1

THE OMER-
REBUILDING THE LIGHT
B’nai Avraham
Rabbi Edward ‘Levi
’Nydl
e

VAYIQRA [Leviticus] 23: 15 And you shall count from the next day after the Shabbat, from the day that you
brought the sheaf of the wave offering: seven full weeks:

Literally, in English from the Hebrew it reads, “

And you count to you (personally) from day after Shabbat from day to
bring you Omer1 of the wave offering seven weeks, full ones they must be.”That is the literal from the Hebrew syntax.
Interesting that we find out that we personally, each Yisraelite, is to count seven full weeks for a total of 49 days of
counting the Omer. The Shabbat that we count from is the High Shabbat of Pesach2 [Unleavened Bread] and not the
weekly Shabbat.3 We need to count from the High Shabbat in order to arrive at seven full cycles of seven (7 X 7=49).
When you count from the High Shabbat it may fall on any day of the week. But the important thing is that we are to
count 49 days of the Omer.
Let me make this comment before we proceed, because people quote the Talmud, which says: The peshat never loses
its meaning. But if the verse has no peshat4 meaning, how then can it retain its peshat? My question for those on the
peshat level only is: Why 49 days? Why seven complete weeks? Why does Shavuot fall exactly 50 days from Pesach?
If you can arrive at a meaning that makes sense from the peshat level, then surely there is a peshat level meaning for
YHWH choosing 49 days with Shavuot being the fiftieth day. Is it a number that YHWH just arbitrarily pulled out of
Hi sDi vineHa t
,an ds aid,“Sha vuotwillf allinf i
ft
yda ys,andIt hinkag oodnumbe rt othrowi no fc o untingt heOmer
is 49?”Wa sHej u stro ll
ingthedi cewitht henumbe rsandt aking what just came up? If we stick to the peshat level that
is the conclusion we arrive at, because peshat level of understanding of Scriptures is based upon rational/logical
thinking, not upon Gematria5 or use of numbers within Torah interpretation (PaRDeS). Its interesting because they say
we cannot do that, we have to stick to peshat level. But yet they will allow all other uses of numbers in your
occupation, the days of the week, the economic systems and banking, and everything else. The use of physics, the
science, and mathematics, numbers are allowed within the secular realm. But when it comes to Torah interpretation
(the Spiritual) they say we cannot use numerology. Hypocritical,i sn’tit?Themos timpor tantthingwi thint heUn iverse
that YHWH established, the Torah, and they say that we cannot use numbers. Yet in everything else the use of
numbers is permitted. And it is my assertion, that without a correct understanding on the sod level, and Kabbalistic6
understanding of the Omer, you will never understand why we personally count, the Omer.
The word OMER: ayin-mem-resh ( r m u ), which is a seventy, forty, and two hundred, for a total of 310. We find is
the same number 310 in Shemot 26.1:

 SHEMOTH [Exodus] 26:1 Moreover you shall make the Tabernacle with ten curtains of fine twined linen,

Could they be symbolic and is there a reason for ten curtain of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet?
Did YHWH just pull the various colors out of His Divine Hat, saying, “These are the colors that the ten curtains shall
be”–or are there deeper meanings behind the usage of these particular numbers and colors within the curtains of the
Tabernacle, which was the dwelling place of the Shekinah7 of Elohim?

1
1/10th of an ephah
2
Passover
3
The seventh day-Friday sundown to Saturday sundown
4
Literal meaning of a text
5
Adding the numerical value of a letter in Hebrew
6
Kabbalah means to receive in Hebrew
7
The manifested Divine presence
The Omer-Rebuilding the Light 1
2
 …with cheruvim of skilled work shall you make them.

