On the Jewish calendar, this time of year commemorates the 49 days between the Exodus from Egypt and the Jewish people receiving of the Torah at Mount Sinai, 3000-plus years ago. Jewish tradition asserts that each of these 49 days represents a step from impurity to purity. Each day has its significance and import and is numbered and counted to inculcate fully that "today is the day" and it cannot be lived again and therefore one is obligated to focus upon that day, and to use it and to live it well.
