third, right? When we left Egypt, right, we left with two misbanes and two types of blood and the pes. After that we left Egypt. We have an empty bank account. Before you want to receive the Torah, you have to have a bank account. You have to do something. So what's the easiest thing that Hashem can gives the whole nation to do consistently that won't be so heavy for them? Counter simple number consistently every time every night swiftness. No, it's too heavy for me. I'm how can I pick up 100 kilo in my shoulder? It's too heavy. Something simple that you can do swiftly consistently. Right? So is a preparation simple preparation but a valuable one to receive the Torah. Last I want to show you something deepatri everything is connected. Everything you see in the Hebrew letters we just talked about honor right honor we says internal and it shows us we have an external way of revealing it. We have is gashia 32 right which is also the lev lev is internal. We have 32 teeth, right? That's the barrier in Shabbad. When you want to know if the if a person has a damage internally, it starts from the teeth inward. And if he has a damage internally, the halak allows you to desecrate Shabbat to save his life. There's a danger. Where do we start the internal? From the teeth. It's 32 teeth, right? Right. We have 32 teeth. We have 32 days. We count and that's 22 letters of the alphabet plus 10 sephiro. We can link him all we get 32. We're counting the internal. We're preparing internality and lag bomber. Once you have an internal who was tasked with internal Torah pimute when he prepared the internal on the 33rd day like balmer he's celebrating right because he's ready he's done with the internal afterward you receive the you prepare the externality right that's to that's gatri of 17 32 + 17 is 49 when you have the external and internal preparation done then you can receive the Torah right these are the some of the reasons that be counting like kids every night. There's depth in it and without actions nothing moves. We need to act. So it's simple it is right and you know in this generation he has a lot of depth and that's how we receive the Torah. That's the preparation week.