Int hi sv erse‘ skill

edwor k’ha stheGematria of 310, the same number as Omer. We then arrive at the understanding
through the use of Gematria that counting the Omer r equi
re si
ttobea‘ skill
edwo rk ’.
Wec oulds ayt haty oune edtobea‘ skill
edwo r kma n’
,be causeyoua reint hepr oces
sofr ebu il
dingt h eSefirot –or
creating a vessel, a dwelling place, for the Shekinah to dwell when you arrive at Shavuot. Without the sod level of
interpretation (that we have inherited from the rabbis and sages of Judaism) we cannot understand why the days of
counting the Omer are so important. If we take 310 to its lower numerical value we get 4, symbolic of the four worlds
(Atzilut, Beriah, Yetzerah, and Asiyyah).
It is also interesting that the word Omer appears in Shemot 16 when it speaks of the manna that was to fall during the
week and not on Shabbat. Manna means –What is it? They did not know what it was, they had never seen manna.
Mah –what –nah –is it = What is it?
When Yisrael journeyed in the wilderness we find that manna fell every morning.

 SHEMOTH 16:4 Then said YHWH to Moshe, See, I will rain lechem (a form of food, bread) from the
Shomayim [the heavens] for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain amount every day, that I
may test them, whether they will have their halakah in My Torah [My instructions], or not.

We must never view the Torah as law. Torah means instructions from our Abba Beit Shomayim [Father in Heaven] of
living a righteous life, becoming set-apart, and being different than the nations.
Why were they to gather a certain amount every day? Elohim s ays,“ Iamg oi ngt
ote
stt
hemt
oseeift heywi llob ey
Myi ns t
ruc ti
o ns
,o rno t.”

 5 And it shall come to pass, that on the sixth day they shall prepare that which they bring in; and it shall be
twice as much as they gather daily.

On Friday there will be an extra portion of manna for them to gather up, so that they would not have to gather the
manna on Shabbat. During the week they were to gather one Omer per person. We are told that the manna contained
all they needed. They did not need any other food. It was a food that came from Heaven. Then on Friday they would
gather two Omers (twice the amount) for the seventh day for a total of what Seven Omers.
An Omer is one/tenth of an ephah. An Omer is representative of one of the Sefirah of the Tree of Life. Since they
gathered seven Omers, each daily supply was symbolic of one of the lower seven Sefirot –for a total of seven. And if
we go until the sixth day we have Zier Anpin with an extra Omer added for Shabbat, the female aspect of Malchut.
But on Shabbat it is interesting that they gathered two/tenths of an ephah –a double amount. If we take two/tenths to
the lowest value it is one/fifth. There are five books of Torah. So on Friday for Shabbat, they would gather one/fifth.
There is another usage of the word ‘ Ome r’. However, this time when Omer is used it begins not with an ayin, but
with an aleph ( a ). And those familiar with the Hebrew letters understand that aleph is symbolic of the Creator, rather
than the ayin. The Zohar8 says this Hebrew word Omer with an aleph which means speech and Omer with an ayin
means one/tenth of an ephah.

 THE ZOHAR Section 136 b: The word Omer indicates the letters and the paths which proceed from the
Father –Chokmah [wisdom]. The mother [binah]andt hehe ad[r
osh]whi c
hi ssuesfromt hem… (Yahshua
is called “TheHe ad”o ftheBody).…who is the first born son. (Translators note: Tifereth or the heart of
the body). Aleph symbolizes the Father, and when it ascends and descends the mem unites with it producing
mem –mother. The Resh is the Head for Rosh [which looks like the back of the head] signifying son. When
these three unite the result is that they form a word, or speech –In the Beginning was the Word. Thus the
Father and the Mother and the firstborn Son radiate one within the other in one echad [union], and we
know it as Elohim which has its reign and duration upon the Shabbat when they gathered double the
portion of omer. Thus all unite and become echad and therefore hasten one to the other, that Omer as a
supernal reign in order that all should be one.

