The Torah column is supported by a generous donation from Eve Gordon-Ramek in memory of Kenneth Gordon.
Emor
Leviticus 21:1-24:23
This week’s Torah portion continues a series of commandments directed primarily toward the Kohanim (priests), who are charged with performing rituals and maintaining the spiritual well-being of the Jewish people. In the midst of these directives, God introduces the festivals and lays out the structure of the calendar, which applies to the entire community, not just the priests.
“Hashem spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to the Children of Israel and say to them: the Festivals of Hashem that shall be proclaimed as holy convocations, these are my Festivals.’” (Leviticus 23:1-2)
The first one listed is Shabbat, followed by Passover as the first of the three pilgrimage festivals. Next are Shavuot, Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur, Sukkot and Shemini Atzeret.
Between Pesach and Shavuot another commandment appears:
“Hashem spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to the Children of Israel and say to them, ‘When you come to the land that I give you and you reap its harvest, you will bring an Omer, the first of your harvest, to the Kohen.’” (Leviticus 23:10)
The Omer is a measure of barley flour that is to be waved in a ceremony and offered along with a sheep, and a meal offering of fine wheat flour mixed with oil and wine. It is the only communal offering that involves barley. The other elements, meat, wine and flour mixed with oil, are standard in public offerings.
What is the significance of the barley? Before we can answer that question, we have to understand a little bit more about the Omer offering.
“Bread, roasted kernels and plump kernels [of grain] you shall not eat until this very day, until you bring the offering of your God, it is a decree forever for your generations in all of your dwelling places.” (Leviticus 23:13).
All grain is forbidden for consumption until the Omer is brought. The community must rely on previous crops for sustenance until that time. Today, this commandment is referred to as yashan, or old, meaning grains we must use up to this point. In fact, kosher products containing grain sometimes bear the word yashan to indicate compliance with this requirement.
Several commandments in the Torah require acknowledging God before partaking of his bounty, including Bikurim (First Fruits), the tithes and even the mitzvah of challah. The Omer offering works the same way. Before enjoying the new crops of grain, we must first thank God through a gift. Since barley is usually harvested earlier in the year, the offering comes from that grain.
The parsha continues with the commandment to count 49 days, seven weeks from the day the Omer is brought. (Leviticus 23:15) That is known as the Counting of the Omer, followed immediately by the holiday of Shavuot, when we are told to “offer a new meal offering to Hashem.” (Leviticus 23:16)
“From your dwelling places, you will bring two breads for waving, two Esronim [a measure of flour] of fine flour with they be, leavened shall they be baked, First Fruits for Hashem.” (Leviticus 23:17)
Over 50 days, the offering of ground barley shifts to two loaves of bread made from fine wheat flour. Barley was primarily grown as animal fodder, while wheat was designated for human consumption. The Torah suggests an ascent from Pesach to Shavuot, reflected in the transition from animal food to refined human food.
At Pesach we celebrate freedom from slavery. We were treated more like animals in Egypt and needed to refine our characters before we were worthy of entering into the Covenant that God planned for us at Mount Sinai.
The counting of the Omer emphasizes the slow but steady progression from the slavery mentality to enlightenment that we would realize through the mass revelation at Sinai. Each year, that period serves a reminder that we should be working to develop ourselves so that we can be properly refined human beings.