It is certainly not uncommon for Jews to count. Long ago, Moshe was asked to count and measure every item that was dedicated to the mishkan, and as a result we have a significant Torah portion recording Moshe's accounting. The verb for counting in that context is "to count and to assign", פקד. The Torah says that every new sheep must pass under or through some obstacle, and thus we are taught that the sheep must be accurately counted in order for the flock to be tithed appropriately. Bilam wonders who could count our people and our accomplishments, "מי מנה". Every phrase carries a hint, no doubt, unique to its circumstance.
This week's parsha asks Klal Yisrael to count years to the yovel, and this week we find ourselves half way through counting our days from Pesach to Shavuos. Here the Torah chose to use the word "ספר". What is the specific meaning of the count when it is recorded as וספרתם לכם?
It is often suggested that analyzing the context of the first use of a word in chumash will help interpret the word with precision and nuance. This was presented to me as a position of the Gr"a but it stands as a reasonable hypothesis even if its pedigree is not so authoritative. The first time that we see the word ספר is when Avrohom was invited by Hashem to fathom the numbers of his future, "Count - וספור the stars, if you can count - לספר them" (Breishis 15:5). This verb's final appearance in Breishis documents Yosef's success in gathering so much grain for Mitzrayim, "that he stopped counting - לספר because it was beyond a count - מספר" (Breishis 49:41). The only other time that ספר is mentioned in Breishis is as a noun in Yaakov's passionate and fearful criticism of Shimon and Levi. Yaakov feels endangered by their destruction of Shechem and says "I am but a few men - מספר - and they will gather against me and destroy my family" (Breishis 35:30.) In other words, my army is not worthy of being reckoned.
It follows that the word ספר refers to something that in fact defies counting. Thus the mitzvah of ספירה asks us to identify each day as it begins and state our discomfort and unwillingness to limit its measure by assigning it a number. Moreover, the ongoing marking of time begs us to fully recognize that time can earn value beyond any available assessment. Perhaps we are being trained to appreciate that one of the greatest gifts of freedom, managing our hours and evaluating our days, can have immeasurable value once it/they are filled with Hashem's will, guidance and discipline.
I was thrilled to find that Rav Yaakov Tzvi Mecklenberg, whose sensitivity to the tone of the text fills his sefer "HaKsav VeHakabolo" with profound and creative commentary, comes to a similar conclusion, albeit from alternative proof texts. Pointing to the similar language that Sefiras Haomer shares with the women's mandate to count seven clean days in preparation for tevilah, he reminds us that the preparation for going to the mikvah requires a focus on the substance of those days rather than simply announcing their numeral. Closing his analysis (Vayikra 23:15) Rav Mecklenberg cautions, "Conduct yourselves, while counting the seven weeks, not to focus on the amount [of time pre se] rather focus on the quality of every moment of this period, not to waste it with practices that diminish the supreme reach of the human spirit".
Furthermore, the "Haksav Vehakabolo" sees this message in the phrase "וספרתם לכם" and interprets it to teach that this mitzvah can be so rewarding for our growth.
Finally, a medrash quoted by rishonim identifies the moment that earned us the mitzvah of counting sefira. Apparently, immediately upon leaving Mitzrayim our impatient forbearers addressed Hashem in a not so pleasant fashion and demanded, "Where is the Torah that you promised to us?" to which they heard the heavenly voice respond, "You still need to wait 50 days". Without delay and with increasing impatience and enthusiasm, we began to count. Hashem, it would seem, wants us to strive to recapture the bated breath of the very first count.
True, it may be well beyond our grasp and that is why it is called "sefira" and not "minyan" or "pikudas", but if the count could in some small measure reconnect us to the day-by-day excitement of a people counting down to Sinai, we will have successfully communicated the privilege of our purpose as Jews.