Parshas Emor
1. On the verse "וספרתם לכם ממחרת השבת גו׳ שבע שבתות תמימות תהיינה" ("You shall count for yourselves from the morrow of the Shabbos… seven complete weeks shall there be"),1 the Midrash states:2 "תני ר׳ חייא כתיב שבע שבתות תמימות תהיינה אימתי [הן תמימות] בזמן שאין ישוע ושכני׳ ביניהם" ("Rabbi Chiya taught: It is written, 'Seven complete weeks shall there be.' When [are they complete?3] At a time when Yeshua and Shechanyah are not among them"). The Matnos Kehunah explains (in the name of the Rokeach): "When Rosh Chodesh Nissan falls on Shabbos, Pesach will fall on Shabbos and they will begin the count on Motzaei Shabbos; then the weeks are complete, like the six days of Creation." As for the words "at a time when Yeshua and Shechanyah are not among them" — "he used it as a sign." For when Pesach falls on Shabbos, the priestly watches of "Yeshua and Shechanyah"4 did not serve in the Beis HaMikdash between Pesach and Atzeres (as explained at length in the Matnos Kehunah there).
This needs to be understood: According to all opinions, the meaning of the verse's words "ממחרת השבת" ("from the morrow of the Shabbos") is [not "the morrow of the Shabbos of Creation," but rather] "the morrow of the Yom Tov,"5 meaning that even when Pesach falls on one of the other days of the week, the count begins on the day after Pesach, and not on the day after the Shabbos that follows Pesach (as the Boethusians held6). From this it is understood* that "seven complete weeks," which comes right after these words, means seven weeks that are complete in their count7 and in full twenty-four-hour days,8 as our Sages say: "אימתי אתה מוצא שבע שבתות תמימות בזמן שאתה מתחיל לימנות מערב" ("When do you find seven complete weeks? When you begin to count from the evening"), and the like. How, then, can one explain that the weeks are "complete" only when Pesach falls on Shabbos, because then they are "complete" in the order of their count, "like the six days of Creation"?9
Even more puzzling: If the intent of the Midrash is to explain (as it appears) in the plain sense, that one does not find the quality of "completeness" except when one begins counting on Motzaei Shabbos, it should have said so in brief, clear language that everyone understands — "at a time when Pesach falls on Shabbos" (or the like). Why the need for a sign at all, and why convey this through such a sign ("at a time when Yeshua and Shechanyah are not among them"), which is understood only after knowing the order of the priestly watches — watches instituted by Shmuel and David10 many generations after the mitzvah of Sefiras HaOmer had begun to be fulfilled?
2. We must therefore say that in the Midrash's explanation of "when are they complete" (when they are "like the six days of Creation"), the intent is not to Sefiras HaOmer in its plain sense [for the command "seven complete weeks shall there be" applies and is fulfilled whenever one begins to count, as above], but rather to the inner dimension — to hint at the roots of the mitzvah11 — of the mitzvah of Sefiras HaOmer. When Pesach falls on Shabbos and the count of the days of Sefirah follows the order of "the six days of Creation," then the "seven weeks" of Sefiras HaOmer are "complete" also in their inner content — an additional quality beyond the "completeness" that they possess in the other years.12
This is the reason the Midrash does not say explicitly, "When are they complete? At a time when Pesach falls on Shabbos" — for then there would be room to say that the entire matter of "completeness" exists only when Pesach falls on Shabbos. It therefore conveys this point (when Pesach falls on Shabbos) only through a sign13 — to hint [by not stating explicitly "when Pesach falls on Shabbos"] that what makes the matter of "completeness" depend on the calendar setting of Pesach does not apply to all its details. For "completeness" in its plain sense14 is fulfilled in all years; only when (the hint of) Yeshua and Shechanyah are not among them (that is, when [Pesach] falls on Shabbos), an additional dimension is added to the "completeness," as explained above.
3. Now, in Midrash Rabbah (on our parsha15) we find another statement on the matter of "completeness": "Rabbi Chiya taught: 'Seven complete weeks shall there be' — when are they complete? At a time when Israel does the will of the Omnipresent (עושין רצונו של מקום)." The Tzemach Tzedek explains16 that these two statements in the Midrash are related to each other in their content.17 That is: the quality of "completeness" that comes of itself in a year when Pesach falls on Shabbos (when the days of the count match the order of the days of the week) can be reached and attained also in the years when Pesach falls in the middle of the week — through the service of "doing the will of the Omnipresent."
