Parshas Emor commands us to keep the Jewish Festivals, the Yomim Tovim. Included is the mitzvos of bringing the Omer offering on the second day of Pesach, and of counting the days from bringing the Omer offering until Shavuos:
“Hashem spoke to Moshe saying: Speak to the Children of Yisrael and tell them: When you will come to the land that I give you, and you will harvest its grain, you shall bring an Omer measure of the first harvest to the Kohen. He shall wave the Omer [of harvested grain] before Hashem [in the Beis Hamikdash], this will bring Hashem’s goodwill to you, from the day after the first day of the Yom Tov of Pesach the Kohen shall wave it.
And you shall count for yourselves from the day after the first day of Yom Tov [of Pesach], from the day when you bring the waved Omer offering [in the Beis Hamikdash], they shall be seven complete weeks. Until after the seventh week, you shall count up to fifty days, and then [on Shavuos], you shall bring a new flour offering to Hashem.” (Vayikra 23: 9-10, 15-16)
The word “וספרתם-and you shall count” can be read as an expression of “shining” as is the term “אבן ספיר-a radiant stone,” (Yechezkal 1:26) since it has the same root letters ס.פ.ר. as the word for “shine.”
The Hebrew root ס.פ.ר. has various meanings. In this maamar, the Alter Rebbe mentions two meanings: 1- לספור-to count; 2- ספירות-shining/radiance.
So too, the “Ten ספירות-Sefiros” of Atzilus are an expression of “ספירות-radiance.” The Ten Sefiros of Atzilus are ten modes through which Hashem reveals Himself to us. In effect, He “shines” His Divine Light to us.
This is how we can interpret the phrase “וספרתם לכם (lit. “you shall count for yourself):” “You shall draw down the Ten ספירות-Sefiros of Atzilus” so that they should shine “לכם-into you” as you exist here below in the physical world.
The counting of the Omer is not just to count the passing of days leading up to Shavuos. The inner meaning of this mitzvah is about a special process of shining Divine Light into ourselves.
Shining the Sefiros Into Ourselves
In the third chapter of Tanya, the Alter Rebbe mentions that the Divine soul of every Jew is derived from the Ten Sefiros of Atzilus. To “shine the Sefiros” into ourselves means to cause all ten soul powers of the Divine soul to become fully manifest, so that they should reflect their source Above, in the Ten Sefiros. By increasing in our Torah study and prayer, we bring down Divine Light to help reveal our Divine soul. This strengthening of our service of Hashem, which “shines” the Sefiros into us, will be explained in the maamar.
Pesach and Shavuos: Yearning and Return
To understand this, Pesach is the time of “Leaving Mitzrayim (Egypt),” and Shavuos is the time of the “Giving of the Torah.”
Before receiving the Torah, they needed to count seven complete weeks, and only after this were they able to receive the Torah.
It is written, “The Chayos Angels רצוא-run in yearning for Hashem, and then שוב-return to their spiritual place.” (Yechezkal 1:14) This shows how Above, in the spiritual worlds, everything happens in these two stages of רצוא-running in yearning for Hashem, and then שוב-returning to one’s place.
Similarly, Pesach was an experience of רצוא-running in yearning for Hashem, and Shavuos was an experience of שוב-returning to bring down Hashem’s revelation into our domain.
We see that Pesach was a רצוא-running away experience, since the Jewish People left Mitzrayim in a hurry, as it is written, “You shall eat [the Korban Pesach] in haste,” (Shemos 12:11) and it is written, “You left [Mitzrayim] in a rush.” (Devarim 16:3)
This is because, at that time, the revelation of Hashem came from Above, from Hashem’s initiative, as it says (Hagada Shel Pesach): “We eat this unleavened bread – Matzah - because the dough of our ancestors did not have time to rise before the King of all kings, the Holy One, Blessed be He, revealed Himself by saving them.” This shows that they left in a great hurry.
However, regarding the Future Era of Redemption, it is written, “You will not go out in a hurry, and you will not travel in a rush,” (Yeshaya 52:12) without needing to hurry, whereas leaving Mitzrayim was in a hurry. This shows how it was an experience of רצוא-running from below to Above in yearning for Hashem.
This was not the case on Shavuos, which was an experience of שוב-returning to bring down Hashem’s revelation into our place, since it was the Giving of the Torah, which is the revelation of His Will below in the physical world, as it is written, “And Hashem came down onto Mount Sinai,” (Shemos 19:20) which is the process of drawing down Hashem’s revelation from Above to below.
Experiencing the Exodus Every Day
Now, it is written, “You shall remember the day you came out of Mitzrayim all the days of your life,” (Devarim 16:3) and as our Sages say, “In every generation, each person needs to see himself as though he left Mitzrayim,” (Pesachim 10:5) which means that every day a person needs to spiritually experience “Leaving Mitzrayim.”
In the statement of the Sages quoted above, it only says that in every generation one needs to experience the Exodus from Mitzrayim. Nevertheless, we see from the verse quoted above, which says that we must remember the Exodus from Mitzrayim “all the days of our lives,” that it is not just every generation, but every single day that we must personally relive the Exodus from Mitzrayim.
