English translation — אמור א

A.

The commandment of Sefiras HaOmer,

regarding which we were commanded in our parshah¹

"And you shall count for yourselves from the morrow of the Shabbos, from the day you bring etc. until the morrow of the seventh Shabbos you shall count fifty days,"

its content is

(according to several commentators and halachic authorities)

- a preparation and qualification for the festival of Shavuos,

the time of the giving of our Torah².

And in the language of the Chinuch³

: "We were commanded to count from the morrow of the festival of Pesach until the day of the giving of the Torah, to show in our souls the great desire for the honored day in our hearts, like a servant longs for the shadow⁴

and counts constantly when the longed-for time will come for him to go out to freedom, for counting shows in a person that all his hope and all his desire is to reach that time"⁵.

The content and essence of the above of Sefiras HaOmer also pertains to halachah,

as the above matter is brought in several halachic authorities⁶,

as one of the reasons that we do not recite Shehecheyanu on Sefiras HaOmer.

Nevertheless, one sees that the mitzvah of Sefiras HaOmer is a mitzvah and - with a completeness in the mitzvah - in the time of the Beis HaMikdash and also in this time

(According to the opinions on this,

whether this is from the Torah,

or from the Rabbis,

a remembrance for the Temple<sup>7</sup>)

- one makes upon it a blessing and moreover - each day,

until that through Sefiras HaOmer which is a mitzvah upon each and every one of Israel "and you shall count for yourselves that the counting should be for each one<sup>8</sup>

and one",

it is opened that on the fiftieth day of the Omer is the holiday of Shavuos<sup>9</sup>.

B.

According to the above in the category of Sefiras HaOmer,

one can explain the reason why the Alter Rebbe placed Sefiras HaOmer at the end of his Siddur.

It is known the great precision in the order of the old Rebbe in all his matters,

and especially in the "Order of Prayer"¹⁰

whose content is "<b>Order </b>of Prayers for the entire year" - it is understood,

that the <b>order</b> in this is with utmost precision¹¹.

The precision in the order is even more emphasized,

when one compares it with the order in the Siddur HaAriZal¹²,

which

the old Rebbe's Siddur is indeed "according to the version of the AriZal"¹³

- that in the Siddurim of the AriZal

(that I saw)

the conclusion is

(not with the Counting of the Omer¹⁴,

but)

with

(the intentions of)

Shma"Tz and Simcha"T¹⁵.

Simply, one must explain the reason that the Alter Rebbe changed in his Siddur from the order in the Siddur HaAriZal,

because the Alter Rebbe's Siddur is,

as is known,

equal for every soul,

not like the Siddur HaAriZal,

which is for unique individuals.

And as it is also known,

that for this reason the Alter Rebbe in his Siddur did not include all the kavanot of the AriZal

(in his Siddur)¹⁶.

Therefore, the order in the Siddur of the Alter Rebbe is — frequent precedes infrequent — and in infrequent,

the commandments that occur once¹⁷

a year etc., they stand

There according to the order of the year: Chanukah,

Purim,

Order of the Paschal sacrifice,

Haggadah of Passover,

(and afterwards)

Counting of the Omer.

Since however that the Alter Rebbe wrote his Siddur in accordance with the view of the halachic decisors for practical law,

and together with that also clarified and elucidated the text according to the intentions of the Ariza"l¹⁸

(only the secrets and intentions he <b>did not copy</b>,

so that it should be equal for every soul - also for those who are not connected to actually intending the secrets¹⁶),

it is understood,

that also the order in the Siddur is not only in accordance with the plain sense of the matters,

but according to the <b>content</b> of the matter as it is according to the revealed [aspect] and with their content in the inwardness of the matters.

And based on this one can say - that Sefiras HaOmer comes at the conclusion and seal of the Siddur,

because in the mitzvah of Sefiras HaOmer the content and essential point of the matter of prayer is emphasized - according to the revealed and according to the hidden,

and as follows.

And one can say that the unique aspect of Sefiras HaOmer is both in the "object" of prayer and Sefiras HaOmer,

and in the "subject",

as follows at length.

3.

The commandment of prayer¹⁹

is,

as the

Rambam²⁰

says: "It is a positive commandment to pray every day, as it is said, 'And you shall serve the Lord your God'; from tradition they learned that this service is prayer, as it is said, 'And to serve Him with all your heart'; the sages said: What is service of the heart? That is prayer."

