This week's Parashat Emor has the mitzva of Korban HaOmer , the bringing of an Omer’s worth of barley. The Maharal explains that the goal of the Omer at the beginning of the grain season is to show us that everything that grows is really coming from Birkat Hashem . After a person did all his work, and now everything's growing, he might think that he’s in charge and in control, but he has to realize that Hashem is the One that brings the wind and the rain and commands the earth to give forth its fruit. He quotes the Gemara in Masechet Megila that when Haman came to take Mordechai away, that’s what he was learning. It was the night of the Seder, and it was the day before the law of the cutting of the Omer, so Mordechai was learning the laws of the Omer. Haman asked him what he was learning, and Mordechai said that when the Bet Hamikdash was around, they’d bring this Korban HaOmer. Haman answered, “ Your Korban Omer pushed off all of my silver.” The Maharal asks, how did Haman know that something about the Omer did it? And he says, (and maybe Mordechai explained to Haman), that when we bring the Korban HaOmer, we are accepting upon ourselves that Hashem controls the natural world and that He the boss over nature. When the Jewish people realize there is no nature in the world, and realize everything is controlled by Hashem, that causes the gezerot/ decrees to be annulled. That is actually what happened in the time of Purim. There's a beautiful Sfat Emet in Parashat Vayechi that explains the Gemara in Pesachim that when Yaakov Avinu called his children together, he said, “ Gather together. I want to reveal to you what's going to happen at the end of time.” Yaakov wanted to reveal what would happen at the end of time, but the Shechina left him. Why did Shechina leave him? He says, because Yaakov wanted to show the Jewish people that even in Galut , Hashem is there, and everything comes from His forces, it's just hidden. But if we would truly fathom that in its fullest sense, then the Galut would be annulled.. Because if you see Hashem all over, it's not Galut . It’s not Galut when there is nothing hidden. That's why the Shechina left him- because Hashem wanted us to be in Galut . Therefore, we can’t have that revelation of God's presence in Galut. But the Sfat Emet adds that When we believe the Shechina (because we can’t see or feel it) and we believe that there's no force other than Hashem , although it's all hidden, even though we don't see with our eyes, with Emunah, we can see the truth. There's a story brought down about a great Gerrer Mashgiach named Rav Gad Eisner. He wrote the Sefer Moreshet Gad, a five volume sefer on Humash, with beautiful thoughts. He was once asked how he survived the death camps, how he kept his sanity and his Emunah. At the time, there was a bottle of wine on the table with a cork. Rav Gad pulled out the cork, put it in his hand and said, “ Do you see the cork?” They replied that they couldn’t see it. “Do you know where it is?” He asked. “ Yes, I saw you put it in your hand.” Rav Gad continued, “ If someone walks in now and looks for the cork, will they see it? Of course not. But if you told him that the cork was in my hand, would he continue to look for it? Of course not. That's how I survived the camps. I knew for sure that Hashem was there. I knew, like you know that the cork is in my hand. As the pasuk says, “ You are a God that's hidden,’ And I knew that Hashem was there at all times. And because I knew that Hashem was there at all times, just hidden, I wasn't looking for Him. I knew He was here.” That's rock-solid Emuna. And that's our job. There are beautiful words about this concept, that were made into a song: ואפילו בהסתרה שבתוך ההסתרה בוודאי גם שם נמצא השם יתברך . גם מאחורי הדברים הקשים העוברים עליך , אני עומד . Even in the most concealed of concealed places, certainly He of the blessed name is also found there. I stand with You, even through the hard times that befall you. That is what happ