These sources explore the Chassidic teaching that each week of counting the Omer corresponds to a refinement of a different middah (character trait) of the nefesh habehamit, the animal soul. The sources ground this practice in foundational teachings about the nature of the animal soul and its capacity for spiritual elevation.
לְכָל אִישׁ יִשְׂרָאֵל, אֶחָד צַדִּיק וְאֶחָד רָשָׁע
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What the sources say
The foundation of the Rebbe's teaching rests on the Tanya's doctrine that every Jew carries two souls: one divine, and one that originates in the kelipah and sitra achara, clothed in the blood of the body, from which stem all the evil character traits rooted in the four evil elements — anger and pride from fire, and so on — as the Tanya (Likkutei Amarim 1:15) establishes at length.
Against that backdrop, Likkutei Sichos 22, Emor 1 presents sefirat haomer — the commandment to count "from the day after the Shabbat… until the day after the seventh Shabbat, fifty days" (Vayikra 23) — as, in the view of many commentators and poskim, a preparation for Shavuot, the time of the giving of the Torah.
Likkutei Sichos 1, Emor 8 deepens this by reading the verse "Draw me, we will run after You, bring me into Your chambers" (Shir HaShirim) as mapping the three spiritual stages: the exodus from Egypt corresponds to "Draw me," the period of sefirat haomer to "we will run after You," and the giving of the Torah to "bring me into Your chambers" — framing the counting as an active spiritual sprint between redemption and revelation.
Likkutei Sichos 3, Emor 2
This sichah develops the distinction between counting the days and counting the weeks of the Omer, relating the structure of the count to distinct stages in avodah and the integration of separate qualities into a more complete spiritual personality.
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Likkutei Sichos 22, Emor 1
Sefirat HaOmer functions both as preparation for Shavuot (the giving of Torah) and as an independent mitzvah, with the daily counting compared to the seven clean days a bride counts before marriage—a process of progressive self-purification and character refinement in anticipation of receiving the Torah.
מצות ספירת העומר, שעליה נצטוינו בפרשתנו, ״וספרתם לכם ממחרת השבת מיום הביאכם... עד ממחרת השבת השביעית תספרו חמישים יום״ מהווה, לדברי חלק מהמפרשים והפוסקים, הכנה לחג השבועות, זמן מתן תורתנו.
In this sichaSefirat HaOmer serves a dual role: it is a preparation for Shavuot (Matan Torah) and an independent mitzvah in its own right. This preparatory counting is compared to the 'seven clean days' a bride counts before her wedding, representing a process of progressive self-purification and character refinement in anticipation of receiving the Torah.
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Likkutei Sichos 1, Emor 8
The three stages of spiritual development—the Exodus (divine initiative from above), Sefirat HaOmer (human effort from below), and the Giving of the Torah (ultimate revelation)—are alluded to in Song of Songs 1:4 as "Draw me" (Exodus), "we will run after you" (Sefirat HaOmer), and "the King has brought me into his chambers" (Sinai).
שלשת הענינים האמורים רמוזים גם בפסוק: "משכני, אחריך נרוצה, הביאני המלך חדריו". "משכני" – מוסב לזמן יציאת מצרים, "אחריך נרוצה" – לזמן ספירת העומר, ו"הביאני המלך חדריו" – למתן תורה.
In this sichaThe three stages of spiritual development—the Exodus, Sefirat HaOmer, and the Giving of the Torah—are symbolically alluded to in the verse 'Draw me, we will run after you, the King has brought me into his chambers' (Song of Songs 1:4). 'Draw me' corresponds to the Exodus, which was a divinely initiated arousal from above; 'we will run' represents Sefirat HaOmer, representing human effort from below; and entering 'the King's chambers' represents the ultimate revelation of the Torah.
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תניא, חלק ראשון; ליקוטי אמרים א׳ — ד"ה אַךְ בֵּיאוּר הָעִנְיָן
Tanya, Part I; Likkutei Amarim 1:15
Tanya chapter 1 defines the nefesh habehamit and describes its elemental drives and rootedness in the kelipah. This is foundational for understanding what it means to refine or redirect the animal soul's middot.