And in another place²¹

the Rambam describes the positive commandment: "To serve the Lord every day in prayer"²².

One of the explanations according to the revealed aspect on that prayer is a matter of service

(- service of the heart),

one can learn from the language of the Rambam itself&lt;sup&gt;23&lt;/sup&gt;

"The obligation of this commandment is thus: that a person should supplicate and pray every day and declare the praise of the Holy One, blessed be He, and afterward ask his needs that he requires in request and supplication, and afterward give praise and thanks to God for the good that He has bestowed upon him"&lt;sup&gt;24&lt;/sup&gt;.

The explanation in this: Commandments divide generally into two types: commandments that are in action - whether in a doing simply in actual deed,

like wearing tzitzis,

laying tefillin,

etc.,

or in speech

(a minor action&lt;sup&gt;25&lt;/sup&gt;),

like reading the Megillah,

recounting the Exodus from Egypt and the like,

where the main fulfillment of the commandment in this is the action of speech and reading&lt;sup&gt;26&lt;/sup&gt;

; and commandments of obligations

The hearts, like love of G-d, fear of G-d, etc.,

whose content is the intention and emotion of the person in his thought and heart²⁷.

The commandment of prayer is unique in this²⁸,

that even though prayer must be specifically in speech²⁹,

but the "action" of the commandment of prayer is — "that a person should supplicate and pray every day": the content of "supplicate" is service and emotion in the heart of the person — not doing or speech.

And even though that in several commandments the law is that the commandments of the Torah "require intention to fulfill one's obligation through the performance of that commandment,"

and when the intention is lacking "he did not fulfill his obligation according to Torah law"³⁰

- it is only a

matter of the <b>intention of </b>the commandment³¹,

but not a part of the commandment itself³².

In prayer, however³³

is the object of the action of prayer — "supplicates and prays,"

intention of the heart

(and as the language of the Rambam after this "and afterwards he asks his needs³⁴

that he needs them <b>with request and supplication</b>"),

which for this must be the <b>preparation</b> "that he clear his mind from all thoughts and see himself as if he stands before the Shechinah"³⁵

(and afterwards during prayer there should be with him "request

<b>and supplication</b>"),

and without this not only is the person not yotzei the obligation of the mitzvah,

but there is no object,

the <b>speech</b> is <b>not</b> a <b>prayer</b>³⁶.

The above-mentioned matter regarding prayer,

that specifically the knowledge and intention makes the object of the mitzvah of prayer and without it it is not called an object of prayer³⁷,

is revealed in the laws of Sefiras HaOmer: the Alter Rebbe rules³⁸

"It is permitted to count in any language that one understands, but if one does not understand the language in which he counted, even if he counted in the Holy Language, if he does not understand it he has not fulfilled [the obligation], because since he does not know the count <b>this is no counting at all</b>"³⁹.

That is,

that the essence of the mitzvah of counting is not the action of

(counting the days or)

speech

(although counting must be done verbally⁴⁰),

but rather the <b>knowledge </b>of the person,

and without that knowledge

(thought)

and intention of the person is

(he not only has not fulfilled the obligation of counting,

but it is)

altogether not an object of counting - "this is no counting at all"⁴¹.

4.

Since the reality of prayer is created through the intention

(service)

of man,

it is understood,

that first and foremost,

is the change which occurs in the "person" through the prayer and his preparation for it.

And also in this there is a common point of prayer and the counting of the Omer

(not only in the object of the commandment)

Prayer,

whose essence is the silent prayer,

is that a Jew stands⁴²,

places himself as a servant before his Master⁴³

before the Most High,

"and sees himself as if he is standing before the Divine Presence",

so that then he "pleads and prays" — he becomes a reality of a supplicant.

When a person is "turning his heart away from all thoughts etc." and is beseeching and praying before the Above,

he thereby himself becomes changed and elevated from his previous state,

he stands in a state

and condition completely different⁴⁴,

there is a change and renewal in the person.

And also the matter is emphasized in the Counting of the Omer,

that every Jew says simply in his prayer after the counting of each night: "You commanded us etc. to count the Counting of the Omer in order &lt;b&gt;to purify us &lt;/b&gt;from our husks and from our impurity as You wrote in Your Torah etc. in order &lt;b&gt;that the souls &lt;/b&gt;of Your people Israel &lt;b&gt;will be purified &lt;/b&gt;from their contamination."