This spiritual “Exodus from Mitzrayim” happens daily, during the recital of the Shema, when we come to fulfill the command that “You shall love Hashem with all of your heart, soul, and might,” to the extent that it takes us out of all of our limitations, and as we end the recital of Shema: “I am Hashem who took you out of Mitzrayim to be your G-d.”
In Tanya, chapter 47, the Alter Rebbe explains how saying Shema is the idea of “Leaving Mitzrayim:” The word “מצרים-Mitzrayim,” comes from the word מֵיצַר-limitation. In our case, the limitation referred to is the spiritual limitation that the animal soul imposes on the Divine soul. The animal soul’s physical desires and thoughts encompass the person and block out his Divine soul’s desire to connect to Hashem. When a Jew says Shema and thinks about Hashem’s Oneness and remembers that the only thing that matters to him in his life is to give himself over to Hashem, then this enables him to break out of the spiritual limitations created by the animal soul.
Specifically, from the prayer entitled Baruch She’amar until Krias Shema is a process of preparation so that the person should experience the “Exodus from Mitzrayim” and fulfill the command that “You shall love Hashem.”
Preparation for Shema: Meditating on Hashem’s Majesty
This preparation involves thinking deeply into how “the hosts of Heaven bow to You [Hashem],” (Nechemya 9:6) and about how we say in the daily prayer before Shema, “The Ofanim angels and holy Chayos angels, with a great thunderous sound rise facing the Serafim angels, and say, ‘Blessed is the Glory of Hashem from His place.’” And, “The Chayos angels tremble with awe of Hashem’s Throne,” as they “lift up and are uplifted together with His Throne,” and He has thousands and millions and countless myriads of angels that serve Him, and they are all constantly in a state of complete selflessness before Him.
This is the meaning of the verse, “To make known to mankind His mighty deeds, and the glorious majesty of His Malchus-Kingship.” (Tehillim 145:12) This refers to the “Majesty of His Malchus-Kingship,” which all of the angels are completely awestruck by. This feeling of selflessness towards Hashem comes to them through their awareness of how “Your Malchus/Kingship is the kingdom of all worlds.” (ibid. verse 13)
The meaning of “מלכותך-Your Malchus/Kingship is the kingdom of all worlds,” is that the life of all of the worlds is only from the level of “מלכותך-Your Malchus/Kingship of Atzilus,” which is only like the “Radiance of His Name.”
A person doesn’t need a name for himself. He uses it to relate to others. In addition, one’s name doesn’t provide any direct information about the person. Similarly, the revelation of Hashem through the Sefira of Malchus only reveals Hashem’s relation to the worlds, not Hashem in His relation to Himself, and the beings created from Malchus only know that Hashem exists, but have no idea what Elokus/Divinity actually is. A “Radiance” of His Name means that even the level of Malchus, His “Name,” doesn’t fully descend to the level of the creations. Rather, only a glimmer of Malchus, like a light that is reflected off of a mirror from the original source, descends. This shows how the worlds are many stages removed from any direct experience of Elokus/Divinity.
This descent of Malchus to create worlds is not like how the soul of a person gives life to the body, where the essential life-force of the soul is actually invested into the body.
However, Hashem’s Being and Essence is “exalted and uplifted” (Shachris Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur) from the worlds, and nothing can ‘contain’ Him at all, since He always was, is, and will be, forever, without any changes whatsoever, as it is written, “I, Hashem, have not changed,” (Malachi 3:6) and, “You were the same before the world was created, and you are the same after the world was created,” (Shachris Prayer) with no change whatsoever, and nothing can cover over or conceal Him.
Rather, it is only the “Name of His Glorious Malchus/Kingship” that is the source of life and existence of all the worlds.
Since Hashem Himself is infinitely exalted beyond worlds and creation, to the extent that the creation of worlds makes no change in Him, whatsoever, the creation and life of worlds cannot come directly from Him. Rather, it must come through a myriad of stages and levels that conceal His Infinite Light until only a “Radiance of His Name,” the level of Malchus, is able to serve as the direct source of the creation.
This is the meaning of “מלכותך-Your Malchus/Kingship is the kingdom of all worlds:” All of the worlds, even though there are “thousands and millions,” and “hundreds of millions” of spiritual worlds, (Daniel chapter 7) and actually “there is no limited number to His legions of angels,” (Iyov 25:3) and, “from the earth to the heaven is a distance of 500 years of traveling,” (Chagiga 13a) nonetheless, they are all completely incomparable to His Light, which is literally Infinite.
As is known, that even one out of a hundred million has value, since it is a small amount that has relative value when compared to the larger amount. However, a hundred million compared to true Infinity has no relative value whatsoever.
Since all creations are limited, even the heavens have a limitation of “500-year travel distance,” both the physical and the spiritual creations are limited, and they cover over and conceal Hashem’s Light, causing us to see the world as though it has its own independent existence and is not “unlimited” in time. It can exist forever. But, it is limited in context, as to what it applies to. Thus, the only true Infinity is Hashem, and His Light is a reflection of His Infinity.
When a person will think into all of the above concepts with deep concentration, then, automatically, he will come to ‘run’ in yearning for Hashem when reciting the Shema, to fulfill “You shall love Hashem with all of your heart” and leave all of the spiritual מְצָרִים-limitations and boundaries of this world.