Since the quality of "completeness" is brought about through "doing the will of the Omnipresent," it is understood that the nature of "completeness" will become clear by first explaining the concept of "doing the will of the Omnipresent."
4. The Gemara states18 that the verse "ואספת דגנך גו׳" ("You will gather in your grain…") (stated in the second paragraph of the Shema) refers to "a time when Israel does not do the will of the Omnipresent." This is seemingly puzzling: "You will gather in your grain" is the blessing that comes as a result of what is stated just before it: "והי׳ אם שמוע תשמעו אל מצותי גו׳ ולעבדו בכל לבבכם ובכל נפשכם" ("It will be, if you diligently listen to My commandments… and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul") — so how can one say that the verse refers to a time when Israel does not do the will of the Omnipresent? Likkutei Torah19 explains, resolving the matter: "In this (second) paragraph 'with all your might' is not mentioned, as it says in the paragraph of Shema; therefore it is still called 'not doing the will of the Omnipresent,' etc."
The explanation of why "doing the will of the Omnipresent" comes specifically through the love of "בכל מאדך" ("with all your might")20: The reason the Holy One, blessed be He, is called "Makom" ("Place") is well known — because "He is the place of the world."21 That is, "Makom" is a level that relates to place — the light that fills all worlds (Memale Kol Almin),22 which enclothes itself in worlds that are limited by the bounds of place. "The will of the Omnipresent (Makom)," however, refers to the Infinite Light that encompasses all worlds (Sovev Kol Almin), which is above the bounds of the place of the worlds.
This is why the (drawing down, the) "doing"23 of "the will of the Omnipresent" comes specifically through the love of "with all your might": every service and act that draws down light from Above must resemble the light that is drawn down through it;24 therefore, drawing down "the will of the Omnipresent" — the infinite Above — comes specifically through the love of "with all your might" — the infinite within man.25
And although the light of Sovev Kol Almin, which is His will, constantly acts within the worlds to bring them into being from nothing and to give them life,26 what shines and is felt in the world is the level of Memale; the level of the will does not shine openly in the world, but only in a surrounding and hidden manner. Through the love of "with all your might," one draws down the level of the will so that it is revealed in the world.26* This is the precise meaning of "doing the will of the Omnipresent"27 — that His will (the infinite Ein Sof light that is above the bounds of place) should shine openly even in the level of "place" (moreover: "מקום ארון אינו מן המדה" ("the place of the Ark was not included in the measurement")28 — place and beyond place together — the impossible of impossibilities29).
5. Now, the particular connection of "doing the will of the Omnipresent" to the mitzvah of Sefiras HaOmer — to the point that specifically through it the quality of "completeness" in the mitzvah of Sefiras HaOmer is brought about — is as follows:
The Omer was of barley,30 animal food.31 The theme of "Sefiras HaOmer" ("sefirah" also from the term "even sapir," sapphire stone — clarity and brilliance32) is the refinement and purification of (the emotional attributes33 of) the animal soul.34 The power for this refinement comes from a level that is above the chain of worlds (Hishtalshelus). As explained in Chassidus on the verse "You shall count for yourselves from the morrow of the Shabbos": the power for the service of refining the animal soul — "you shall count for yourselves" — is "from the morrow of the Shabbos," from the level of the Infinite Light that is above Atzilus, which is loftier even than the level of Shabbos.35
Therefore, the completeness of the service of Sefiras HaOmer is when "Israel does the will of the Omnipresent" — that is, drawing down the level of the will that is above Hishtalshelus into the limitation of "place," down to the emotional attributes of the animal soul.
6. In light of the above, we can also understand the Midrash's statement that the "completeness" of Sefiras HaOmer is when the days of the count follow the order of the days of Creation.
Time is divided, in general, into three kinds of cycles of days: the days of the week, the days of the month, and the days of the year. There is, however, a difference between the cycle of the days of the week and the cycle of the days of the month and the year:
a) The days of the month and the days of the year differ from one another in a visible, revealed way, even physically. In the days of the month: at the beginning of the month the moon is only a point, and afterwards it grows from day to day until, in the middle of the month, "the moon stands in its fullness,"36 and from then on it wanes until at the end of the month it is completely hidden. In the days of the year: besides their being divided into the seasons of "זרע וקציר וקור וחום וקיץ וחורף" ("seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter"),37 moreover, even within each season itself no day resembles the other days (for the season changes from its beginning to its end, as is understood). In the days of the week, by contrast, there is no visible difference, physically,38 between one day and another.
b) In general, there is a difference between the week and the month and year: an ordinal count was established for months and years — the first, the second — but not for weeks.
