The Counting of the Omer
Jewish season of preparation for revelation and mourning
Apr 10, 2007 Katrien Vander Straeten
The counting of the Omer starts on the second day of Pesach or Passover (4 April 2007, or 16 Nissan 5767) and ends on the first day of Shavuot (22 May 2007).
49 days to the revelation
As prescribed as a mitzvah (commandment) in the Torah (Leviticus 23:15), the Jewish people start the “counting of the Omer” on the second day of Passover. An “omer” is the measure of grain that was offered in the Temple in Jerusalem when it was still standing (until 70 AD). The count continues for 49 days until Festival of Shavuot, on 22 May 2007.
The 49 days are symbolic of the 7 weeks between the Israelites’ gaining of freedom from slavery in Egypt, until God’s revelation of the Torah (or the Five Books of Moses) on Mount Sinai. God waited to reveal the Law of Moses to his people because they needed to prepare.
Thus Counting the Omer is a reckoning of one’s desire for and anticipation of the Law, a time of spiritual preparation and growth.
Counting up
One counts up, not down. The formulation of counting is precise and needs to be followed to the letter. One also needs to make the count every evening, and there are rules in case one inadvertently skipped a day.
Every evening, about 30 minutes after nightfall (the start of the Jewish day), one stands and recites, out loud and in Hebrew, a blessing, followed by the day and the week of the Omer. E.g., “Today is twenty-two days, which is three weeks and one day of the Omer.”
Mourning and Abel
Part of this time is also a time of mourning. This is because the Talmud tells of the 24,000 students of Rabbi Akiva’s (ca. 50 – ca. 135 AD). Because of their lack of respect for one another, they were struck with a “plague” (this might refer to religious persecution under the Romans).
Therefore, during this time, there can be:
- No weddings
- No listening to musical instruments, either recorded or live (vocal music is allowed)
- No haircuts or shaving
This also serves as a reminder to treat family and friends with respect, and to make a “tikkun,” or correction for the mistakes of the past.
Another link to mourning is a midrash (or commentary or exegesis) of Genesis (Rabbah 22:4), which proposes that Abel, the son of Adam and Eve, was born on Passover and died on Shavuot.
Lag B'Omer and kabbalah
The Lag B’Omer, literally the 33rd day of the Omer, marks the death of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, a great Talmudic sage. This is, however, not a day of mourning, but of joy, because on his deathbed the Rabbi revealed a special spiritual gift: the Zohar, the most important book of kabbalah or Jewish mysticism.
On this day, Jews make a pilgrimage to Rabbi Shimon’s grave in the town of Meiron in Galilee. All round the world, Jews light bonfires - often impressive towers or sculptures of wood - symbolizing mystical illumination.
7 Sefirot and 48 Ways
Each of the 7 days of the week and each of the 7 weeks of the Omer is thus also related to each of the 7 kabbalistic Sefirot, or emanations of God (which makes for 49 variations).
This period also lends itself to a meditation on the “48 Ways of Wisdom” found in the Talmud (Avot 6:6). These Ways are tools for the betterment of one’s personality, so that one can make the most of life. Each day one of the Ways is studied. For instance:
- Being aware every moment
- Listen effectively
- Awe
- Mastering fear
- Joy
- Concentration and will power
- Etc.
Harvest festival
The passage in Leviticus that prescribes the mitzvah of the Counting of the Omer refers to the annual grain harvest. On the second day of Passover, the first sheaf of barley was cut down. During the following forty nine days, the rest, as well as the wheat, was brought in. On Shavuot, two loaves of bread and the first fruits of all the farmers were offered in the Temple as a symbol of gratitude.
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