Maharal Tzintz

Counting the Omer is a segulah for redemption!

The exalted commandment of counting the Omer is found in our Parasha. The pasuk commands and says:

“שֶׁבַע שַׁבָּתוֹת תְּמִימֹת תִּהְיֶינָה” (ויקרא כג, טו)

“Seven complete weeks shall there be.” (Vayikra 23:15)

Our Sages explain in Midrash Rabbah: “Rebbi Chiya taught: Seven complete weeks shall they be. When are they complete? When Klal Yisrael fulfills the will of the Omnipresent. ״ Rebbi Chiya explains that the meaning of the mitzvah of ״complete״ is that we must fulfill the will of Hashem. Let us understand together the special significance of these days, to “fulfill the will of the Omnipresent.”

Let us present two questions:

• First, the Gemara states, “If Klal Yisrael would observe two Shabbosos, they would immediately be redeemed.” Why specifically two Shabbosos?
• Second, there appears to be a contradiction in the pesukim. On the one hand, the Torah says to count seven weeks, which totals forty-nine days. On the other hand, the verse says, “You shall count fifty days.” The well-known question is, why does it say fifty when there are only forty-nine days?

Our teacher the Maharal Tzintz explains that there is a general principle in all the commandments of the Torah. We perform our actions, and Hashem causes the mitzvah to accomplish great and awesome spiritual rectifications in Heaven, far beyond our understanding.

So too with the counting of the Omer. During the forty-nine days of counting, we elevate and sanctify ourselves only through forty-nine gates of understanding. The fiftieth gate cannot be attained by us on our own. Therefore, we count only seven weeks.

However, if we perform our role properly and ascend through the forty-nine days of counting, then Hakadosh Baruch Hu will bring us automatically to the fiftieth gate, even though it is above our grasp. Therefore, the pasuk says “fifty days” because we will receive from Hashem the gift of reaching the fiftieth gate, which is something tremendous. The fiftieth gate is the gate of redemption!

Just as in the fiftieth year, the Yovel (Jubilee) year, all slaves and fields are redeemed, so too when Hashem brings us to the fiftieth gate, which is in the category of the Yovel, we will merit the complete redemption.

The contradiction is thus resolved. We count forty-nine, and Hashem gives the fiftieth as a gift. What, then, is the meaning that, “If Klal Yisrael keeps two Shabboses they would be redeemed”? The two Shabbosim are Pesach and Shavuos. Regarding Pesach, it is said, ״ממחרת השבת״ – “From the day after after the Shabbos,” and regarding Shavuos, it says, “From the day after after the seventh Shabbos.” If Klal Yisrael would observe the time between Pesach and Shavuos by fulfilling the counting perfectly, they would immediately merit the fiftieth gate and be redeemed!

Counting the Omer has the potential to receive a gift, redemption. It is conditioned on doing our part by accepting the Torah and its mitzvos wholeheartedly, thereby entering all forty-nine gates.

Therefore, Hakadosh Baruch Hu, our merciful Father, cautions us: “They shall be complete.” Fulfill the mitzvah of counting with completeness, by doing the will of Hashem, so that no day of the forty-nine is lost. Through this we will attain the fiftieth gate, the redemption!