The time period between Pesach and Shavuot is known as Sefirat Haomer. The name comes from the korban omer, a barley sacrifice that was brought on the second day of Pesach. The Torah commands us to count seven full weeks from the bringing of the korban omer until the bringing of the shetei halechem.  The shetei halechem was a sacrifice of two fresh wheat loaves that were brought on Shavuot. The Sefer Hachinuch writes that God gave us these two korbanot in order to impress upon us the great chessed that He does with His creations by renewing the ground and by facilitating the growth of new grain every year.
   
    This period also marks the time when the Bnei Yisrael grew spiritually in anticipation of Matan Torah, the giving of the Torah. When we were taken out of Egypt on Pesach we were on a very low spiritual plane. Day by day, for the forty-nine days until Shavuot, we grew spiritually in order to be able to receive the Torah.
   
    We, therefore, see that the forty-nine days can have a dual meaning.  We can view it as a period of counting from the one korban to the other or we can view it as a period of counting leading up to Matan Torah.  So with this in mind, how do we understand the reason that we count today?
   
    Truth be told, this is not just a philosophical question.  The rationale we accept will also play a practical role in the halachot of counting. The majority of Rishonim feel that the reason for counting today is to remember the Beit Hamikdash and its practices. When the Beit Hamikdash stood, Bnei Yisrael would count from one korban to the other. Now, in its absence, we no longer have the korbanot or the mitzvah from the Torah to count. Thus, in order that this mitzvah should not be forgotten, the Rabbis instituted that we should count just as they counted in the Beit Hamikdash.
    
    There are, however, some Rishonim led by the Rambam, who say that even without the korban or the ability to bring the korban, we still have a mitzvah from the Torah to count. Consequently, one of the practical differences in halacha between whether this mitzvah today is from the Torah or from the Rabbis focuses on the time of day when one can count.  As we all know, in Judaism we start the new day at nightfall. Hence, the question arises, “Can one be lenient and count the approaching day before nightfall or does one have to wait until it is completely dark to count?”  Those of the opinion that the counting is from the Torah will require that one wait until total nightfall in order to fulfill the mitzvah.  Those of the opinion that the counting is from the Rabbis rule that one fulfills the mitzvah even if he counts before total nightfall.      
    
    The Ran quotes a beautiful medrash that gives yet another source for our counting of Sefirat Haomer.  The medrash states that when Bnei Yisrael left Egypt, Moshe told them that part of what it meant to leave Egypt was that they would be coming to serve God. Bnei Yisrael asked when this would happen and Moshe answered them, “fifty days from today”. Quietly, each person counted up to that special day. The medrash says that in commemoration of that special counting the Rabbis instituted that we count today.
   
    Many ask why we do not say a shehecheyanu blessing for this mitzvah. The primary reason for this is that the shehecheyanu blessing was only instituted for when there is joy involved in the performance of the mitzvah. Since the mitzvah of Sefirat Haomer brings us pain in that it reminds us that we no longer have our Beit Hamikdash or its korbanot, the requisite joy for the shehecheyanu is lacking. 
     
    May the time come soon when we witness the rebuilding of the Beit Hamikdash when the performance of this mitzvah will, once again, bring us great joy and happiness.

Rabbi Eliezer Kessler
Houston, Texas