Sefirat HaOmer’s Uncertainty Principle

The Rambam, in Moreh Nevuchim, (3:43) explains the mitzvah of Sefirat Haomer by noting that Matan Torah was the goal of Yetziat Mitzrayim.  The Rambam explains that we anxiously await our commemoration of Matan Torah (Shavuot) after we have commemorated the Exodus on Pesach.  Just as one who anticipates meeting a loved one counts the weeks and days until he sees them, so too we anxiously count the days and weeks until we will reenact Matan Torah on Shavuot.

The Sefer HaChinuch (Mitzvah 306) had a problem with the Rambam’s explanation.  He pointed out that someone anticipating an event will count down the days until the appointed time.  He will count five days until the meeting and then four days until the meeting, etc.  We do not count down the days until Shavuot; instead, we count upwards.  The Chinuch therefore suggested that since the road to Shavuot was long, it would have discouraged us if we began counting with forty-nine days until Shavuot and worked our way down.  It is more palatable and encouraging to commence the countdown by focusing on what we have accomplished: one day has passed, two days have passed, etc.  Even when we get closer to Shavuot we continue to “count up” because we do not change counting styles in the middle of the Sefira.

Rav Soloveitchik, though, presented another explanation for why we count the Omer upwards and not downwards.  He cites the Ran in Pesachim who states that in the absence of the Beit Hamikdash and the Korban Omer we count the Omer today to reenact the counting of days after we left Egypt until we received the Torah.  Rav Soloveitchik suggested that Hashem did not tell the Jews when they left Egypt the precise date when they would receive the Torah. As a support to Rav Soloveitchik’s suggestion we find a similar scenario earlier in the Torah when Hashem did not tell Avraham his destination when He commanded him to move to Israel. Similarly, when Avraham was commanded to offer his son Yitzchak, Hashem does not immediately tell Avraham where exactly he was going. A third example of this Divine ambiguity is that Hashem does not reveal the place where the Beit Hamikdash will be built in Sefer Devarim.  Rather, the Torah refers repeatedly to Jerusalem as “the place that Hashem will choose”.  We also do not know when Hashem will send Moshiach, but we wait patiently with great faith for his arrival.  According to the Rav’s suggestion, the Jews had to count upwards to Matan Torah because they did not know exactly when they would receive the Torah.  Today we reenact our ancestors’ uncertainty by counting upwards as our forefathers did after they left Egypt.  According to Rav Soloveitchik the religious experience requires a degree of uncertainty that enables us to develop our trust in Hashem. If they were not exactly sure when Matan Torah would occur, then the count undertaken by Bnai Yisrael after Yetziat Mitzrayim was meant to not only cultivate trust in God but also to develop an appreciation for the value of each day. If we counted down in Sefira then we would be indicating that the destination is all that matters. By counting up we are stating that the journey is just as important as the destination and that each day is a gift, a blessing and an opportunity for growth.