The explanation: Each year differs from the other years in the life-force drawn into it, and adds to them, for on each Rosh Hashanah a new life-force is drawn down, different from the life-force drawn down in the years before it.39 The same applies to the months of that year: on each Rosh Chodesh a new life-force is drawn down.40 With regard to the week, however, there is no difference between the life-force of one week and that of another.41 Every single week "we always count the first day, the second day, the third, and so on" — even though "from the creation of the world until now there are already thousands and tens of thousands of days" — because they are the same "cyclical days that repeat over and over."42
This difference between the days of the month and the year and the days of the week is expressed also in the number of days: in the days of the month — there is a full month and a deficient month. Likewise in the year — there is a deficient year, a regular year and a full year; an ordinary year and a leap year. In the days of the week, however, every single week has the same number of days.
7. This is also the reason why, in a year when Pesach falls on Shabbos and the days of the count follow the same order as "the days of Creation," the matter of "completeness" is then drawn down automatically, whereas in other years it is drawn down only through the service of "doing the will of the Omnipresent":
The service of "doing the will of the Omnipresent" means drawing down the level of the will (the infinite light) into the limitation of "place" (as above, Section 4) — and when the days of the count follow the order of "the days of Creation" (the days of the week), they possess this quality in and of themselves. For in "the days of the week," too, there is the union of the limited and the infinite: the nature of "time" (including the time of the days of the week) is division and change (past, present and future), and together with this, the days of the week contain something that is above change.43
Therefore, when the days of the count begin on the first day of the week, so that the count of the days of the Sefirah follows the same order as "the days of Creation," the same "completeness" [the union of the limited and the infinite] that exists in "the days of Creation" is carried over to the days of the count as well,44 so that in the "seven weeks" of Sefiras HaOmer too there is the matter of "completeness" (which in other years is drawn down through the service of "doing the will of the Omnipresent").45
8. In light of all the above, we can also understand why the calendar setting of such a year, in which Pesach falls on Shabbos, is signified (as in the Midrash) by the matter "that Yeshua and Shechanyah are not among them": the sign signifies and hints at46 the drawing down of His will into the worlds — "doing the will of the Omnipresent":47
"Yeshua" is from the term "יושיעך" ("He will save you"); "Shechanyah" — from "ושכנתי" ("and I will dwell").
In the language of Chassidus (regarding the revelation of G‑dliness): "'Yeshuah' is from the term 'וישע ה׳ אל הבל ואל מנחתו' ('And the L‑rd turned to Hevel and to his offering'), and it is the descent of the light and flow of the 370 (ש״ע) lights mentioned in the holy Zohar." This is what is drawn down "from the level of the light of Ein Sof, the Supernal Emanator, blessed be He," which is above the level of "the radiance and flow at the beginning of Atzilus and Hishtalshelus."48 That is, "Yeshua" (from the term "Yeshuah," salvation) indicates the level of light that is above Hishtalshelus.
"Shechanyah," whose root is "shachen," is like "Shechinah," which indicates the level of G‑dliness "that dwells and enclothes itself within all worlds"49 — the level of Memale Kol Almin.
It follows that the combination "Yeshua and Shechanyah" — the union of the light that is above Hishtalshelus ("Yeshua") and the light that fills the worlds ("Shechanyah") — resembles the drawing down of His will into the level of "place."
Accordingly, one may say that the reason the Midrash signifies the calendar setting of such a year, in which Pesach falls on Shabbos, by the matter "that Yeshua and Shechanyah are not among them" is this: the intent of the Midrash in "when are they complete" is that in such a calendar setting the "seven weeks" are complete in and of themselves, even when the service of "doing the will of the Omnipresent," which is hinted at in "Yeshua and Shechanyah," is absent. It therefore says, "When are they complete? At a time when Yeshua and Shechanyah are not among them" — in such a setting, when the watches of Yeshua and Shechanyah are not present, then even when the service hinted at in "Yeshua and Shechanyah" is absent, the "seven weeks" of Sefiras HaOmer are complete in and of themselves.
