What Exactly Are You Counting Towards ?

[music] >> This video is brought to you by Torah Sweets weekly magazine. If you're looking for powerful parsha inspiration, [music] or marriage insights, or wild Jewish stories, practical halacha, short quotes, just something intelligent and to share at the Shabbos table, >> [music] >> Torah Sweets has you covered. It's basically your weekly Torah survival kit. There's something for everyone, the businessman, the yeshiva shiguy, the exhausted parent, the seminary girl, the guy who just opens up the magazine for one little article and finishes the entire thing before kiddush. And the best part, it's completely free. To subscribe, simply email [email protected]. That's t o r a h s w e e t s at gmail.com. [music] Join the distribution list today and upgrade your Torah learning without even needing to leave your couch. There's something almost uncomfortable about Sefirah. On the surface, it looks beautiful. We stand each night and we count. Another day, another step, a slow build from Pesach to Shavuos. But if we're being honest, what exactly are we counting towards? Because Sefirah in its rawest form is supposed to feel like anticipation. A count to something you can't wait for. The moment of receiving Torah should feel like the moment we've been building towards all along. And yet, for many people, it doesn't feel that way at all. Some count because it's routine. Some rush through it. Some forget. And some, if they're being honest, feel nothing. But there are those who feel something deeper. Something they would never say out loud. A quiet resistance. Because for them, Torah feels like pressure. Torah feels like limitation. Torah feels like a system that constantly is telling you what you can't do. And if that's the case, then what exactly are you counting towards? Because to them, Torah feels like pressure. Torah feels like restriction. Torah can feel like a system constantly drawing lines around your life. What you can't do and what you can. Where you can go, how you can live. And if that's the case, then what exactly are we counting towards? Because if that's the picture, then Sefirah stops being a countdown to something beautiful, and it starts becoming a countdown to obligation, to limitation, to a life that [music] feels smaller. And if that's what Torah is in the mind of a person, then yes, Sefirah becomes something almost ironic. We're not counting towards freedom, we're not counting towards the truth of the day we got the Torah, [music] we're counting towards constraint. A national countdown to the greatest hurdle in all of human history, the receiving of the Torah. Everything [music] depends on how you see it. Take Shabbos. It can be a spiritual reset, a day where the noise of the world shuts off, where you step out of the grind and remember who you are. Or, it can be the day you [music] can't work, the day you can't make money, the day you can't use your phone, the day you're stuck. Same Shabbos, but a completely different experience. Take davening. [music] It can either be a moment of connection, a few minutes where you actually stand in front of Hashem and speak, or it can be a verbal chore, words you rush through, something you got to get done. Take tznius. It can be a way of carrying yourself with dignity, of protecting something inside of you, of expressing that your value is deeper than what's on the outside. Or, it can feel like a dress code, restrictive, embarrassing, something imposed on you. The same Torah, but two completely different worlds. The Torah can easily go from the thing that's supposed to free you to the thing that's restricting you with the wrong perspective. And that's the tragedy. Because Torah was never meant to feel like a hurdle, it was meant to be the thing that unleashes the greatest version of a human being. [music] Not a system that shrinks your life, but a system that gives it depth and direction and meaning. Torah doesn't take you away from who you are, >> [music] >> it shows you who you could be. So, if someone is counting Sefirah without excitement, it's probably because the destination feels off, because no one gets excited running towards something they experience as a burden. But if Torah is understood for what it really is, then everything flips. Shabbos becomes something you want, you wait for. Davening becomes something you need. Mitzvos become expressions of something deeper, not interruptions of your life. >> [music] >> And then Sefirah changes, too. It's no longer a countdown to an obligation to Shavuos. It's a build-up, a process, a climb towards becoming someone capable of receiving something real. [music] And maybe that's the Avodah of these days. Not just to count, but to confront the question we usually avoid. >> [music] >> Am I running towards Torah, or am I dragging my feet to it? Because if Torah feels like a hurdle, then Shavuos is the finish line you dread. But if Torah is the key to the greatest life you can live, then Shavuos is not the end of the count, it's the beginning of everything. >> [music]