אַךְ בֵּיאוּר הָעִנְיָן, עַל פִּי מַה שֶּׁכָּתַב הָרַב חַיִּים וִיטַאל זִכְרוֹנוֹ לִבְרָכָה בְּשַׁעַר הַקְּדוּשָּׁה [וּבְעֵץ חַיִּים שַׁעַר נ׳ פֶּרֶק ב׳], דִּלְכָל אִישׁ יִשְׂרָאֵל, אֶחָד צַדִּיק וְאֶחָד רָשָׁע, יֵשׁ שְׁתֵּי נְשָׁמוֹת, דִכְתִיב: ״וּנְשָׁמוֹת אֲנִי עָשִׂיתִי״, שֶׁהֵן שְׁתֵּי נְפָשׁוֹת –נֶפֶשׁ אַחַת מִצַּד הַקְּלִיפָּה וְסִטְרָא אָחֳרָא, וְהִיא הַמִּתְלַבֶּשֶׁת בְּדַם הָאָדָם לְהַחֲיוֹת הַגּוּף, וּכְדִכְתִיב: ״כִּי נֶפֶשׁ הַבָּשָׂר בַּדָּם הִיא״, וּמִמֶּנָּה בָּאוֹת כָּל הַמִּדּוֹת רָעוֹת, מֵאַרְבַּע יְסוֹדוֹת רָעִים שֶׁבָּהּ, דְּהַיְינוּ: כַּעַס וְגַאֲוָה – מִיסוֹד הָאֵשׁ שֶׁנִּגְבָּהּ לְמַעְלָה, וְתַאֲוַת הַתַּעֲנוּגִים – מִיסוֹד הַמַּיִם, כִּי הַמַּיִם מַצְמִיחִים כָּל מִינֵי תַּעֲנוּג, וְהוֹלֵלוּת וְלֵיצָנוּת וְהִתְפָּאֲרוּת וּדְבָרִים בְּטֵלִים – מִיסוֹד הָרוּחַ, וְעַצְלוּת וְעַצְבוּת – מִיסוֹד הֶעָפָר. וְגַם מִדּוֹת טוֹבוֹת שֶׁבְּטֶבַע כָּל יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּתוֹלְדוֹתָם, כְּמוֹ רַחֲמָנוּת וּגְמִילוּת חֲסָדִים – בָּאוֹת מִמֶּנָּה.
The explanation [of the questions raised above] is to be found in the light of what Rabbi Chaim Vital wrote in Shaar HaKedushah [and in Etz Chaim, Portal 50, ch. 2] that in every Jew, whether righteous or wicked, are two souls, as it is written, “The neshamot (souls) which I have made,” [alluding to] two souls. There is one soul which originates in the kelipah and sitra achara, [and] which is clothed in the blood of a human being, giving life to the body, as is written, “For the life of the flesh is in the blood.” From it stem all the evil characteristics deriving from the four evil elements which are contained in it. These are: anger and pride, which emanate from the element of Fire, the nature of which is to rise upward; the appetite for pleasures—from the element of Water, for water makes to grow all kinds of enjoyment; frivolity and scoffing, boasting and idle talk from the element of Air; and sloth and melancholy—from the element of Earth. From this soul stems also the good characteristics which are to be found in the innate nature of all Israel, such as mercy and benevolence.
...הרי מבואר בכל מה שכתבתי סדר זמנים וסדר הימים וסדר השעות וענינם ורמיזתם ושמושם מבואר בפנים שונות וכולם שוים לטובה, נותנים התעוררות בלב טהור להבין להשכיל בכל יום ויום מעין ברכותיו, להתעורר על ענין היום הזה, ועל ענין אות השם המשמש בו להיות מרכבה אליו. כלל העולה לעשות דבר יום ביומו מה שרומז, הן על פשוטו כגון דהיינו יום א' מורה על אחדותו, לקבע בלבו אחדותו יתברך, להיות יראתו על פניו תמיד, יום ב' תשובה, יום ג' תפלה, יום ד' תורה יום ה' צדקה, יום ה' יזכור האדם נברא למטה בצלם ודמות, גם יהרהר סודות כל יום ויום שהם מששה מדות עליונים ומה יעשה האדם להיות מרכבה לכל מדה...