(From the sichos of Acharon shel Pesach and Shabbos Parshas [OCR unclear] Iyar, 5731)
Notes
1) Our parsha, 23:15.
2) Koheles Rabbah 1:3.
3) Matnos Kehunah there.
4) Toras Kohanim (and Rashi) on the verse. Menachos 65b.
5) Menachos there, end of side a. Rashi's commentary — Chagigah 17a; Rosh Hashanah 22b.
6) In Tractate Menachos 65b, Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai proved against the view of the Boethusians: "One verse says, 'You shall count fifty days,' and another verse says, 'Seven complete weeks shall there be.' How so? Here — when Yom Tov falls on Shabbos; there — when Yom Tov falls in the middle of the week." That is (see the commentary of Rabbeinu Gershom and Rashi there), the meaning of "seven complete weeks" is "those that begin on Sunday and end on Shabbos" (like the interpretation of the dissenters), and the fact that in years when Yom Tov falls in the middle of the week we begin counting from the morrow of the Shabbos [i.e., of the Yom Tov] (even though the weeks are then not "complete") is because from the verse "You shall count fifty days" we learn "that we do not require seven complete weeks from Sunday until Shabbos, but merely fifty days, on whatever day they are completed." However, it can be said that there he put them off with a straw [i.e., with a weak argument], and he himself did not hold this view. This is like what is stated explicitly regarding Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai's approach toward a Sadducee, that "he did not wish to reveal to him the reason for the matter, for it is forbidden to reveal the reasons of the Torah to them"* — from which it is understood that where possible,** one may not do otherwise than put them off with a straw. Accordingly (that this was only putting them off with a straw, while the true reason is like the other reasons cited there), the following will be resolved: a) the plain directness of Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai's challenge "From where do you know this?" (that "the morrow of the Shabbos" is meant literally); b) even according to Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai one can say that "Shabbos" is meant literally, and the flow of the verse is: "You shall count for yourselves (when Yom Tov falls on Shabbos) from the morrow of the Shabbos… (when it falls in the middle of the week) you shall count fifty days"; c) the fact that the Toras Kohanim does not cite the words of Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai at all (even though they are cited also in Megillas Taanis). See Likkutei Sichos vol. 19, p. 4, and note 26 there.
*) Rashbam, Bava Basra 167a, beginning.
**) As opposed to when it is not possible, in which case one must answer him (Shabbos 30b); therefore, in Bava Basra (there), it was only initially that he did not reveal [the reason], etc.
*) Cited in Ohr HaTorah on our parsha, p. 168, regarding the interpretation of the Midrash on "completeness."
7) Especially since in most years the Yom Tov (of Pesach) does not fall on Shabbos.
8) As opposed to where one made it deficient by not counting on one occasion (see Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 489:8, and Magen Avraham there (see Machatzis HaShekel there); Shulchan Aruch of the Alter Rebbe there, par. 23).
9) See also Likkutei Sichos vol. 22, p. 143 (bottom) ff.
10) The twenty-four priestly watches (Taanis 27a; Rambam, Hilchos Klei HaMikdash 4:3).
11) In the language of Sefer HaChinuch at the end of its introduction.
12) For "completeness" includes two concepts: a) "Completeness" in its plain sense, i.e., wholeness without any deficiency ("tamim" — as opposed to one who has a blemish). b) Completeness that adds an extra quality to the thing (even though it is not deficient, even when it lacks this quality). This is similar to what our Sages teach (Arachin 31a), that the words "שנה תמימה" ("a complete year") come "to include the leap month" — that even without the added month it is called a year (see Ran, Nedarim 63a; Responsa Noda BiYehudah, first edition, Even HaEzer 12), but through the leap month the quality of "completeness" is added to it. See Ohr HaTorah of the Tzemach Tzedek on Tehillim (Yahel Ohr) 19:8 (p. 65, 8). Accordingly, one may say that in our case too — in "seven complete weeks" — there are these two concepts: (a) the wholeness of the "seven weeks" themselves, that nothing at all be lacking in them (that one not forget to count, and that one begin counting from the evening); (b) that in the calendar setting of a particular year there is a "completeness" in the "seven weeks" that adds to them an extra quality beyond their own inherent wholeness. (See Hemshech 5666, p. 218 (see also Ohr HaTorah on Tehillim there, end of sec. 1), that "seven complete weeks" are akin to "a complete year" in Arachin there. See also below, note 35.)