5.

The aforementioned connection is all from the side of the action and service of the man in prayer and in the Counting of the Omer.

There is another matter with which prayer distinguishes itself from most of all the commandments — in the intention and request of the prayer:

Most of all the mitzvos, their main point is the action of the mitzvah

(And in completeness - with the intention of the mitzvah)

And with this, also the completion of the mitzvah on the part of man is accomplished.

Different is the mitzvah of prayer: on one side, the essential definition of prayer is "that a person should be &lt;b&gt;supplicating and praying&lt;/b&gt;",

"asking his &lt;b&gt;needs &lt;/b&gt;that he &lt;b&gt;needs &lt;/b&gt;them &lt;b&gt;with request and with supplication&lt;/b&gt;",

that the One Above should fulfill his request&lt;sup&gt;45&lt;/sup&gt;

; this is not a separate thing apart from prayer,

rather this is the content of the entire action of prayer.

Asking the One Above that there should be &lt;b&gt;fulfillment &lt;/b&gt;of the request;

But together with this, the fulfillment of the commandment of prayer is not connected at all with the actual fulfillment of his request; with the

Supplications and the prayer of a person, he fulfills the commandment of prayer and in its completeness⁴⁶.

And likewise it is regarding the counting of the Omer: the counting of the Omer is a mitzvah that is a preparation and qualification for the holiday of Shavuos,

for the giving of the Torah,

as above in section 1

that the counting of the seven weeks is like the counting of seven clean days — that through this, Jews purify themselves in order to enter the chuppah at the giving of the Torah on the holiday of Shavuos]

And together with this, the counting becomes a matter and mitzvah

(and with a blessing

(and drawing down))

in itself,

that the yearning and preparation and qualification itself is a matter by itself,

and a most essential matter — it is for the Jew,

(as above)

purifies from his contamination; this emphasizes the virtue of man's service in its own right.

6.

Based on this, we can explain the difference between the Siddur of the AriZal and the Siddur of the Alter Rebbe

(although the Siddur of the Alter Rebbe is precise and intentional according to the text of the AriZal),

which is emphasized already at the beginnings of the Siddurim:

Siddur of the AriZal⁴⁸

begins with "The general rectification and ascents of the worlds"; the Siddur of the Alter Rebbe begins with "It is known that the virtue of rising at midnight etc. therefore one should exert oneself to rise at midnight on whatever night he can and to be among the servants of G-d etc." -

The explanation in this:

According to how the inner dimension of matters is brought out in Siddur HaAriZal,

What this is for yechidei segula who intend the kavanos and yichudim,

is the matter of prayer includes not only the service and ascent of &lt;b&gt;man&lt;/b&gt;,

but also

(and primarily -)

the request and purpose of prayer - the rectification and ascent of &lt;b&gt;the worlds&lt;/b&gt;,

which this is also the source of the effluences which are drawn down below into spiritual and physical matters: Healer of the sick and Blesser of the years etc.

And therefore the Counting of the Omer comes,

which emphasizes the service of man,

not at the end of the siddur

(as a seal &lt;b&gt;and purpose&lt;/b&gt;),

but earlier - and afterwards come prayers and kavanos of the three pilgrimage festivals etc. Rosh Hashanah Yom Kippur etc. until Shemini Atzeres and Simchas Torah,

whose content is the perfection in the effluences as they are drawn down below.

In the siddur of the old Rebbe,

which is written specifically in a manner equal for every soul

(the secrets and intentions are <b>not</b> revealed,

as above),

the order is arranged in a way that in the matter of prayer the service of the person is emphasized,

and as above at length

(that both the object of prayer and the elevation of the person

(the person)

is a matter of the service of the person).

And for this reason he precedes and defines immediately at the beginning the virtue of rising at midnight through which one is in the category of <b>servants</b> of God.

And therefore also the conclusion of his siddur is <b>not</b> with the prayers etc. that are connected with <b>the holiness of the festival</b>,

but with the counting of the omer,

which is entirely action and service of the person

(in all these matters mentioned above).

7.

