Forty-Nine Or Fifty?[1]

Until the morrow of the seventh week, you shall count fifty days.^[2]

This pasuk puts quite a strain on any regard we may have for arithmetic. The previous pasuk told us to count seven weeks, which conventionally add up to forty-nine, not fifty. Moreover, our practice seems to be to ignore this pasuk. We never count fifty. We stop short, at forty-nine. What is happening here?

Maybe this numerical non-alignment is exactly the point. We are told to count to the magic number of fifty, representing different levels of spiritual preparation for our kabolas ha-Torah. Just as we move to the threshold of getting there – as we head into the fiftieth day, we stand confronted by reality. The fiftieth level? Us? Really? Before we cross the finish line, we realize that we are much further away from the goal than we would like to be. We need a fresh regimen of training.

According to the Zohar,^[3] Moshe paved the way for us in this regard. “Moshe ascended to G-d.”^[4] From this we see, says the Zohar, that those who wish to purify themselves are vouchsafed Heavenly assistance. How is this evident? Because the Torah continues, “And G-d called to him.” Having been told to meet the Shechinah at the top of the mountain, Moshe stopped short of the summit. In his humility, he did not see himself as doing more than trying to further elevate himself. He didn’t see himself as having arrived there yet. He was showing his intention to grow, but didn’t think that he had done enough. Hashem’s reaction was to call out to him, to invite him to approach further. Hashem would be there, holding on to him and supporting him.

Chazal often refer to Shavuos as atzeres, even though the Torah itself uses the term only in regard to Shemini Atzeres, and the seventh day of Pesach. The word usually is assumed to mean something held back. Why did Chazal apply it to Shavuos?

When a famished Dovid sought food from Achimelech the kohen, Dovid assured his benefactor that everyone who ate it would be tahor. Women, he said, have been atzurah from us.^[5] Yonoson translates the word as “distanced.” Perhaps Chazal had this in mind, i.e. Shavuos demands that we not see ourselves as maximally prepared. To the contrary, part of our readiness for kabolas ha-Torah is seeing ourselves as not having arrived. We are still very much on the way to Sinai, but not quite there. We are still among those who wish to purify themselves, and who are therefore vouchsafed Heavenly assistance.

Toras Kohanim speaks of the parallel between the days of Sefiras HaOmer, and the counting of years towards Yovel: “Count forty-nine days and sanctify the fiftieth, just like Yovel.” There, the Torah waxes verbose: “You shall count seven sets of seven years; seven years, seven times. The days of the seven groups of seven years will be for you forty-nine years.”^[6] This is not a lesson in arithmetic. Rather, the Torah underscores that Man’s job is to count the forty-nine years. Hashem responds, by attaching kedushah to the year that follows, the Yovel year. In counting towards kabolas ha-Torah, we need to understand that our preparation will always be shy of the mark. But this is exactly as HKBH would have it. Our job is to go as far as we can on our own. Hashem will be there to take us the remaining distance.

1. Adapted from Be’er Moshe, by the Ozherover Rebbe zt”l ↑
2. Vayikra 23:16 ↑
3. Zohar2 79b ↑
4. Shemos 19:3 ↑
5. Shmuel1 21:6 ↑
6. Vayikra 25:8 ↑

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Date: May 15, 2025

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