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 Vayelech from the book of Deuteronomy. Today’s insight was generously provided by Jeanne B.

Verses of note: Deuteronomy 31: 7, 12,13,19

What caught your attention in this parashah?

In Vayelech, Moses tells the people of Israel that he is old and so he passes the mantle of leadership on to Joshua. He instructs the people to read the teaching to all the people in the community: men, women, children and strangers. Moses follows God’s instruction and writes down a poem to be taught to the Israelites and their children, and he recited it to them. So, it is understood that this parashah also contains the 613th commandment of the Torah: to “write down this poem and teach it to the people of Israel, [and] put it in their mouths…”

What’s one explanation for these verses?

One interesting thing is that the portion twice talks about the importance of having children present when the teaching is read aloud. The reason that is given is that “Their children, too, who have not had the experience, shall hear and learn to revere the lord your God as long as they live in the land …”

So not only are the people to teach their children the Torah, but they are also to write it themselves. It seems that this double approach of hearing the Torah read aloud such as when you are a child, and later writing your own copy of the Torah ensures that the teachings are taken forward in each generation, not only superficially (by listening) but also in depth through learning by writing and studying.