Instructions for counting the omer are found on our Omer Overview Page. You can find the specific blessing for today at chabad.org.

We’re dedicating a new Sefer Torah on the first day of Shavuot. In honor of this joyous occasion, we’re using the counting of the Omer to take a whirlwind trip through the Torah

Today’s portion is Tzav from the book of Leviticus. Today’s insight was generously provided by Rabbi Bass

Leviticus 7:11-38

These verses describe the sacrifice of shelamim. The word shelamim can be translated in many ways. It comes from the root shin – lamed – mem, the same root of the word shalom. Its main meaning is about completion, and wholeness. This is a sacrifice about encounter: God receives a part of the sacrifices, the people bringing it eat from it, and the Priests also partake from it.

The sacrificial cult was the ancient Israelite’s way of communicating with God. The sacrifice of Shelamim was brought by the individual without any specific reason – as described here, this sacrifice provides the space for the ancient Israelite to express many emotions regarding God and the community. It could be a sacrifice of thanksgiving, it could also be a sacrifice to be offered when one just needed to be close to God, or when one was paying a private vow. This sacrifice, by its nature, is a sacrifice to be shared among the person bringing the sacrifice, the Priests, and God, making it a communal event. That is the true nature of the Shelamim sacrifice – it creates community, it makes the community stronger and more complete because people are sharing their gifts with others. And when we share our gifts with others, it makes us more complete and whole. The message of this passage is that we can be whole, we can be complete, we can be peaceful when we share with others in community.