13) As for why he chose specifically the sign "that Yeshua and Shechanyah are not among them" — see below, Section 8.
14) See below, Section 3, that the inner dimension of "completeness" too can exist in all years, except that when Pesach falls on Shabbos this dimension exists of itself.
15) Vayikra Rabbah 28:3.
16) Ohr HaTorah on our parsha, pp. 164–168.
17) Note what is explained in Likkutei Sichos vol. 3, p. 782, that all the interpretations of a single verse are related to one another. This applies especially in our case — since both expositions are "Rabbi Chiya taught." Note also the Yalkut (cited in the Matnos Kehunah on Vayikra Rabbah there), where the matter of "the will of the Omnipresent" and the matter of "Yeshua and Shechanyah" come in one continuous passage.
18) Berachos 35b.
19) Shelach 42c. So too in Chiddushei Aggados of the Maharsha on Berachos there; Ohr Torah (of the Maggid, Parshas Eikev, the discourse beginning "Mipnei Mah"). See also the sources cited in the following notes.
20) See on all this the discourse beginning "V'Hishalachti B'Sochechem"* in Maamarei Admur HaZaken — Hanachos HaRap (p. 157); Ohr HaTorah, Vayikra (vol. 2, p. 644 ff., p. 657 ff., p. 683); and Sefer HaMaamarim 5629 (p. 179 ff.). See also Likkutei Torah, Shelach 43a; Imrei Binah cited in note 23.
*) In Ohr HaTorah (p. 167) cited in note 16: "One should note… the matter of the interpretation of 'doing the will of the Omnipresent' and the discourse beginning 'V'Hishalachti B'Sochechem.'"
21) Bereishis Rabbah 68:9, and sources cited there.
22) See on this: Likkutei Torah, Vayikra, the discourse beginning "L'Havin Mah She'Kasuv B'Otzros Chaim" (51b). (See also Ohr HaTorah there, p. 659; Hemshech 5666 cited in note 27.) At length — in Sefer HaChakirah (of the Tzemach Tzedek), entry "Makom" (75a).
23) At times it is explained (see Imrei Binah, Shaar Kri'as Shema, ch. 86; Chinuch (in Shaar HaTeshuvah, part 2), ch. 49; see also Likkutei Torah, Berachah 99c) that the precise wording "doing His will, etc." means that Israel brings about a new will. For the love of "with all your might," whose theme is the nullification of one's will (Likkutei Torah there), reaches the level of the Master of the will, and therefore through it the will comes into being.
24) See Sotah (8b): "With the measure with which a person measures, he is measured." See also the sources cited in the next note, that the drawing down of the level of infinite light too comes specifically through service that is akin to that light and resembles it.
25) As is known (Torah Ohr 39d; Derech Mitzvosecha 123b, 140b, 109b), the level of "meodecha" ("your might"), although it is only "your own 'very,'" draws down the level of "very" Above — the true infinite.
26) Tanya, end of ch. 48.
26*) See also Hemshech 5666, p. 32.
27) See also the aforementioned Hemshech, p. 36.
28) Yoma 21a, and sources cited there.
29) See Responsa of the Rashba, vol. 1, sec. 9; Sefer HaChakirah (34b ff.).
30) Menachos 68b; 64a. Sotah 14a (in the Mishnah).
31) Pesachim 3b, end; Sotah there.
32) Likkutei Torah, Emor 35b; the aforementioned Hemshech, pp. 218–219; and elsewhere.
33) Which are the essence of the animal soul (see at length the discourse beginning "V'Asisa Tzitz" 5670 and the discourses that follow it; see also Tanya, beginning of ch. 6 (and the glosses of the Rebbe Rashab there (in Kitzurim V'Haaros L'Tanya, p. 114); Kitzurim there, p. 83; Likkutei Levi Yitzchak on Tanya there), and beginning of ch. 9).
34) In Sotah there (regarding the meal-offering of a sotah): "Just as her deeds were the deeds of an animal, so her offering is animal food" — and from this one understands also regarding the Omer offering, that it relates to the matter of the animal (in man — the animal soul). Note Zohar III, 96a, end, ff.; Biurei HaZohar of the Mitteler Rebbe (79a) and of the Tzemach Tzedek (p. 387 ff.) on the Zohar there.
