LEV921 Count the omer. The distinguishing feature of the Jewish nation is that Hashem gave His Torah only to us. The heavens and the earth were created only for the sake of the Torah, and Hashem redeemed us from Egypt mainly so that we would accept His Torah at Mount Sinai and fulfill all of its commandments. The Torah is our greatest blessing and most precious possession. True, Hashem took us out of Egypt and freed us from slavery, but most important of all He gave us His Torah. Since the Torah is our nation's essence and livelihood, and because of it we were redeemed and elevated to lofty heights, we are commanded to count the days between Pesach and the day that the Torah was given. Thereby, we reveal our great desire to reach that important and honored day. We are similar to a slave who counts the days until he will be freed. By counting the days until the Giving of the Torah, we show how dearly we value the Torah and anticipate receiving it. The reason that we started counting on the second day of Pesach and not the first is because the first day of Pesach is exclusively for remembering the miracles of the Exodus. Those miracles demonstrated that the world has a Maker Who manages its affairs constantly, supervising all that transpires. This important idea should not be mixed with the additional important idea that the Creator of the World gave us His Torah. As our Sages say, “We do not mix one joy with another joy.” as to why the mitzvah is called, “The Counting of the Omer,” the omer is an esteemed offering brought on the first day of the counting. Inherent in the offering is the message that as Hashem cares for mankind and seeks our blessing, He gives us new crops of grain every year for our sustenance.