One could think,

that the service of every individual of Israel

(and especially a service that consists only of "counting the days")

is not of such great power to

effect in the world

(tikkun haolamot)

— Sefirat HaOmer emphasizes,

that in this one sees the effect of the service more than in another service:

The fixedness of Yom Tov in general depends on Bnei Yisrael — "He sanctifies their times"&lt;sup&gt;49&lt;/sup&gt;,

but specifically with Beit Din,

with the sanctification of the month of &lt;b&gt;Beit Din &lt;/b&gt;

(a &lt;b&gt;general rule&lt;/b&gt;)&lt;sup&gt;50&lt;/sup&gt;,

and the prayers of the Jews during the festivals are a result and bring an &lt;b&gt;addition &lt;/b&gt;in the holiness of Yom Tov.

And likewise regarding Shabbat,

which is "sanctified and standing"&lt;sup&gt;51&lt;/sup&gt;,

there is an addition through "to sanctify it" Kiddush and the prayers of Bnei Yisrael.

But regarding Sefirat HaOmer we see,

that through the counting of each &lt;b&gt;individual by himself &lt;/b&gt;

(not through Beit Din)

the festival of Shavuot is brought about&lt;sup&gt;52&lt;/sup&gt;,

it is not dependent on the fixedness of Rosh Chodesh

(because "Atzeret sometimes five times, sometimes six times, sometimes seven times"&lt;sup&gt;53&lt;/sup&gt;),

but on the fiftieth day of the Omer,

as above.

Until that in several details

(Regarding,

for example,

to the second day of Yom Tov of the Diaspora)

is Shavuot harder than other Yom Tov,

because it does not come from the side of doubt like other Yom Tov,

rather it has in itself a power of certainty⁵⁴.

Ch.

And this emphasizes the general virtue of man's service in prayer:

The concept of prayer is not only to

draw down into the world that which already exists above in its root and source; the function of prayer is: “&lt;b&gt;May it be His will&lt;/b&gt;”,

to make⁵⁵

as it were a new will⁵⁶,

which does not exist in the root and source,

and it comes down into the world and changes creations “from what they are,

that the sick person be healed, and rain descend from heaven to earth, and birth, and growth.”

But regarding Torah and commandments &lt;b&gt;in general &lt;/b&gt;there is no change in the parchment of the tefillin “by their placement on the head etc.’”,

as explained in Tanya”⁵⁷.

9.

As the inner dimension of the concept of prayer is explained by the Alter Rebbe himself — the connection between prayer and the Counting of the Omer will be understood even better.

(And in accordance with the above)

The Alter Rebbe explains in Likkutei Torah⁵⁸,

that prayer is not included in the count of the 613 commandments,

because prayer is the intention of the entire Torah and commandments, "and it is the pillar that sustains all the 613 commandments, like the spinal cord."

The main essence of prayer is that the Ein Sof blessed be He, which is above the chain of descent, [is drawn] to Him and not to His attributes⁵⁹

should be drawn down

below,

into the order of the chain of descent.

And the eighteen blessings of the Silent Prayer are the "vessels" for the drawing down below, that there should be the Healer of the sick and the Blesser of the years.

And one can say,

that the matter is emphasized especially in the counting of the Omer,

as every individual says in the “Ribono Shel Olam” immediately after the counting of the Omer: “And through this there will be drawn a great abundance &lt;b&gt;in all the worlds&lt;/b&gt; — analogous to the general drawing of Ein Sof in all the worlds through prayer —

(and also,

with the addition of the vav —)

and to rectify our souls and our spirits and our neshamas from every dross and blemish” — the general drawing of the &lt;b&gt;great abundance&lt;/b&gt; is drawn into &lt;b&gt;particulars&lt;/b&gt;,

into vessels,

to transform the creations etc.,

in the manner as discussed earlier regarding the matter of prayer.

And through that which one is occupied with the laws of counting the Omer and one speaks about the matters of

Through the fulfillment of the mitzvah of Sefiras HaOmer and in the completeness possible in this time which is a remembrance of the Temple,

including the occupation with the laws of Sefiras HaOmer in the revealed and in the inner dimensions of Torah

then this hastens the fulfillment of the prayer immediately after Sefiras HaOmer: "Return to us the service of the Holy Temple to its place

(and one will fulfill the mitzvah in its proper form)

speedily in our days

(literally)

Amen Selah.

(From the talks of 24 Tevet, Shabbat Parshat Va'era and Shabbat Parshat Mishpatim 5742)