8
A sod level commentary on the Torah
The Omer-Rebuilding the Light 2
 3
This is what we are doing when we count the Omer: Even though Omer (with an aleph) is speaking of speech, when
we count the Omer we are rebuilding, as skilled workmen, the lower Sefirot.
After Pesach we are into the days of counting the Omer.Youha v ehe ardmeus et hewor d‘ sefirah’–and this is
called Sefirat Omer –Counting the Omer. The word –sefirah –contains three Hebrew words: mitzbar –to number;
sefer –a telling of a story; and saphir –a sapphire stone. By counting the Omer we are numbering and telling the story
of the sapphire stone. A sapphire stone is translucent, clear. Sapphire pavement surrounds the throne of Elohim.
While counting of the Omer we count each sefirah: i.e., this is one week, and seven days of the Omer, which makes
it Malchut of chesed. Each sefirah is divided into seven more sefirot. So the first day of counting the Omer is Chesed
of chesed for a total of forty-nine days of building the sefirot ending with Shavuot. We rebuild each of the sefirah
within its seven worlds.
What is important to understand is: each of the sefirah illuminates different aspects of the human soul, and this falls
right in with the Musar9 teaching. By counting the Omer we are illuminating (shining a light upon) different aspects of
the human soul.
During the counting of the days of the Omer, according to the Talmud, during the first 33 days of counting the Omer
a plague ravaged the students of Rabbi Akiva, and killed over 24,000 of them. The sages say that they were punished
by Divine decree because they failed to show the proper respect towards one another. So we have a very important
question to ask ourselves as we count the Omer. Can not showing proper respect towards one another open up a whole
population of talmidim to death and illness? And because of the way the world is today, we do not show proper respect
towards one another, why are we not being wiped out by deadly plagues and diseases? What was so unique about these
talmidim of Rabbi Akiva that made them susceptible to such a plague? The answer is that the students of Rabbi Akiva
were special because they were more accountable, and unique. Akiva was one of the leading rabbis of his day. In fact
the sages say Rabbi Akiva was such a tzaddik that he could have received the Torah at Mount Sinai instead of Moshe.
This was the high esteem in which he was held. To be a student of Rabbi Akiva meant you had to be of the highest
quality of an individual. In fact, we are told in the Talmud that a rabbi can refuse to teach a student if he thinks they are
not worthy. One of the students that survived the plague was Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, the author of the Zohar. There
was such a level of kiddusha that was expected of his talmidim than the other rabbis of his day. If this is the high level
of students Rabbi Akiva had, how much more the talmidim of Yahshua. Th i
si swhyYa hshuas a
id,“ Iha vec hos eny ou,
and you have not chosen me.”Ya hshuahandpicked the ones to sit at His feet and learn Torah.
YHWH does judge different people differently in His righteous judgment. He does hold certain people at a higher
level of accountability than others. Therefore when we show disrespect for one another we are not punished with a
grievous plague or illness as the students of Rabbi Akiva. What does that say about us? It reveals that we are not yet on
their level, and we have a lot to learn. In this respect we have an advantage over them. But you say, “ Why?”I tis
because it is similar to the same advantage that a child has over an adult. A child is not punished for his ignorant
violations of the law. An adult, however, is considered not to be ignorant of the law. As a judge in New York said,
“ Ignor anceoft hel a wi snoe xc usefort hea du l
t.” Foraserious Torah student who has set under a Torah teacher for
many years, ignorance of the law is no excuse. On the other hand a small child is not judged the same as an adult,
because he is allowed to have that ignorance.
In the book of Ya ’ak ov[J ame s ]3.1we find:

 YA’ AKOV [ Ja me s]3 :1My Yisraelite brothers, not many should be rabbis [teachers], knowing that we
shall receive a stronger mishpat [judgment].

So even a teacher, a rabbi, or even someone teaching children, is held at a higher accountability than the average
student. Ya ’ak ovst
a test hattheywi l
lr e ceiveamor es ev erejudg me n tf
rom t heRig ht
e ousJ udg e,be caus efort h em
ignorance of the law is not an e xcu se.Thi si swhyYa ’a kovwa rnst hatma nyshouldnotbeteachers or leaders of
congregations because there is a stricter judgment upon them. “ Toh i
m muc hisg i
venmuc hi sde ma nde d.”The more
responsibility YHWH gives a person then the more accountable they become. He who is faithful over little shall be
given much. It is a matter of stewardship of the talents that YHWH has given you. Our Master told a parable of such a
matters. There is a different accountability for those that are spiritually mature compared to a spiritual adolescent, or a
spiritual child.

