Reclaiming The Light

The Ariza"l says ועתה נבאר סוד העומר, והענין, כי הלא כבר בארנו כי כל המוחין האלו, הם לצורך שעה, ליום א' דפסח לבד, כדי שיוכלו ישראל ליגאל, אך אחר יום א', נסתלק כל מה שנכנס לגמרי בקדמותו, וחזר למדרגה תלת בתלת, לכן לא יש הלל גמור, רק ביום א' לבד. אמנם מליל ב', שאז מתחיל ספירת העומר, כונתינו הוא, לחזור ולהמשיך אותן המוחין שנכנסו ליל פסח ראשון, אך אי אפשר להחזירן, אם לא ע"י זמן, והוא מפסח עד עצרת, כמ"ש. In other words, the great clarity, the מוחיו דגלות that shine on Seder night is removed and the process of sefirat ha'omer is our effort to rebuild that light as an earned reality. We spend the days between Pesach and Shavuot incrementally reclaiming the heights we glimpsed at the Seder. The Kozhnitser Maggid says that is why there is no beracha of shecheyanu on the mitzvah of sefirah since we are not bringing in any new light, we are just bringing back the light that was already present on the Seder night. He says that is what the בן חכם  asks why are we commanded to bring the light back in a slow, methodical form? The answer is because it is not always possible to serve Hashem with clarity, there are times when one feels down, and has to fight their yetzer to engage in serving Hashem, but even so one must have the patience and capability to continue serving Hashem with slow incremental growth. 

The month of Iyar is called in Melachim 1 (6:1) the month of זיו. According to one peshat in the Gemarah (Rosh Hashana 11a) it is because ירח שנולדו בו זיותני עולם meaning the Avot were born then. The Gemarah a second before said they were born in Nissan? Rashi says כשנתחדש אייר נולדו כבר בניסן אי נמי זימנין דניסן דתקופה נמשך בתוך אייר של לבנה. However, why refer to their birth in Iyar if it actually happened in Nissan? 

In light of the above idea, it mirrors exactly what the avodah of sefirah during the month of Iyar does. The actual birth, the lights of the days are already present in Nissan but the radiance, the shine, is brought out through the slow progression of the full presence takes place in Iyar. The Avos are defined as זיותני עולם because of their ability to shine forth, to show the path of Hashem to others. So too during these days, we are meant to take the great revelation of leaving Egypt and let its impression make an indelible affect upon ourselves.