“AND the Lord spoke to Moshe in the wilderness of Sinai, in the Tent of Meeting, on the first day of the second month, in the second year after they were come out of the land of Miżrayim, saying,” (Bamidbar 1:1)

Rashi: On the first of Nisan the tabernacle was erected, and on the first of Iyar He counted them.

Many people are aware of the subject of “Chinuch” of children, and that there is an age from which chinuch is appropriate. Logically, any actions taken before this age would not be classified as chinuch because the child is not ready yet. This is a subject which needs a “halachic” understanding, but I would like to talk about the other side of the spectrum.

There is a widespread custom for young boys to begin putting on their tefillin precisely one month before their bar mitzvah. But why not put them on before this time? Is it that a boy is not yet at the age of chinuch? From the definition Chazal give us of the age of chinuch, it seems that a boy should be obligated to put on tefillin every day, even before he’s 12 years and 11 months. Why that is not the custom, will also be left for another discussion. What I would like to focus on is the significance of this one month time period.

The gemora in Bava Basra teaches us that for a new resident to be considered a full member of a city vis-à-vis certain halachas, he must have resided there for a full month. I believe this gives us a window into understanding the concept of a month. It is a segment of time long enough to give somewhat of a level of permanence. Another example of this is that one who does not visit the kosel for a period of a month or more must tear kriah at the next visit. But one who went within a month of the last time is considered as if he is still under the influence of the previous visit and is not obligated to rend his garments.

This aspect is not only relevant to other’s perceptions of the person, but to the person’s understanding of himself. I have seen the question asked regarding the counting of Bnei Yisrael in the beginning of our Parsha. If the counting of Bnei Yisrael was done as a result of the resting of the Shechina amongst them (when the Mishkan was erected), then why did the counting not take place until 30 days later? They should have been counted on the first of Nissan instead of a month later on the first of Iyar? The explanation which I saw is based on the concept we mentioned above. It is not enough for the Shechinah to rest on us for a fleeting day or week, because such an impression will not necessarily be one of permanence. However, after having the Shechinah rest on us for a full month, it became a part of us, thereby allowing us to be counted due to our higher level. Thus, Hashem waited for a month to pass before counting us.

I would like to apply this principle in regards to counting the omer. The concept we mentioned above is effective even when the person was not paying attention. Just the mere fact of the consistency, doing something day after day, affects a person to the point that the Shechinah can rest on him in a more permanent way. Certainly, when we are counting down to receiving the Torah, we are making a cognizant statement of our awareness that we are getting ourselves ready for Kabalas Hatorah. This counting has a profound effect on us. Even those who until now have not been consciously “preparing” for Shavuos when counting the omer (and even though we are past 30 days), nevertheless the more we count the omer, the more our anticipation is heightened in our lives, and the greater the impact Shavuos will have on us.

May we merit to celebrate this Shavuos with hashraas Shechinah in the holy temple in Jerusalem.