9
Ethical teaching
The Omer-Rebuilding the Light 3
4
So , then, for one who is spiritually mature to show a lack of respect to another person, in the eyes of Elohim it is
equal to the judgment of murder. For someone who is younger, or less spiritually it would not be so in the judgment.
This plague that came upon the students of Rabbi Akiva is given to us as an example or a lesson for us during this
time of counting the Omer. The days of counting the Omer are very treacherous, even if that had not happened to the
students of Rabbi Akiva. It is a very dangerous time in the life of a student of Torah. It is not what happened to the
students of Rabbi Akiva that makes these days dangerous, but it is the dangerousness of the days that make the death
significant. It could have happened at any time but during the first 33 days of the Omer of counting the Omer. It is the
same principle as the Temple was not placed in Yerushalayim because Yerushalayim was kodesh, but rather it was the
fact that the Bayit ha Mikdash [the Temple] was placed in Yerushalayim made Yerushalayim kodesh.
According to Kabbalah these 49 days of the Omer lack the complete Light of YHWH that shown first in Mitzrayim
on the night of the first Pesach. The same Light shown again on Mount Sinai fifty days later at Shavuot at the giving of
the Torah- Matan ha Torah . During this time, between Pesach and Shavuot, there is a rebuilding in the spiritual realm.
Do not look at this realm a s‘ o utt her
e ’,bu trather‘ inhere” , or ‘
iny ou’
.You are the dwelling place of the Ruach
HaKodesh. It is not out there somewhere. This is the reason we are called skilled workmen during this time, because
we are in the process of rebuilding the various aspects of our soul. A skilled workman must be knowledgeable in
numerology because that is how you measure your dimensions while building .Therefore day by day and level by
level, this Light from above is being rebuilt within us. This process continues until Shavuot thus enabling our soul to
receive a greater revelation of the Torah.
Remember, the Yisraelites had to leave Mitzrayim. On Pesach night there was a great revelation of the Light, but then
came the days of counting the Omer, and that light did not manifest itself again in such intensity until Shavuot; because
they had a rebuilding to do within their souls caused by their bondage in Mitzrayim. Also, the first 33 days of counting
the Omer are days of mourning for us and we are to exercise spiritual caution. We do not cut our hair, buy new clothes
nor celebrate any weddings during this time. These times are so ominous during the counting of the Omer that the most
sincere kabbalist will not do it during the whole time of counting the Omer, while the Orthodox or Conservative
observe the mourning only to the 33rd day, which is called Lag B’ Ome r.
As it was in the days of Rabbi Akiva, so it is today. There are various levels of Torah students. We could say that
those who place a greater fence upon the counting of the Omer are of the higher level than those that would only go the
33 days. We could even say those who receive their teachings from a rabbi are possibly held to a higher standard than
someone not receiving the teaching on the level of PaRDeS. Someone who has sat under me could be held more
accountable to YHWH than someone who only learns on the peshat level and those who are new to the Torah. So,
those that would show disrespect who are on a lower level are not held to that higher level of accountability. Who
knows who may be struck down at this time? It is a time to be very careful. It is a time when we are spiritually
vulnerable.
Counting the Omer during this time it could be said, if anything can go wrong during this time it will go wrong and at
the worst possible time. If it is going to happen, it is going to happen during the time of counting the Omer. And it will
happen when it is not very productive to our life, but we can change it. LISTEN: It is all within your hands. We change
our focus from what could go wrong to what we can do right. We change our focus, we renew our minds, we change
our way our thinking; we do not dwell on the negative. During this time we dwell on what we can do right, to rebuild
the Sephirotic tree within our soul. During this time we do not perform our usual mediations, except for the meditation
upon counting the Omer. That is the only meditation we observe because we are rebuilding the Sephirotic tree, sefirah
by sefirah until we complete it on the night of Shavuot.
It is said that while the Yisraelites were in Mitzrayim they descended to the forty-ninth gate of impurity. If they would
have descended to the fiftieth gate, then there was no redemption for them. There is nothing YHWH could have done
to redeem them. They would have been slaves forever, because the Mitzrites had descended to the fiftieth gate, and
there was no redemption for them. But the Yisraelites had only descended to the forty-ninth gate. What do we learn
from this? It is only logical then that they would have to ascend to the fiftieth gate of holiness [kiddusha]; while
counting of the Omer they had to re-ascend, or re-climb that Ladder of holiness to Shavuot to receive the Torah.
If you truly believe the Torah then we have to understand that the same power that was available to them during
these 49 days is also available to us today. It is just as accessible to us right now if we truly believe. That was almost
3500 years ago, but that same energy is available right now.