35) The aforementioned Hemshech, there [OCR reads "המזון"; likely "המשך"]. See also Likkutei Torah there, 35d, and elsewhere. See also Hemshech 5666 there, that the concept of "complete weeks" (see above, end of note 12) is the same concept as the level of "the morrow of the Shabbos"; see there. See also below, note 45.
36) See Zohar I, 225b, end.
37) Noach 8:22. Bava Metzia 106b.
38) Spiritually, however, the day of Shabbos differs from the six weekdays, and also among the six days themselves each day differs from the others; for the difference among the six days of Creation — that "each and every day performs its own work" (Zohar III, 97b) — has its counterpart in every week, as is evident (also in the revealed part of Torah) from Tractate Rosh Hashanah 31a, beginning; Taanis 26a; ibid. 27b (and Rashi there); and from the laws of setting sail on a ship before Shabbos, preparing for Shabbos, Havdalah, etc.
39) Iggeres HaKodesh, sec. 14. Likkutei Torah, Rosh Hashanah 53d. Ateres Rosh 3a. And elsewhere.
40) Likkutei Torah there. Ateres Rosh there, side b. Ohr HaTorah, Bereishis 10a ff. And elsewhere.
41) Seemingly, this can be connected with what is explained in Ohr HaTorah, Berachah, p. 1891, that the life-force drawn down on Rosh Chodesh and Rosh Hashanah "pertains to the level of life, for without this life-force [the world] would be as though it had never been at all," whereas what is drawn down on Shabbos "is an addition of light… the level of life." Since on Shabbos (which separates one week from the next) no life-force is drawn down without which "[the world] would be as though it had never been at all," it follows that with regard to the life-force that is essential for the world's very existence there is no interruption — all the weeks are one continuum, all alike. This requires further study.
42) The discourse beginning "Vayehi BaYom HaShemini" 5704 (Sefer HaMaamarim [5704], pp. 14–16 [OCR unclear]). See also Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim 25a.
43) Note Ohr HaTorah, Berachah, p. 1899, that the daily sphere is rooted in the level of Sovev Kol Almin, the Supernal Will, and therefore "all the days are equal." And there, that the ascent of Shabbos, "which is above time," is because "it comes after the level of the six revolutions of the daily sphere… the level of the Supernal Will." Accordingly, the connection between the absence of change in the days of the week and "doing the will of the Omnipresent" becomes even clearer — since the reason that in every week the same cyclical days return is that Shabbos is the ascent to what is above time (see the sources cited in the previous note, and Ohr HaTorah there).
44) Even though they belong to the days of the month and the year. This is similar to Yom Tov of Rosh Hashanah that falls on Shabbos, when the shofar is not blown, etc. (Rosh Hashanah 29b); the inner reason for this is that Shabbos acts also upon the matter of Rosh Hashanah (see Likkutei Torah, Rosh Hashanah 57b, beginning; and elsewhere). Similarly, conversely, the days of the month and the year affect the matters of the days of the week, even to the point of a halachic ruling (see Zevachim 91a).
45) See also Ohr HaTorah cited in note 16, which connects the Midrash's interpretation of "completeness" (complete like the six days of Creation) with the interpretation of "the morrow of the Shabbos" — "from the level that is above Shabbos" — and the level of "the morrow of the Shabbos" is akin to the level of "the will of the Omnipresent," as above, Section 5.
46) Similar to our Sages' interpretation of names — in many places.
47) See above, Section 2. However: a) he could have used several simpler signs; b) since all matters of Torah are absolutely precise, we must say that the phrase "that Yeshua and Shechanyah are not among them" relates to the matter of "completeness," as explained in the text.
48) Iggeres HaKodesh, sec. 3.
49) Tanya, ch. 41 (56b); see also ch. 52. The discourse beginning "Sameach Tesamach" 5657, p. 25. And elsewhere.
Key Lesson
In a year when Pesach falls on Shabbos, the seven weeks of the Omer are "complete" of themselves, because they follow the order of the days of Creation, in which the limited and the infinite are joined. In every other year, a Jew can bring about that same completeness through his own service of "doing the will of the Omnipresent" — serving G‑d "with all your might," beyond his own limits, and so drawing the infinite into even the animal soul.