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This week’s Parshat Emor speaks about the different laws that the Kohanim need to follow in order to stay pure, like not touching the dead, not desecrating Hashem’s name, etc. In addition, it explains the dates of different holidays, such as Shabbat, Pesach, Sukkot. Hashem commands of Moshe to have Bnei Yisrael to count between Pesach and Shavuot, "וספרתם לכם ממחרת השבת"- And you shall count for yourselves from the day after Yom Tov. But what is the reason we need to count the omer in the first place? לקוטי שיחות ח"ז explains that the reason Hashem took us out of Mitzrayim was so we can receive the Torah. We, as Jews, need to study Torah as much as possible but unfortunately, we don’t use your free time to study Torah but rather occupy our time in ways that will be more “entertaining”. Counting the sefirah reminds us to utilize our time in studying Torah, as a preparation for receiving the Torah before Shavuot. Ramban adds that “וספרתם לכם” should be highlighting that Hashem wants us to count the omer for ourselves rather than for Him. And why is the word “תמימות” used? It reminds us that the act of sefirah is a simple one that just needs to have כוונה when it’s being done. We need to remember the feeling and count down the days of essentially what is us reaccepting the Torah. In the beginning of seminary, I thought having כוונה was difficult, but I realized it doesn’t come down to how many books I have in my makom or what others are doing. Last week’s Tzfat shabbaton showed me that it really is as simple as being alone for a few minutes, and giving myself time to talk with Hashem because I want to have that connection with Him.