On the second night of Passover, we began to perform the daily mitzva of Sefirat HaOmer - counting the Omer. Every day between Passover and Shavuot we pronounce a blessing on this mitzva. Then we say, "Today is the first day of the counting of the Omer," "Today is the third day...," "Today is the seventeenth day...," etc.
What is the purpose of counting time? Honestly speaking, time will remain the same whether we count it or not. We count the days, and say a blessing each time, to show the preciousness and value of time. Each minute, every hour, our whole day, should be permeated with this realization.
And if, in fact, we are successful at reminding ourselves how valuable time is, certainly we will want to fill that time up with non-trivial pursuits. We will fill our time with the performance of good deeds, mitzvot, and Torah study.
Sefirat HaOmer teaches us that we must not say, "I'll do it tomorrow," or "Next week I'll have more time." It's the famous tragic story of the man who always said, "I'll do it tomorrow." Well, that "tommorow" never came. Every day we count the Omer, every day we say a blessing on this mitzva, every day we must fill our time with the mitzvot that need to be attended to on that day, and in doing so, we will certainly hasten the Redemption and bring Moshiach, NOW!
