Counting the years

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1. "This Month Shall Be For You..." – Jewish Dates

   Rabbi Yaakov Medan

   The Torah commands that the days of the week are counted to lead up to Shabbat, and the months and years from the Exodus. Today this is uncommon; instead we refer to months by Persian and Babylonian names, and years by the creation of the earth. Perhaps the time has come to return to Jewish reference of months and years?

2. The Length of the Sojourn in Egypt

   Rabbi Michael Hattin

   How many years was Am Yisrael's slavery in Egypt? The Torah's stated period of four hundred and thirty years is difficult to corroborate, for elsewhere the Torah indicates that the period of enslavement could not possibly have extended for so long.  The commentaries strive to reconcile this number with the rest of the chronology that the Torah provides concerning this event. However, if we begin the count with Avraham's initial journey from his birthplace of Ur, we can realize that the story of the descent to Egypt and the enslavement is thus recast as part of a much larger matrix, one that is characterized by the unsettled state of wandering and homelessness. His life of trust, of trial and of eventual triumph is thus reflected in the lives of his descendents, who eventually emerge from the crucible of Egypt as a nation.

3. "This Month Shall Be For You..." – Jewish Dates (Audio)

   Rabbi Yaakov Medan | 18 minutes

   The Torah commands that the days of the week are counted to lead up to Shabbat, and the months and years from the Exodus. Today this is uncommon; instead we refer to months by Persian and Babylonian names, and years by the creation of the earth. Perhaps the time has come to return to Jewish reference of months and years?

4. Yovel, Sefirat HaOmer, and the Mitzvah of Counting

   Rabbi Jonathan Snowbell | 18 minutes

   We are in the midst of the period of Sefirat Omer, and Parashat Behar speaks of counting years for the Shemitta (Sabbatical) and Yovel (Jubilee). Counting is abundantly necessary for many commandments in the Torah, such as Shabbat and Brit Mila, but for those and for other mitzvot there is no explicit commandment to count. Why, then, is there an explicit commandment to count in some circumstances, but not for others? Why do we need the mitzva of Sefirat HaOmer, and what is the significance of counting the years leading up until the Yovel?

   There is value  in the process itself, even for the 50-year timespan. Freedom and equality do not exist in a vacuum on the 50th year-- they must be part of the leadership's agenda throughout those 50 years. The journey may be just as important as the destination.