Tradition forced us to count towards something, towards a goal and an achievement. Yet in reality the count of the days of the Omer is not only a counting of time towards something – it is also a counting of days away from something. The count reflects the departure, both in memory and in actual time from the great and miraculous events of the Exodus from Egypt.

 

The great moments that Israel experienced at Yam Suf, of faith and trust in God and in His servant Moshe, faded away in time elapsed and in new experiences and challenges as the Jews entered the desert of Sinai. The farther away in distance and especially in time that Israel traveled, from the miracles of their release from bondage, the more they rebelled and grumbled against the Divine and Moshe.

 

Time passing dulls memory and weakens recall. The past is buried in the rush to anticipate the future and all of its blessings. That is the nature of humans - to count forward and rarely to look back. The counting of the Omer is fixed firmly in our minds as the anticipation of Shavuot and not as the memorial to Pesach.   

 

We are witness to this phenomenon in many areas of our daily life. I was riding in a taxi recently and the taxi driver – a friendly and voluble soul – was relating that he lives on a certain street here in Jerusalem. The street is named for one of the members of the pre-State of Israel Jewish underground who was hanged by the British before they were driven out of the country. The taxi driver complained that most of the children who live on that street have no concept as to what, who and why the name of their street has an historical and emotional significance.

 

They are not taught of the struggles to establish a Jewish state in the Land of Israel – merely a few decades ago. Neither at school or at home are the events and lessons of the past recounted and emphasized. Only the current situation and the potential brighter future occupy attention and discussion.

 

Thus, within a few short years the sacrifices, beliefs and even the facts of the immediate past are forgotten and neglected. We count forward towards the next Yom Haatzmaut but the original events that led to the first Yom Haatzmaut are only dim memories of the fading generation. The count of time is always inexorably forward and therefore it must inevitably erase the past and its story and events. Counting time passing is always a double-edged sword – anticipating the future while dimming the memory of the past.

 

In order to counteract this human tendency, the Lord, so to speak, in beginning the words of the revelation at Sinai introduces Himself as “I am the Lord your God Who took you forth from the Land of Egypt, the house of bondage.” That was intended as a wake-up call, a jog to our collective memory.  

 

The Lord reminds us that as we counted forward to the great day of the granting of the Torah to Israel, we were also obligated to count backwards, again so to speak, to refresh ourselves with the miraculous events of our past - of the Exodus from Egypt and the deliverance of the Jewish people at the waters of Yam Suf.

 

The Torah emphasizes again and again the remembrance of the Exodus from Egypt. It appears in the Kiddush of Shabat and the holidays. It is associated with every event and commandment in the Torah and in Jewish life. It is ordained as being a constant and daily memorial as to our existence and purpose in life.

 

As time passes and we look towards our great future, the Torah reminds us that the wondrous events that accompany our ultimate, complete redemption are to be of the nature that they were at the time of the Exodus of Egypt. As we count forward, we are also to count back and bring to life our past so that we can safely guarantee the success of our future. This is an important facet of counting of the Omer.

 

Shabat shalom.

 

Berel Wein