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When it comes to counting the omer (the forty-nine days between Pesach and Shavuot that prepare us to receive the Torah), the Torah (Lev. 23:15) tells us to count “seven perfect weeks.” There are two Midrashim on what constitutes a “perfect” week. One (Kohelet Rabba 1:3) says that it’s a perfect week when Pesach falls on Shabbat, and we start counting the omer on Sunday, and therefore each week of the omer corresponds perfectly with the weeks between the festivals. (Actually, the Midrash says it in rather cryptic fashion; the perfection of the omer is when “Yeshua and its neighbors are not among us,” meaning that when the priestly group called “Yeshua and friends” – one of the watches in the holy Temple – doesn’t occur during the omer. But, this only occurs when the omer starts on a Sunday immediately after Pesach). The second Midrash (M. Rabba on our parsha, 28:3), says the omer is “perfect” when we “do (create) the will of G-d.”
According to all opinions, the counting of the omer must begin after Pesach, on whatever day of the week that the festival occurs. So, even if the counting begins in the middle of the week, it is “perfect,” as long as we are doing it in the way prescribed by the Torah. That leaves us with the question of what is the added dimension of “perfection” that occurs when the counting begins on a Sunday? One possible answer: if the counting begins on Sunday, then perfection occurs automatically, of its own accord, since there is a perfect correspondence between the counting of the omer and the days of the week. If, however, the counting begins on any other day, “perfection” is only attained if we “do (create) the will of the One above” (as in the second Midrash).
What’s the will of the One above, and how can we make sure that we’re “doing it?” For this we have a gemorra (Berachot 35B). There, it says how we have to love G-d. If we love Him “with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our self,” (as in the first paragraph of the ‘Shema’), then there is no mention of physical work. Our needs are met automatically. If, however, we love Him with all our heart and all our soul but not all our ‘self’ (as in the second paragraph of the ‘Shema’), then “you will gather your grain.” That is, our work will be successful and we’ll be rewarded. What’s the difference? If you throw your whole self into service and connection with G-d, you are answered automatically. Since you have made His will into your will, He adopts your needs and fulfills them without any apparent effort on your part. This is called “doing (creating) the will of G-d.” If, though, you follow His directives and do what He wants ‘only’ because you know and feel it to be the right thing, you are acting within the realm of nature and you will be rewarded within the realm of nature. That is, since you are following G-d with your natural abilities of intellect and emotion, you are rewarded within the realm of nature, and your physical work in the natural world will be rewarded with success, and you will therefore “gather your grain.” But, that is not called “doing (creating) the will of G-d,” even though it is a high and proper way of serving Him. It does not include going beyond ourselves, transcending our natural love of G-d, and therefore we are rewarded within the bounds of nature, but not beyond them.
There are five levels to the soul. Three of them, those that motivate our intellect, emotions and actions, are enclothed in the body. Two of them, including our will and our essential connection with Him, are beyond the body. Perfection (t’mimut), in the meaning of the Torah, occurs when the soul-levels that are not enclothed in the body work together, as one, with the soul-levels (intellect, emotions, and actions) that are enclothed in the body. That is why “perfection” is such an elusive concept. We are always growing, we are always changing, and that is because the higher, transcendent levels of our soul are tuned into G-d, receiving messages from Him and trying to communicate with the lower levels, of the soul that are enclothed in the body. The messages are in order to refine and perfect us so that that we are more tuned in to G-d. Perfection happens when we get tuned in, when we hear the messages from Above, when the soul in our body is tuned into those levels of our soul that are beyond the body. Perfection, whether in time, space or soul, is when all levels are working together. We can either passively “receive” the transcendent will of G-d by just doing what He says, or we can actually “create” the will of G-d by going beyond our soul as it is enclothed in the body, and engaging the higher levels of our soul. That’s not easy, but it is called “doing (creating) the will of G-d,” and it leads to spiritual completion and perfection (t’mimut).
There’s a difference between years and months, and between weeks. The days of the week repeat themselves; aside from the order of the days, there is nothing that distinguishes one day from another. Years and months however, are distinguishable from one another. Aside from the obvious differences in the waxing and waning of the moon during the month, and the various seasons of the year, there is a different “chayut,” or spiritual life energy governing every year and every month. Every erev Rosh Hashana, the life force of the previous year departs, and a new life force enters the world and takes it to a higher spiritual level. A part of that new life-force enters the world every month, which is why every month carries a different spiritual message, and waxes and wanes, making room for the next month’s message. You can either passively receive the message, or actively help to make the message.
The days of the week are like the emotions of the soul – they are seven. They are what we were given naturally, but they can and should be influenced by our minds and intellect. If we think G-dly and spiritual thoughts and fill our minds with Torah, we can influence our emotions in a spiritual direction. The idea of counting the omer is, by counting, to go beyond ourselves, to the realm of infinite light of G-d and bring it down into our personal feelings and thoughts. When we do that for seven weeks, seven days a week, we merit to receive the Torah. That’s what is meant by spiritual perfection, bringing that which is beyond us down into ourselves. When the days of the week correspond to the counting (when we start counting on Sunday), then there is perfect correspondence between the counting (bringing down the infinite light from Above) and our spiritual emotions. We need do nothing in order to achieve “perfection,” aside from counting properly. However, when the counting starts (as it usually does) in the middle of the week, then we have to “do (create) the will of G-d.” We have to work harder, going beyond our natural emotions to achieve love of G-d “with all our self,” in order to bring down His infinite light into our souls. That’s called perfection.
The Hebrew word for “counting” (lispor) is etymologically equivalent to two other words: one (lesaper) meaning “to tell”, and the other (sapir) meaning “shining.” The Torah was given in three dimensions: time, space, and soul. Obviously, the counting of the omer as it occurs from day to day (lispor) takes place in the dimension of time. But, it also leads to development of the emotions (which demands speaking and expression – lesaper – in the dimension of space) and the polishing and perfection of the soul (sapir). Perfection – tmimut in Hebrew – demands that we work in all three dimensions.
Adopted and embellished from Likutei Sichot of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, vol. 12, pp 96-102.
Rabbi David Sterne, Jerusalem Connection in the Old City of Jerusalem