We count the Omer every night -- every day. In fact, according to
Reb Nachman, everything we are saying, everything we are talking
about, has to do with the Sephirat.  If we would be great deep
kabalists, we would walk on the streets of the world and listen to
their talk, and everything people are talking, has to do with that
very day.  Unbelieveable.


And you know friends, right after Pesach we're beginning to learn
Pirke Avos -- Teachings of our Fathers .  And I'm sure it's clear
to you, I think we were learning it Pesach.  You know, what
parents are giving over to their children -- not the teaching of
choice.  From my parents I receive this deepest depths -- that I
have no choice being a Jew.  That I have no choice, to put on
tfillin the morning.  I have no choice to keep Shabbos.  I have no
choice to go to Yerushelayim.  I have no choice -- to love every
Jew.  I have no choice, to love the whole world.  I have no
choice, to see a poor man, and not to give him [tzdaka, "charity"]
-- I don't have choice.
And you know, in Pirke Avos -- We're not learning any laws -- but
every Rabbi -- every holy luminary -- is giving us over -- what
was the one thing I couldn't live without -- what was the one
thing I'm connected to most --  
	And you know what's so beautiful -- nature -- coming out --
you know, an apple tree -- does an apple tree really have choice
not to become an apple tree -- in the winter, the apple tree
thinks, oh, I have choice -- it's winter, I'm not ever coming out,
I'm not producing apples any more, forget it, I'm sick and tired
of it.   But suddenly, Pesach -- and if you remember, the
Ishbitzer tora -- it's not because nature is becoming free, that's
why we become free -- it's the other way around -- it's because we
yidden came out of Egypt, effects [or: affects.  Or both. ] the
whole [of] Nature -- the whole world -- they also come out -- 


There's a very beautiful story:
	You know, when we count the Omer -- I bless you, not to
forget, every night to count the Omer -- the heilige ziesse Reb
Baruch -- the grandson of the holy Baal Shem Tov 
[REFERENCE:  I assume, from Finkel:  R. Baruch of Medziobosh, son
of Adel (daughter of the Baal Shem)] 
-- said to one of his hasidim -- are you by any chance passing by
Kossov -- by the heilige suisse Reb Mendele Kossover 
[REFERENCE (from Finkel):  I assume:  Dynasty of Kossov-Sizhnitz,
lst generation: R. Menachem Mendel Hager of Kossov , 1768-1825,
student of R. Moshe Leib of Sassov ]
and everybody knows -- Vishnitz are the grandchildren of Kossov 
[REFRENCE (loc. cit):  eg, Dynasty of Kossov-Vishnitz, 3rd
generation: R. Menachem Mendel Hager of Vishnitz, 1830-1884]
______?The Yiddele?  says yes, I'm going there.  So Reb Baruch
says, do me a favour:  listen to those melodies, bring me back a
new melody.             
The Yiddele comes back, and he says Rebbe, I'm so sorry, it just
didn't come out to be Shabbos in Kosov, I was just during the
week.  The Bobover says Yeah, did you hear anything.  He says Yes,
it's not much of melody, it's just like a little tune, after the
heilige Reb Mendele counted the Omer, he hummed a little tune. 
___ Reb Baruch says, please sing it to me.   So he gave it over to
Reb Baruch.  Reb Baruch says yes, this is what I needed to hear.
Let me tell you the story.
	The heilige Baal Shem Tov -- the heilige suisse Baal Shem Tov
-- one of his hasidim, bought a field from a non-Jewish neighbor. 
He began digging, he found a treasure.  He went to his non-Jewish
friend, ?the owner?, says to him, I only bought the field, but the
treasure's yours.  He says, Can't believe it.  I cannot believe
that someone is so honest to give me back the treasure.  That
night he invited the whole village to the bar, to the Kretchmer,
and he was standing on the table dancing, and he would sing, Great
is the G_d of Israel.  And he had a little tune to it.  And the
heilige Reb Mendele would sing it, to Sephiras Omer.  And the
Rebbe Reb Baruch wanted to hear it. 
	You know friends:  If my connection to G_d is a choice, I
don't think I'll make G_d's name very great.  You know why my
G_d's name is so great -- because we Jews have no choice.  Gvalt,
Rabbenu shel Olam, gvalt ?do? I have no choice.  I have no choice
to believe in G_d, I have no choice to love every human being,
because if I'm connected to G_d -- if I'm really connected to G_d
-- isn't G_d taking care of every -- every human being in theworld.  
	What gave this yiddele the strength -- must have been a big
struggle -- such a treasure. Because he realized -- gvalt, my non-
Jewish neighbor -- G_d is taking care of him too.  Great is theG_d of Israel.
	You know what, Sfiras Omer is really strange:  One one hand,if I miss 
one day 
[that is, failing to count immediately after Ma'ariv, fail to
count before daybreak with the b'racha, and fail to count all day
without the b'racha] , I can't count any more 
[with the blessing; one remains obligated to continue counting,
without the bracha];on the other hand, during Sfiras Omer we have Pesach 
Sheni 
[14 Iyar, ie, precisely one month after Pesach, that is
(approximately), the day before the full moon of the following
month (which is Iyar) ].	Let me just share with you very fast:
	Yosef haTzadik -- you know what a Tzadik is -- a tzadik is
sommebody who does not rely on doing tchuva.  He's doing every
second the right thing, because G_d forbid if I do something
wrong, that's the end of me.  And what is Leah all about.  You
know what Leah's all about.  Yehuda -- I can do everything wrong,
but it takes only one second to come back. 
{REFERENCE: I assume this is in reference to  Yehuda's confession
with regard to his unbeknonst unintentional Levirite relation with
Tamar, who turns out to have been a foremother of the prophecied
forebearers of Meshiach  -- 'she is more righteous than I'[Genesis: 38:26].}  
	So just remember, Hodesh Iyar, the sign is Josef haTzadik,
the sign is:  Like an ox, don't stop working, don't every rely --
you know, when the Ox is ploughing the field, he goes straight. 
He makes no U-turns, he goes straight.   But yet the month belongs 
to Yisachar.  You know what Yisachar is.  Yisachar is the son of
Leah, but it's a gift from Rochel.  It's both together. It is
knowing, if I do wrong, it will be so hard to come back.  But yet,
gvalt, it's so easy to come back.   Because we all are -- we're
from a nation of both -- we yidden, we don't want ever to do
something wrong -- yet, we are living witnesses:  We always go
back -- to Yerushelayim.  We go back to it all the time.
	And Reb Nachman says:  Wherever a Jew goes, he's on his way
to Yerushelayim.  Wherever a Jew goes, every step he takes, she
takes, we're always getting closer to G_d, closer to our children. 
But you know what Sephiras Omer is:  Every night I know I get
closer, and closer and closer -- until we get there.
{R. Shlomo singing a chaser niggun.}
You know how beautiful it is, when parents and children get
together -- and they count the days.  Knowing that tomorrow we'll
be even closer.  I want to bless you friends -- the most important 
thing -- you should always know where you're going.  Most people
don't know where they're coming from, or where they're going.   If
you want to be a free person -- Yes, we are still on the way, but
you have to know where you are going.  And you have to know
exactly, how many miles are behind you, and how many miles are in
front of you.  Just please get there.
{R. Shlomo singing one of the old war-house nigguns.}
{END SOUND, {C770}; END TAPE, {C777 -- just like the Brandy -- so
it's about 42 minutes on a side. {END PASS 2 (PROOF AGAINST TAPE), SIDE A}
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