Passover תרס”ב 13
וספרתם לכם כו’.
“And you shall count for yourselves, etc.”
The counting refers to the days of purification, as stated in the Zohar.
הספירה הם ימי טהרה כמ”ש בזוה”ק.
The counting consists of days of purity, as written in the Zohar.
These days are designated as a process of inner cleansing.
ובכל מקום טהרה קודם לקדושה כמ”ש טהרה מביאה לידי קדושה כמ”ש וטהרו וקדשו.
And everywhere purification precedes holiness, as it is said: “Purity brings one to holiness,” and as it is written: “They shall purify and sanctify.”
The Sefat Emet emphasizes the spiritual principle that purity is the necessary preparation for holiness.
וכאן ביצ”מ בא קדושה מלמעלה קודם שנטהרו נפשות בנ”י.
But here, at the Exodus from Egypt, holiness came from above before the souls of Israel had been purified.
The redemption introduced a Divine holiness that descended even though the people were not yet spiritually refined.
וזה השינוי בפסח שלא בהדרגה.
And this is the difference with Passover: it did not come through gradual progression.
The leap of Passover was sudden, unlike the usual step‑by‑step ascent.
כדאיתא שהיו נטבעין במ”ט שערי טומאה ונפתח להם חירות משער הנ’ עלמא דחירא.
As it is taught, they were sinking in the forty‑nine gates of impurity, and freedom was opened to them from the fiftieth gate— the world of freedom.
Although Israel was entrenched in impurity, a transcendent gate of liberation burst open for them.
דשם אין מגע טומאה וקבלו קדושה לפי שעה.
For there, impurity has no contact, and they received holiness temporarily.
The fiftieth gate is beyond impurity; Israel could receive its holiness even if only briefly.
ולכן צרינין אח”כ לטהר המ”ט שערים בימי הספירה.
Therefore afterward they needed to purify the forty‑nine gates during the days of the counting.
The work of Sefirat HaOmer is the rectification that Passover’s sudden holiness made necessary.
וז”ש ממחרת השבת.
And this is what is meant by “On the morrow of the Sabbath.”
This phrase alludes to the transition from the sudden holiness of Passover to the labor of purification.
שעכ”פ בכח הקדושה שבא בפסח ניקח מזה הטהרה.
Meaning that, at the very least, through the power of the holiness that came on Passover, we may draw from it purification.
The initial illumination of Passover enables the later work of purification.
מה שלעולם צריכין להקדים הטהרה.
For ordinarily, purification must precede holiness.
Thus the usual order is reversed only on Passover, and afterward the proper sequence is restored.
Summary: The Sefat Emet teaches that Passover brought a sudden descent of holiness before purification, requiring the forty‑nine days of the Omer to refine what had not yet been purified.
