S’FIRAS HA’GEULA

By Yael Schneersohn

“Hello, Ma!” Leah’s happy voice filled the house, breaking the silence that usually prevailed in the early afternoon.

“Come and see what I brought from school today.” Leah leaned over her briefcase and with a look of importance she took out a colorful cardboard calendar.

“What’s that?” asked her mother.

“It’s a S’firas HaOmer chart,” announced Leah. “Mora told us that we need to hang it on the refrigerator and every day to put on a sticker until we reach Shavuos. Can you help me hang it on the fridge?”

The rest of the afternoon, Leah played near her S’firas HaOmer chart. Her older siblings, Chani and Duvy, each got a detailed explanation about the precious chart. Even a group of her dolls were given a guided tour of the kitchen and had a lesson on the subject of S’firas HaOmer.

A light knocking at the door interrupted her enthusiastic explanations. Chani opened the door as Leah, with her dolls, followed her.

“Hi Chayale,” exclaimed Leah when she saw her guest at the door, her friend from school. “Did you come to play with me?”

The two of them quickly disappeared into the children’s bedroom and joyful sounds of laughter and playing could be heard now and then.

Duvy sat in his room, studying for a Gemara test. Suddenly, he heard the sound of crying from the children’s bedroom.

“What happened, Leah?” Duvy said as he rushed into the room. He found Leah and Chayale both grabbing a hand of the doll with yellow hair.

“I got the doll first and she wants to play with her!”

“Not so! I got the doll first!” insisted Chayale.

Duvy looked around him as though searching for help, but his mother wasn’t home and Chani had also disappeared. He wracked his brains. How could he calm them down?

“Let’s see who is going to give in,” he said, remembering that his mother said this to Chani and him when they were younger.

“She should give in! No, she should give in!” said each of them.

Duvy sighed. He had no time for their petty disagreements. How could he end this quickly?

He suddenly remembered something. “Come, let’s see who knows – what do we call the days between Pesach and Shavuos?”

“S’firas HaOmer!” both of them chorused while still grabbing the doll.

“What do we do during S’firas HaOmer,” Duvy asked.

“We count the days until Shavuos,” Leah said. “Don’t you remember that I told you that in the kitchen just before?”

“Right Leah,” Duvy said, unable to stop himself from smiling, “but during this time we do something else. We count the days toward the Geula.”

“What?”

The doll dropped from their hands; they were so surprised by what he had said. “What do you mean?”

“During S’firas HaOmer, we don’t only count the days,” explained Duvy. “It’s also a time to make progress, to improve, to do good deeds and behave nicely, so we can get the gift of the Torah. The Jewish people, when they left Egypt, also counted, and during this time they improved more and more and prepared to deserve the Torah. And then they received the Torah on Shavuos.

“The Rebbe explains,” continued Duvy, enjoying the attention they were giving to what he said, “that S’firas HaOmer is also a preparation for the Geula. In order for the Geula to happen, we need to add mitzvos and good deeds. We need to be better and better until Moshiach comes and builds the Beis HaMikdash for us.

“So S’firas HaOmer is also S’firas ha’Geula,” concluded Duvy. “We count the days and wait and look forward for Moshiach to come. It’s not enough just to count; we also need to continue to improve, to do more mitzvos, to give in, to help Mommy, to daven with kavana, to prepare the world for the Geula.

“If we do everything we need to do, if we do mitzvos happily while still counting the Omer, the S’firas ha’Geula will end and Moshiach will come.” He looked at the two little girls and asked, “So, who wants to hurry the Geula? Who wants to give in and do another mitzva so the S’firas ha’Geula will end as soon as possible and the Rebbe will appear and redeem us immediately?”

“Me! I do!” both girls shouted.

Duvy laughed. “Just don’t get into a new argument about giving in,” he thought.

“You know what Chayale?” suggested Leah after a moment’s thought. “If both of us want to give in, then let’s play together.”

“All right,” agreed Chayale, smiling. The two bent over together to pick up the doll from the floor.

“Great,” said Duvy, praising them. “That’s how you help us quickly finish the S’firas ha’Geula. I am sure that Moshiach is much closer, thanks to your wonderful ahavas Yisroel.”

“Great job, Duvy,” said his father.

Duvy turned around. “When did you arrive Abba? I hadn’t noticed you had come in.”

“You were busy explaining,” said his father with a grin, “and I must say, you are a great participant in the S’firas ha’Geula.”

Duvy looked at his father questioningly.

“The immense patience with which you explained things to them and mediated between them is really deserving of high praise. I admire your patience and I am sure it wasn’t easy.”

Duvy nodded shyly.

“I also think that the S’firas ha’Geula was greatly advanced thanks to you and the little ones. I am sure the Rebbe is about to be revealed.”