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 Kedoshim from the book of Leviticus. Today’s insight was generously provided by Rabbi B.

Verses of note: Leviticus 19:14

What caught your attention in this parashah?

“You shall not insult the deaf, or place a stumbling block in front of the blind. You shall stand in awe of You God — I am the Eternal.” So much is packed in this verse!

What’s one explanation for these verses?

Insulting the deaf is taking advantage of their disability. The deaf cannot hear you, and there would be no profit other than making fun of her/him, which is cruel. The blind cannot see where they are going, and putting a stumbling block in front of a blind person can only result in a fall, which would have no other purpose than making the blind a laughingstock. It is cruel. This verse was interpreted, in later Jewish tradition, as a prohibition against misleading people or preying on people’s weaknesses or incorrect/naive understandings of situations. In other words, don’t be cruel. We should not be cruel because we are supposed to stand in awe of the Eternal at all times, and since all of us were created in the image of God, our disabilities, ignorance or naivete reflects an aspect of God’s being. We must relate to each other giving everyone the respect that they deserve, without cruelty.