A young man is meeting with his prospective father-in-law to discuss the upcoming marriage.

“So,” the father asks, “how do you plan to support my daughter?” “I will study Torah,” the young man replies, “and G-d will provide.“

“And what about a home? Where will you live?” “We will find a small apartment,” the young man says, “and G-d will provide.“

“And what about children? Babies are expensive!” “Don’t worry,” the young man smiles, “G-d will provide.“

Later, the father-in-law returns to his wife. She asks how the meeting went. “Well,” he says, “the bad news is he has no job and no practical plans for the future. The good news? He thinks I’m G-d.“

We are now more than halfway through the Omer period, with Lag BaOmer just around the corner. We call this time Sefirat HaOmer—the counting of the Omer—as we mark the days from the second day of Pesach (the 16th of Nisan) until the holiday of Shavuot, when we received the Torah at Mount Sinai.

On the second day of Pesach, an offering was brought from the new barley crop known as the Korban Omer. But have you ever wondered: What exactly is an “Omer”?

An Omer is a specific measurement of volume. It represents the amount of barley used in the Omer offering, but it also appears in another significant context: it was the exact amount of Manna each person received daily during the 40 years the Jews spent in the desert.

This raises an interesting question: Why is this offering named after a measurement, and why does that measurement define this entire period between Pesach and Shavuot?

Rabbi Yosef Salant, known as the Be’er Yosef, explains that the purpose of this offering was to instill within us the realization that Hashem is the ultimate provider of our sustenance. In fact, until the Omer offering was brought in the Temple, one was not permitted to eat from the new season’s crop.

The Manna is the only other place in the Torah where the term Omer is used to describe a portion. For forty years in the desert, the Jewish people were miraculously sustained by Hashem; they lived with the constant, daily understanding that He was their source of life.

By using the same measurement for the barley offering as the Manna, it reminds us that just as Hashem provided Manna in the desert, He is the true source of the sustenance we receive each day.

As we count the 49 days leading up to Shavuot, using the Omer as our anchor, we reinforce this perspective. We carry this lesson of total reliance on Hashem with us as we prepare to stand at the foot of Mount Sinai and receive the Torah.

Good Shabbos,

Rabbi Shaps and the JET Team