As the sun sets every evening for seven weeks between Passover and Shavuot (Feast of Weeks), Jewish communities around the world engage in a ritual that connects them to thousands of years of tradition. They begin with a blessing: “Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the Universe, who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us to count the Omer,” and then announce the specific day in the count: “Today is twenty-three days, which is three weeks and two days of the Omer.” This practiceācounting each day for seven complete weeks between two major festivalsāseems deceptively simple. Yet within this counting lies profound spiritual wisdom about the nature of freedom, purpose, and divine connection.
The period between Pesach (Passover) and Shavuot (the Feast of Weeks) marks a journey of transformation. Passover celebrates the Israelites’ physical liberation from Egyptian bondage, while Shavuot commemorates the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai. The counting between these festivalsāknown as Sefirat HaOmer (Counting of the Omer)āreveals a profound truth about freedom itself and is actually a biblical command:
What exactly is the purpose of this count?
The medieval work Sefer HaChinuch explains that the Omer count connects these two pivotal moments in Jewish history. The Exodus, while monumentally important, was merely the prelude to a greater purpose. True freedom isn’t simply about breaking chains; it’s about forging a connection with God and living with divine purpose. By counting each day between liberation and revelation, we mirror the eager anticipation of our ancestors who, having escaped Egypt, counted the days until they would receive God’s word at Sinai.
Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik, one of the 20th century’s towering Orthodox thinkers, explains why we count by exploring the relationship between time-awareness and freedom. A slave, he taught, lives only in the immediate present. With no control over their schedule or destiny, slaves cannot fully appreciate time’s passage or meaning. Their moments belong to someone else.
The command to count each day represents the first exercise of freedomātaking ownership of time itself. Each day counted becomes a day lived with intention, a day that belongs to the counter. The careful, sequential numbering of days transforms seven weeks into a meaningful journey rather than an undifferentiated blur of existence.
Over these forty-nine days, Jewish mystical tradition teaches that the seven weeks correspond to seven fundamental emotional attributes that need refinement before one can properly receive divine wisdom. Each week focuses on developing a particular trait: kindness, discipline, harmony, endurance, humility, bonding, and leadership.
This spiritual preparation mirrors the historical reality. The Israelites, having lived as slaves for generations, needed time to develop the spiritual and moral capacity to receive God’s law. For each of the 49 days between liberation and revelation, they worked on themselves so that they would be worthy of entering into a covenant with God. Freedom requires more than physical liberationāit demands the cultivation of character.
Though the counting of the Omer is a distinctly Jewish practice, its message resonates universally. All journeys toward greater spiritual awareness require patience, preparation, and daily commitment. Transformation happens not in dramatic moments but in the quiet counting of days, each one purposefully lived.
As King David wrote in Psalms 90:12, “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz teaches that learning to count our days means realizing that each one mattersāthat life is brief, and our choices must reflect lasting values.
By counting, we acknowledge both the preciousness of each day and the importance of direction. We recognize that freedom’s ultimate purpose is not self-indulgence but self-transcendenceāmoving beyond our limitations toward divine connection.
The counting of the Omer reminds us that the most important journeys aren’t measured in miles traveled but in character developed. Freedom’s ultimate test isn’t what we’re free from, but what we’re free for. In counting the days between liberation and revelation, we affirm that freedom finds its fulfillment not merely in escape from bondage, but in the embrace of purpose.
