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By Rabbi Shloimie Lindenbaum
אך אל הפרכת לא יבוא ואל המזבח לא יגש כי מום בו (פרק כא פסוק כג)
The Torah describes the incredible privilege and opportunity that it is to be a כהן, a priest. Only they get to serve in the משכן and בית המקדש and it provides them with the chance to be in a place of intense holiness, serving Hashem on the highest of levels. A כהן who becomes a בעל מום, a blemished individual, however, is disqualified from all of this service. They cannot participate with their brothers in the exalted and holy עבודה, service. If we could just imagine how that כהן must feel, they must be so down that they have lost out on the opportunity of doing the עבודה in the בית המקדש. Only descendants of אהרן merit this unique privilege, and now he has lost it because of a blemish! R’ Shlomo Wolbe points out, though, that the job of that כהן now is to joyfully not serve in the בית המקדש. The מצוה of serving in the בית המקדש certainly gives כבוד, honor, to Hashem, but the greatest honor is to do His will. He tells us in His Torah that a בעל מום should not do the עבודה, so for a בעל מום the true עבודה is to not serve in the בית המקדש, and like every עבודה they should do this one as well בשמחה, joyfully.
וספרתם לכם ממחרת השבת מיום הביאכם את העומר (פרק כג פסוק טו)
We have a מצוה to count the 50 days from the קרבן עומר on the second day of פסח until שבועות. This is the מצוה that we refer to as ספירת העומר. Why do we call it this name? Seemingly, the קרבן עומר is just a starting point of when to begin our count to שבועות- why would the entire counting be termed as the counting of the עומר? Additionally, an עומר is really just a measure of flour- why is this קרבן called a name that refers to its measure of flour? No other קרבן מנחה is called its name based on the measurements? R’ Matisyahu Solomon explains that the original usage of the word עומר was by the מן, Manna, where everyone received an עומר measure for each member of their household. The קרבן is called this name to remind us of the receiving of the מן. Yet even by the מן the Torah tells us how big the עומר is- a tenth of an איפה, so why do we need to use this new word? R’ Solomon quotes the כתב וקבלה that references a different usage of the same word. The Torah (דברים כד:ז) says that one who kidnaps another person “והתעמר בו ומכרו”, “and he makes him work and sells him” will be put to death. We see that עמר is an expression of work. This is why the Torah uses that expression to describe the measure of מן. The מן would show everyone if they were properly serving Hashem, by falling at various distances from a person’s house, depending on their level. It was an עומר to remind us of the work- the עבודת השם- that the מן would demand of us. This name was passed on to the קרבן עומר- to remind us of this work that is our responsibility, now that we left מצרים on פסח, we must work towards receiving the Torah on שבועות. Now, of course, we can understand the counting of the עומר- it is not just a starting point of the counting, rather it is the entire essence of the count to שבועות- to grow and work on ourselves for us to be prepared and ready for קבלת התורה.