The Omer-Rebuilding the Light 4

 5
 Zohar Shemot Section II 46a: And the children of Yisrael went upon [hamushi]. This signifies that the
mixed multitude numbered one in every five –ha mishah. According to Rabbi Yosi: For every five pure
Yisraelites, there was one who belonged to the mixed multitude. Rabbi Yehudah said: One in fifty. Rabbi
Shimon said: In the word hamushi an illusion to the Jubilee which lead them out of Mitzrayim; for the
same reason fifty days had to pass before the Yisraelites received the Torah on Mount Sinai since the Torah
also emanated from the same region of the Jubilee.

The Yovel (Jubilee) was observed in the fiftieth year. Yisrael counted 49 complete years, seven cycles of seven to
arrive at the Jubilee where everything would go back to as it was in the Beginning. The same energy working on the
Jubilee [Yovel] is the same energy from which the Torah proceeds. This is why the truth [Torah] shall set you free.
During the year of the Yovel they were set free from everything: debt, slavery, and the land went back to its original
ownership. Everything went back to the way it was at the Beginning.
Was the fiftieth year understandable on the peshat level? Where else, rather than through Kabbalah can we find why
Yovel was the fiftieth year, and why Shavuot falls on the fiftieth day?
In Yechezqel [Ezekiel], we find something very interesting when he is speaking of the Byet HaMikdash that will be
built during the time of Moshiach.

 YEHEZQEL [Ezekiel] 40:15 And from the front of the gate of the entrance to the front of the porch of the
inner gate were fifty cubits.

From the outer gate to the inner gate was fifty cubits. Once again I ask of the peshat only teachers, was it a number
that Elohim arbitrarily pulled out of His pocket. No. There is a reason for that number fifty between the outer gate and
the inner gate. Where do we enter the final gate of Kiddusha [holiness]? It is entering through the fiftieth gate!
In the Sefirot, during the counting of the Omer, we are rebuilding the lower seven sefirot. We are not dealing with the
upper three of Keter, Binah, and Chokmah. Those are called the Crown of Torah; those are the Mochin [brains] of
Elohim. We have to understand at these seven are dealing with the 70 emotions or qualities of the human soul; and
each sefirah is divided into seven more sefirot. So within each one are seven. So seven sefirot times seven = 49.
What I want to teach you in this lesson is that each day of the Omer has a life or energy of its own. The first night we
count Chesed of Chesed until we arrive at Malchut of Malchut on the last day. Each day, when we count the Omer,
there is a unique energy of that day to be channeled into our soul, or into our vessel. That is why we must count the
Omer of that day.

Let me give them to you in order:

Chesed of the human soul –loving kindness, benevolence.
Gevurah – justice, discipline, awe, and restraint.
Tipheret –beauty, harmony, compassion.
Netzach –endurance, victory, ambition, and fortitude.
Hod –humility, splendor.
Yesod –a bonding, a foundation.
Malchut –nobility, kingship, leadership.

