We find ourselves in the period of the Omer. In Parshas Emor (23:15) we are taught "You shall count for yourselves, from the morrow of the rest day when you bring the omer of the waving, seven weeks they shall be complete". A few basic questions are in order.
We know that an omer is a dry measure. We first encounter the term in conjunction with the mann, Shemos (16:16): "This is the thing that Hashem has commanded, gather from it for every man according to what he eats, an omer per person." Why then is the korban brought on the second day of Pesach known as the Korban Omer? Yes, an omer's worth of barley was brought as a korban, but it seems strange that it should be called "the dry measure korban". Moreover, in the bracha instituted prior to the counting why not say, "V'Tzivanu al sfiras shavuos - and He commanded us to count weeks", for indeed we are counting the weeks to the holiday of Shavuos; why do we instead say "al sfiras haomer - to count the omer"?
Rav Yaakov Tzvi Mecklenburg zt"l in his Haksav V'Hakabalah offers a novel fresh interpretation. He says that we should not focus on the omer as a dry measure but rather as it is used in Devorim (24:7) "If a man is found kidnapping a person of his brethren, among the Children of Israel ‘V'Hishamer Bo - and he enslaves him or subjugates him' and sells him, that kidnapper shall die and you shall remove the evil from your midst".
The word omer means to subjugate and that is the application and understanding in relation to this time, korban, and mitzvah of counting. The Torah refers to the Korban Omer in Vayikra (2:14) as a "Minchas Bikurim - a meal offering of the first grain to Hashem". When one is blessed with prosperity, represented by the first grain, there is always the possibility of erroneously attributing the success of their labor to themselves, as the Torah cautions in Devorim (8:17) "and you may say in your heart, my strength and the might of my hand brought me all this wealth". Therefore, the Torah mandates that the kohein take the omer of barley and wave it in all directions to indicate that this produce and bounty came from Hashem.
In addition, the designation of this time as "omer", as for example the title of chapter 493 of Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim is "the laws applicable in the days of the omer", may be interpreted in light of the above as days of subjugation, or our willingness to yield to a Higher Authority. Thus, for each individual, starting with the second day of Pesach, a psychological and intellectual commitment is being reinforced by their personal counting of the omer. In a sense one is declaring, "count me in". This also sheds light on the minhag Yisrael to study Pirkei Avos during this time of omer, providing concrete formulae of true omer - subjugation to Hashem.
The Gemorah Shabbos (31A) explains the verse from Isaiah (33:6) "V'Haya emunas eatecha…" as referring to the six sections of the mishnah. "Emunas" refers to the section of the Zeraim, which deals almost exclusively with the agricultural laws of Eretz Yisrael. It is called "emunas- faith", explains the Yerushalmi, because the farmer who sows his seeds places his faith is Hashem. The subsequent teaching by Rava is that when each individual is brought before the heavenly tribunal for judgment, they will be asked (a) did you conduct your business honestly, or, more precisely, with faith? (b) did you set aside fixed times for Torah study?, for if one believes that his business success or livelihood is from Hashem, then it follows that he was afforded this blessing to enable him to set fixed times for Torah study. (This is the one form of the subjugation of the omer period).
In Parshas Emor, each holiday is presented and its specific laws taught in a paragraph dedicated exclusively to that holiday. The paragraph of Shavuos, however, concludes (23:22) with a description of seemingly irrelevant agricultural gifts to the poor such as leaving the corner of the field (pe'ah) for the poor to harvest themselves and leaving the fallen gleanings of the harvest (leket) for the poor. The paragraph of Shavuos concludes this way because these laws embody the message of the omer. If the produce is mine, the result of my knowledge, expertise, and farming acumen, then why should I necessarily share my produce with the less fortunate? However, if I recognize and acknowledge that it all comes from On High, I subjugate myself to His Higher Authority, and His requiring the dispensing of my assets to the poor and needy is very much in place. A greater commitment to needs of others and of the community is an implementation of the true character and essence of the omer.