By Rabbi Yosef Pinkus

Dear Rabbi,

Starting the second day of Passover, my congregation began to count the Omer at evening services. What is the reason we count the Sefirat HaOmer?

— Joel

Dear Joel,

At its core, the reason for Sefirat HaOmer — the counting of the 49-day period between Passover and Shavuot — is because G-d has commanded us to do so, as stated in Leviticus 23:15–16. But digging into it, much depth lies behind this mitzvah. Reasons abound and I’m going to focus on only a couple of them.

The 14th-century commentator David Avudraham provides two key reasons for the mitzvah. I find these two reasons especially compelling because they connect deeply to the human psyche. Firstly, the Sefirat HaOmer period occurs during the busy harvest season. When the ancient Jews were preoccupied with their fields, Hashem commanded us to count the days to the next festival so that we would not forget the holiday and its obligations. Taking this idea into modern times, by counting the days we build anticipation and ensure that we remain focused on the upcoming festival.

This is a practical concern. G-d understands that we are human and we get busy, so He helps us stay connected, even at the toughest time of the year.

Avudraham’s second reason speaks to the ever-relatable idea of anxiety. As he states, the period between Pesach and Shavuot is the harvest season in Eretz Yisrael. The entire year’s economic activity hinges on a successful harvest. Naturally, during this period people were nervous. To combat this, G-d commanded us to count these days so that we would be reminded to pray for a successful harvest and bolster our faith that G-d is in control, thereby settling our national economic anxiety.

As humans in our day and age, we often experience anxiety and uncertainty about our daily needs and provision. Although the specifics of our world would be foreign to the ancient Jew — no stock market fluctuations, no insurance deductibles — economic anxiety is a constant. To this, G-d’s commandment to count the days of the Omer both reminds us of the holiday to come and serves as a daily reminder, in any generation, that we should not have worry in our lives because G-d is at the helm and is looking out for us.

Rabbi Yosef Pinkus is a rabbi in the Dallas Community Kollel, a division of the Dallas Area Torah Association. Submit your questions to him at asktherabbi@tjpnews.com.