Day 48 of the Omer is associated with Malchut sheb’Yesod—sovereignty within foundation. This day asks us to consider how the bonds and connections we’ve built (Yesod) are expressed with integrity, dignity, and purpose (Malchut). It is not enough to form relationships or establish commitments; we must also ensure they reflect our values and support a sense of moral leadership. Malchut sheb’Yesod is about becoming a channel through which lasting, meaningful influence flows—not by force or control, but through presence, responsibility, and inner strength.
A powerful association for Day 48 of the Omer can be found in the teachings of the Midrash, Numbers Rabbah 1:7, which lists 48 qualities through which the Torah is acquired. One of these is “yishuv” (יישוב), often interpreted as calmness, composure, or thoughtfulness. This trait reflects the sovereignty of the self—being grounded, deliberate, and present in one’s actions and relationships. On Day 48, this quality invites us to ask: Are our connections rooted in clarity and stability, or in impulse and confusion? True leadership in relationships comes from a place of settled strength.
“Yishuv” also speaks to the importance of making space—for ourselves, for others, and for Torah. As the Omer journey nears its end, we are challenged to integrate everything we’ve cultivated into a composed and receptive inner state. Malchut sheb’Yesod becomes not only the ability to bond with others, but to do so with poise, maturity, and the quiet confidence that comes from deep inner alignment. With this foundation, we are prepared to receive the Torah not as a flash of inspiration, but as something that can take root and live within us.
(א) וַיְדַבֵּ֨ר יְהֹוָ֧ה אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֛ה בְּמִדְבַּ֥ר סִינַ֖י בְּאֹ֣הֶל מוֹעֵ֑ד בְּאֶחָד֩ לַחֹ֨דֶשׁ הַשֵּׁנִ֜י בַּשָּׁנָ֣ה הַשֵּׁנִ֗ית לְצֵאתָ֛ם מֵאֶ֥רֶץ מִצְרַ֖יִם לֵאמֹֽר׃ (ב) שְׂא֗וּ אֶת־רֹאשׁ֙ כׇּל־עֲדַ֣ת בְּנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתָ֖ם לְבֵ֣ית אֲבֹתָ֑ם בְּמִסְפַּ֣ר שֵׁמ֔וֹת כׇּל־זָכָ֖ר לְגֻלְגְּלֹתָֽם׃
(1) On the first day of the second month, in the second year following the exodus from the land of Egypt, יהוה spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the Tent of Meeting, saying: (2) Take a census of the whole Israelite company [of fighters] by the clans of its ancestral houses, listing the names, every male, head by head.
(ז) וַיְדַבֵּר ה' אֶל משֶׁה בְּמִדְבַּר סִינַי (במדבר א, א), לָמָּה בְּמִדְבַּר סִינַי, מִכָּאן שָׁנוּ חֲכָמִים בִּשְׁלשָׁה דְבָרִים נִתְּנָה הַתּוֹרָה, בָּאֵשׁ, וּבַמַּיִם, וּבַמִּדְבָּר. בָּאֵשׁ מִנַּיִן (שמות יט, יח): וְהַר סִינַי עָשַׁן כֻּלּוֹ וגו'. וּבַמַּיִם מִנַּיִן, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (שופטים ה, ד): גַּם שָׁמַיִם נָטָפוּ גַּם עָבִים נָטְפוּ מָיִם. וּבַמִּדְבָּר מִנַּיִן וַיְדַבֵּר ה' אֶל משֶׁה בְּמִדְבַּר סִינַי, וְלָמָּה נִתְּנָה בִּשְׁלשָׁה דְבָרִים הַלָּלוּ, אֶלָּא מָה אֵלּוּ חִנָּם לְכָל בָּאֵי הָעוֹלָם כָּךְ דִּבְרֵי תוֹרָה חִנָּם הֵם, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (ישעיה נה, א): הוֹי כָּל צָמֵא לְכוּ לַמַּיִם, דָּבָר אַחֵר, וַיְדַבֵּר ה' אֶל משֶׁה בְּמִדְבַּר סִינַי, אֶלָּא כָּל מִי שֶׁאֵינוֹ עוֹשֶׂה עַצְמוֹ כַּמִּדְבָּר, הֶפְקֵר, אֵינוֹ יָכוֹל לִקְנוֹת אֶת הַחָכְמָה וְהַתּוֹרָה, לְכָךְ נֶאֱמַר: בְּמִדְבַּר סִינָי.
(7) “The Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai” – why in the wilderness of Sinai? From here the Sages taught that the Torah was given with three elements: With fire, with water, and in the wilderness. With fire, from where is it derived? “Mount Sinai was all smoke, [because the Lord had descended upon it in fire]” (Exodus 19:18). In water, from where is it derived? It is as it is stated: “Indeed, the heavens dripped, indeed, the clouds dripped water” (Judges 5:4). In the wilderness, from where is it derived? “The Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai.” Why was it given with these three elements? It is, that just as these are free for all mankind, so, matters of Torah are free, as it is stated: “Ho, everyone who is thirsty go to water” (Isaiah 55:1). Another matter: “The Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai” – it is, that anyone who does not render himself like a wilderness, accessible to all, is unable to acquire wisdom and the Torah. That is why it is stated: “In the wilderness of Sinai.”
Midrash Tanhuma, Beshallach, chap. 1:
God led them around in the desert for forty years. Said the Blessed Holy One: If I lead them the direct way, every person will take hold of his field and his vineyard, and will not engage in Torah. Instead I will lead them through the wilderness, and they will eat the manna and drink the water of the [miraculous] well, and the Torah will settle in their bodies.
Erich Fromm, Ownership or Self-Realization:
The desert is not a home. There are no cities. There is no property. It is the place of nomads who have that which they need, and all that they need is life’s essentials, not belongings. . . Life in the desert is preparation for a life of freedom.
Rabbi D. Shoham, in Itturei Torah:
Another reason that the Torah portion of Bamidbar is always read right before Shavuot, the time of the giving of Torah: to teach you that if you want to merit receiving Torah, you must make yourself like the wilderness, to have a great measure of humility and to feel no reason for pride, to know that you are bare and lacking all, like the wilderness.
Rabbi Shefa Gold, Torah Journeys:
The wilderness is the place of our journey…The harsh inner reality of the wilderness purifies whatever traces of enslavement we still carry. This wilderness is the midwife of our new life, after long and hard labor. The wilderness forces us to face the resistance, ambivalence and self-delusion that has kept us from whole-heartedly receiving our birthright: the promised flow of milk and honey that is given to us, and through us, with
each moment of life. The wilderness will scare out all our old ghosts and send them forth from the shadows into the full light of awareness. In the wilderness we are stripped of disguises. Defenses fall away. Each part within us is forced to show its true face.