The commandment of Counting the Omer, which is written about in the weekly Torah portion, generated a discussion between our Sages of blessed memory and the Baitoseans (a sect that denied the Oral Torah). The commandment as it appears in the Torah states: "And you shall count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath." Regarding this, the Baitoseans argued that "the day after the Sabbath" meant the day after Shabbat—the seventh day of Creation—(i.e., Sunday). The Gemara contains the entire discussion and the evidence presented by the Sages to clarify that the intention of the text is the day after Passover (the first day).
But here arises the simple question: Why did the Torah use the term "the day after Shabbat," which is prone to misinterpretation, and not explicitly and literally write, "the day after Passover"? We must say that there is a hidden concept here regarding the essence of the commandment of counting the Omer.
A STAGED EXIT
The counting of the Omer is the second stage in the overall process of leaving Egypt, which begins with Passover and culminates with Shavuot.
The Exodus from Egypt consists of passing through the "forty-nine gates of impurity" and a period of "naked and desolate" study, stripped of mitzvot, directly into the extraordinary union with the Divine that occurred with the giving of the Torah. This is why it unfolded in stages: first, the emergence from the impurity of Egypt (in the month of Nisan); then, the deep, internal refinement through the counting of the Omer (in the month of Iyar); and finally, the reception of the Torah (in the month of Sivan). These three stages are described in the text of the Song of Songs: "Draw me after You, let us run; the king brought me into his chambers." "Draw me" refers to the Exodus from Egypt, when the Most High drew the people of Israel to Himself; "Let us run after You" refers to the period of the counting of the Omer, when the people of Israel refine themselves and draw closer to Hashem; The king brought me to his chambers - it is the Giving of the Torah, the intimate union between the Most High and the People of Israel.
ANIMAL FEED
The Omer offering consists of barley, which is considered animal food, unlike most offerings, which were wheat. This relates to the inner meaning of the Omer counting—the distillation and refinement of the qualities of the "animal soul.".
During the days of counting the Omer, man must elevate his bodily and animal strength and "saddle" them as well in the service of Hashem. That is why it says "Draw me, we will run after You" in the plural, since through the work of counting the Omer, the running towards God is by both souls - Divine and animal together.
HELP FROM ABOVE
The execution of this transformation requires special help from above. If the actual exodus from Egypt required a special Divine Revelation – "the King of Kings, the Holy One, blessed be He in His glory and essence, was revealed to them"6 how much more so does the transformation of the animal soul require a force from the highest.
This force is alluded to in the text: "And you shall count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath.".
""And you shall tell" is said in Hebrew usfartem, whose root is the term Sapphire (in Hebrew "safir"7), which shines and illuminates8. God tells us: I will illuminate you with a special light, from the day after Shabbat, a spiritual light superior to the holiness of Shabbat.
Shabbat represents a higher level of holiness, but it is a holiness that is part of the world's structure. However, to purify the animalistic soul, Hashem grants a higher level of holiness to the world, thereby providing us with the strength to purify our natural inclinations and direct them toward serving God.
This is why the Torah writes: "From the day after Shabbat" and not "after Pesach," to indicate the level of supreme holiness that gives us the strength for the spiritual work of the days of counting the Omer, as preparation for the giving of the Torah on Shavuot.
(Likudei Sichot Volume I, Page 265)
NOTES: 1.Vayikra 23:15 2.Menachot 65,a 3.See Zohar Hadash, Parshat Ytro 4.Shir HaShirim 1:4 5.Mishnah Sotah cap. 2, Menachot 65,b 6.From the Pesach Haggadah 7.Yechezkel 1:26 8.See Likutei Torah Vayikra 35,b