The Omer is counted in days and weeks. This is the first week, tonight will be day seven. After that will be week two,
day one. Each week of the seven weeks repairs one of the seven sefirot. So each week we are repairing one of the
sefirah, and each day repairs one of the seven aspects within that sefirah. So we understand: Chesed of Chesed; and
week two of Gevurah is built the same way: Chesed of Gevurah; Tifereth of Gevurah, etc., until the Tree is totally
rebuilt. Then on the 49th day we arrive at Malchut of Malchut; and the fiftieth day is the Crown. We add the Crown for
a total of 10, because the Crown is representative of Keter, Binah, and Chokmah which is representative of the Torah.
That is why you see the Torah with a Crown upon it. This is why upon the breastplate there is a crown at the top
representing Torah.
On the fiftieth day we add Keter, so that all can flow into the Malchut, and into our soul. And then on Shavuot there
is a complete revelation of Torah, a new revelation for you and for me during this cycle of Feasts.

The Omer-Rebuilding the Light 5

6
 Zohar Shemot Section II 183a: Yisrael which is below, when she counts the days of the Omer, and when
these have been sanctified, this grade must be raised in order to ascend above. For when the house of the
Metrona [Yisrael] –the bearer of the Shekinah - is sanctified it ascends to the upper region in order to unite
itself with those higher days.

NOTICE: When Moshe received the Torah he ascended into the mountain. He made aliyah. Just as when we read from
the Torah every week we come forward and make aliyah –to read from the Torah. Every Shabbat somebody gets to
make aliyah.

 Zohar Shemot II 183b: Therefore we have to count the days of the Omer standing because these are high
days. So also, whenever a man enters into those high days, whether it be with prayer or hymns of praise, he
must pray or sing standing with his thighs taught, his feet firm, his body erect, the attitude of a man distinct
with power, distinct from the characteristic attitude of a woman which is sitting. Another reason fro
standing is that the counting of the days of the Omer signifies praise given to the upper world; and because
the counting of the Omer is part of the mystery of the world of masculinity (which is right column);
therefore it is not obligatory for women, it is only for men who are obliged to count in order to unite with all
the attributes according to the Divine Purpose. Similarly it is written with regards to the pilgrimage to
Yehrushalyim: …

Now were the women obliged to journey on the Sholesh Regulim? No, they were not. Only the men were commanded
to make the journey to Yehrushalyim.

 …Thr eet i
me si ntheye a r shall all males appear before YHWH your Elohim. Males but not females
because the mysteries of the covenant applies to the males and not the females. Therefore the command
to appear being bound up in that supernal mystery.

And women are not obliged to keep the mitzvah of making the aliyah during the time of the Temple (when it stood).
Let us speak about freedom for a moment, in the same section it says:

 Similarly it is written: Ye shall set apart the fiftieth year and proclaim freedom throughout all the land.
[Vayiqra 25.10] Freedom emanates from this fiftieth year to all because of this: The Torah which
proceeded from that fiftieth day is called Freedom.

Ya’ak ovc a l
ledTo rahthe Perfect Law of Liberty. Have you ever wondered why? It is because the Torah emanates
from the same energy of the Jubilee.
Let us put things in perspective for today.Thosewh ocal
ltheTor ah“ bondage”or “legalism”–it must be insulting to
Elohim. It was He gave us the Torah, which is called FREEDOM. What they call bondage is in reality freedom.

 Concerning this it is written: Graven haruth upon the tablets which word haruth contains the same
letters as heruth which means freedom. And the Ten Words which is the essence of the Torah are thus
given its due appellation because whatever this supernal day brings forth, its called freedom. It is the
freedom of all things, of all spheres and all worlds and all created things, both above and below.

The fourth commandment (Shabbat) is the one they have taken out of the Ten Words. Shabbat is the day of freedom
.We are free from work that day. Is not it expected that Shabbat is the one hasatan would want to take out of the Words
and not allow you to observe? Because Shabbat is freedom! It is your freedom from your slave master on that day. We
don’tmake bricks on Shabbat.
May we be diligent in the mitzvah of the Omer count this year.

The Omer-Rebuilding the Light 6