Parshas Emor states that in
the land of Israel on the second day of Pesach the children of Israel are to
harvest an “omer” of grain and bring it as an offering in the Temple. The word
omer has two meanings both of them relevant to this mitzvah. The first is a
bundle of grain harvested from the field. The kernels are still attached to the
stalks which have been cut, gathered, and tied together. Grains like wheat,
barley, rye, and oats start growing in the late winter and mature with the
onset of spring making them the first crops of the new season.
An omer is also a unit of dry
measure equaling about two and a half quarts (liters), and is also called by
the Chumash an isaron. Isaron (עשרון)
is the language of one tenth and it refers to one tenth of an ephah. Ephah (איפה) is the language of “bake” and it suggests
the normal quantity of dough that a baker would mix up. In other words this
stack of grain will produce enough flour to make a nice loaf of bread.
Bread is considered the staff
of life. Because grains are refined into bread, they have a special importance.
The idea of refining is also important. Most other foods require little
refining. Fruits and vegetables are eaten raw or cooked with a few spices.
After an animal has been slaughtered the meat is salted, soaked, and butchered,
which is a bit more work. Cheese is cured which involves some processing and
time. Grains must be painstaking removed from the stalk and husked, after which
they are milled into flour. Flour is combined with water into dough, which is
kneaded and set aside to rise. After that it is baked into bread, making it an
elaborate process.
Corresponding to refining
there is a mitzvah to count the days of seven weeks. This would be a reasonable
amount of time to produce bread from the new grain crop. With pressure bread
from the new crop could be produced in a short time. If one is lazy it could
take forever. The Chumash associates the number seven with creation. In the
beginning G-d created the heaven and earth. In six days he created light,
plants, animals, and man. On the seventh day He rested. Corresponding to this
the Jews harvest a sheaf of barley on the first day, spend seven weeks
processing wheat of the new crop into flour, on the fiftieth day bake it into
two loaves of high quality bread, which are brought as a sacrifice in the holy
Temple.
The process starts with a
small celebration. When the first omer of the new crop is harvested, it is
brought to the Temple. There the priest makes a public display by waving it, as
if to say we have successfully brought food from the land. After that a sheep
with the appropriate condiments is brought as a burnt offering. Prior to this
ground breaking the new crop of grain may not be used.
When bread from the new crop
can go into full scale production, there is a large celebration. Two fancy
loaves of bread are baked and brought to the Temple. Seven sheep, a bull, and
two rams are brought as burnt offerings, along with a goat as a sin offering. Two
sheep are brought for a sacrificial dinner, during which the priest makes a
public display of waving new bread. This is to say the new grain crop has
indeed become the staple of the nation. Last but not least the day is
officially declared as a holy day and everybody takes a day off from work. The
name of this holiday is Shavuos. It literally means weeks and refers to the
weeks that were spent going from hope that comes from a bundle of barley to the
prosperity from the fruit of the land of Israel.
From the counting of the Omer
we learn how to conduct ourselves in regards to a long term project for example
building a house or a synagogue. There is a planning stage where blueprints are
made and money is raised. When the ground is broken there should be a festive
gathering with short speeches and light refreshments. Construction should
proceed at a constant but not hurried pace. The asset should not be used until
it is fully completed. Upon completion there should be a large celebration with
several speeches of praise one of them long and elegant. In addition there
should be a short speech clearing the air by good naturedly apologizing for the
things that did not go quite right and hopes that were not realized. A festive
meal of bread and meat should be served and proud pictures and articles
released to the press.
לע"נ, האמה ,מלכה בת חיים ז"ל
נלב"ע ט"ז ניסן תשנ"ח
Acknowledgements to websites:
תורת אמת, וויקיטקסט, http://dictionary.reference.com/,
http://hebrewbooks.org/,
וגם בדואר אלקטרוני
ניתן באתר http://dyschreiber.blogspot.co.il
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