Whatsa Manna For You?

Week Five of Counting the Omer

Parashat Emor, Leviticus 21:1-24:23

Rabbi David Wein, Tikvat Israel, Richmond, VA

“Hello; welcome to Whatsa Manna for You? voted most consistent menu by Hebrew Happenings. How may I help you?”

“Yes, thanks so much. So, first time here, how does this even work?”

“Well, since we opened up across from Macho Macho Manna and Mind Your Manna, we’ve had to distinguish ourselves from those others with exceptional customer service, but beware: this is not your typical restaurant. You actually gather the food yourself, and it is prepared by our Head Chef, Hashem.”

“Oh wow. Okay, and how much do I gather?”

“That’s the best part. You gather exactly what you need, which is an omer.”

“An omer? What’s an omer?”

“It’s a unit of measurement, like a bushel, or a gallon.”

“Sounds anachronistic.”

“Well so is a Manna restaurant, and listen, nobody likes meta-humor in their Torah commentaries.”

“Yes, so, I gather an omer’s worth, but I also gather exactly what I need for my large family, and these are the same? How does that work?”

“Good question! We almost called this place ‘What's an Omer for You?’; You gather an omer no matter how much you gather, and it ends up being exactly what your family needs, no matter how big or small it is. It's kind of miraculous.”

“So, what happens if I'm worried about there not being enough for me and I gather more, trying to save some of it in case the Head Chef stops making it?” 

“It'll rot with worms.”

“Wow, ok. You've built that into the recipe.”

“Oh and one more thing: there’s nothing else on the menu, so don’t ask.”

“Really? Because I was thinking . . .”

“We tried it once with quail. It did not work out. Also, there’s one more thing. On Friday you are supposed to gather more (two omers) because Saturday there won't be any to gather. Saturday is Shabbat, a day of rest. And that extra manna will not rot because of this special day.”

“So you're closed on Saturdays?”

“You got it. . . . Some folks still try to gather on Shabbat, but hey, not everyone's a good listener like you.”

This week's parasha has no manna, but it does have the Omer. This is kind of cool, because the parasha describes the counting of the Omer leading up to Shavuot that we are doing right now in this season. It reminds me of the middle of the movie, Spaceballs, when the characters find the copy of the movie itself, and they fast forward to the part that they are in, so they are able to see themselves on screen. 

Colonel Sandurz: Try here. Stop.

Dark Helmet: What am I looking at? When does this happen in the movie?

Colonel Sandurz: Now. You're looking at now, sir. Everything that happens now, is happening now.

Dark Helmet: What happened to then?

Colonel Sandurz: We passed then.

Dark Helmet: When?

Colonel Sandurz: Just now. We're at now now.

But enough with the meta-humor. Three years ago (which was then) as I was counting up the Omer, I was expecting to meet my son. His due date was Shavuot. Each day we would set aside an offering, say the prayer, and pray for this new life that we were expecting joyfully. But as we prayed those 7 weeks, I grew to feel that there was a connection between counting the Omer each day and this new life that we were preparing to steward. One of the names of Shavuot is “Firstfruits.” This is because, as laid out in this week’s parasha, the measure of wheat (the “omer”) is laid aside and not eaten until the Lord gets the first offering.

Speak to Bnei-Yisrael and tell them: When you have come into the land which I give to you, and reap its harvest, then you are to bring the omer of the firstfruits of your harvest to the kohen. He is to wave the omer before Adonai, to be accepted for you. On the morrow after the Shabbat, the kohen is to wave it. . . . You are not to eat bread, roasted grain, or fresh grain until this same day—until you have brought the offering of your God. It is a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. (Lev 23:10-14, TLV)

The Omer is a reminder that there is enough when we put God first, when we encounter God in the now and trust the soon and then to him. The word “Omer” is a unit of measure and also a sheaf (bundle of grain), and the Omer stories in the Torah remind us of this very principle. 

In Exodus 16, before we even receive the Ten Commandments, we find this lesson about trusting God. The manna came down, and the Israelites were to gather more or gather less according to their family’s need, but it was always an Omer. Here’s Rashi’s take:

“Both the one who gathered much and the one who gathered little” [Exod 16:17]. Some gathered [too] much [manna] and some gathered [too] little, but when they came home, they measured with an omer, each one what he had gathered, and they found that the one who had gathered [too] much had not exceeded an omer for each person who was in his tent, and the one who had gathered [too] little did not find less than an omer for each person. This was a great miracle that occurred with it [the manna].

When they started to wonder, “What if there’s not enough for me? Let me hoard this manna!” that’s when it started to rot. Later, they put exactly an omer of manna in a very important place: 

Then Moses said, “This is what Adonai has commanded. Let a full omer of it be kept throughout your generations, so that they may see the bread with which I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you out from the land of Egypt.”

Moses said to Aaron, “Take a jar and put a full omer of manna inside. Store it up before Adonai, to be kept throughout your generations.” Just as Adonai commanded Moses, Aaron stored it up in front of the Testimony, to be preserved. (Exodus 16:32-34)

Most rabbis took the phrases “Before Adonai” and “in front of the Testimony” to mean that the omer of manna would be preserved where the Ten Commandments would be, in the ark of the covenant, in the holy of holies. But why? What was so important that it would sit next to the symbol of the Sinai Covenant for all time? The key is the word “Omer.” God gave them enough because God is enough. We don’t have to hoard more for ourselves, and we can trust God by resting and not earning money on Shabbat. Remember God’s provision for all generations right before the Presence. In this week’s parasha, Leviticus 23:16 instructs us: “Until the morrow after the seventh Shabbat you are to count fifty days, and then present a new grain offering to Adonai.” We count up to the giving of the Ten Commandments at Sinai, to the outpouring of the Presence. These are all converging together: trust and commandments, putting God first and experiencing His presence. And right after the instructions about counting the Omer, we find this:

Now when you reap the harvest of your land, you are not to reap to the furthest corners of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Rather you are to leave them for the poor and for the outsider. I am Adonai your God. (Lev 23:22)

What’s the connection? If I’m not thinking about whether there’s enough for me, then what am I thinking about? I’m thinking about the other: the poor, the outsider, the one that’s not like me, the one without whom I am incomplete. Putting God first is connected to loving our neighbor and looking out for those often forgotten. And all of this is placed next to the Presence, and counting up to and expecting the Presence after counting 49 days of the Omer. The Omer represents all of this. So the question is: What’s an Omer for you?