Counting of the Omer
Encyclopedia
Counting of the Omer is a verbal counting of each of the forty-nine days between the Jewish holiday
s of Passover
and Shavuot
. This mitzvah
derives from the Torah
commandment to count forty-nine days beginning from the day on which the Omer, a sacrifice containing an omer-measure of barley
, was offered in the Temple in Jerusalem
, up until the day before an offering of wheat was brought to the Temple on Shavuot. The Counting of the Omer begins on the second day of Passover
(the 16th of Nisan
) for Rabbinic Jews, and after the weekly Shabbat
during Passover
for Karaite Jews
, and ends the day before the holiday of Shavuot
, the 'fiftieth day.'
The idea of counting each day represents spiritual preparation and anticipation for the giving of the Torah, which was given by God on Mount Sinai
at the beginning of the month
of Sivan
, around the same time as the holiday of Shavuot. The Sefer HaChinuch states that the Jewish people were only freed from Egypt
at Passover in order to receive the Torah at Sinai, an event which is now celebrated on Shavuot, and to fulfill its laws. Thus the Counting of the Omer demonstrates how much a Jew desires to accept the Torah in his own life.
However, the obligation in post-temple destruction times is a matter of some dispute. While Rambam (Maimonides) suggests that the obligation is still biblical, most other commentaries assume that it is of a rabbinic origin in modern times.
The origins of the omer count, enumerated in the Midrash Rabbah Parashas Emor, explains that when the Children of Israel left Egypt they were told by Moses that 49 days after the exodus, they would be given the Torah
. The populace was so excited at the prospect of a spiritual liberation, following the physical emancipation from Egypt, they kept a count of the passing days that ended with the giving of the Torah at the foot of Mount Sinai. The Torah itself, in Leviticus
23:15-16, states that it is a commandment to count seven complete weeks from the day after Passover night ending with the festival of Shavuot
on the fiftieth day. Shavuot is the festival marking the giving of the Torah to the Jewish nation on the 6th of the Hebrew month of Sivan
.
In keeping with the themes of spiritual growth and character development during this period, the Jewish sages compare the process of growth to the two types of grain offered at either pole of the counting period. In ancient times, barley was an animal food and wheat, a human food. At Passover, the Jews were raised out of the Egyptian exile although they had sunken almost to the point of no return. The Exodus
was unearned, a gift from God, like the food of animals who are not expected to develop their spiritual potential. For the next forty-nine days, however, the Jewish people worked on themselves to be able to receive the Torah on their own merit. The receiving of the Torah required spiritual elevation and active cooperation. Thus the Shavuot offering is "people food" http://www.aish.com/omerThemes/omerThemesDefault/Mind_Over_Matter__.asp.
Then he or she states the Omer-count in terms of both total days and weeks and days. For example, on the 23rd day the count would be stated thus: "Today is twenty-three days, which is three weeks and two days of (or "in" http://ohr.edu/ask_db/ask_main.php/63/Q2/) the Omer." The count is said in Hebrew
.
According to the Halakha
, a person may only recite the blessing while it is still night. If he or she remembers the count the next morning or afternoon, the count may still be made, but without a blessing. If one forgets to count a day altogether, he or she may continue to count succeeding days, but without a blessing.
The Omer may be counted in any language, however one must understand what one is saying.
"Omer-counters" are typically offered for sale during this time, and are displayed in synagogue
s for the benefit of worshippers who count the Omer with the congregation at the conclusion of evening services. Omer-counters range from decorative boxes with an interior scroll that shows each day's count through a small opening; to posters and magnets in which each day's count is recorded on a tear-off piece of paper; to calendars depicting all seven weeks and 49 days of the Omer (a small pointer is advanced from day to day); to pegboards that keep track of both the day and the week of the Omer. Reminders to count the Omer are also produced for hand-held computers and via SMS
services for cell phone
s.
, rather than on the second day of Passover (the 16th of Nisan).
, Passover
and Shavuot
, both Sukkot and Passover occur on the 15th day of the lunar month, the day of the full moon, which, in pre-electricity days, was of major importance. Shavuot, as currently practiced, occurs about a week before the full moon.
In defining the Passover observance and the counting of the Omer, states:
Verse 8 defines a "day of rest", or sabbath, on the seventh day of Passover. If we use this day as the sabbath referred to in verse 11, instead of the day of rest defined in verse 7 as is currently done, we start counting on the 8th day after the start of Passover, and Shavuot occurs 58 days, or approximately two lunar months, after Passover, and falls on a full moon.
In Kabbalah
, each of the seven weeks of the Omer-counting is associated with one of the seven lower sefirot (#4-10): Chesed
, Gevurah, Tipheret, Netzach, Hod
, Yesod, and Malchut. Each day of each week is also associated with one of these same seven sefirot, creating forty-nine permutations. The first day of the Omer is therefore associated with "chesed that is in chesed", the second day with "gevurah that is in chesed"; the first day of the second week is associated with "chesed that is in gevurah," the second day of the second week with "gevurah that is in gevurah," and so on. Symbolically, each of these 49 permutations represents an aspect of each person's character that can be improved or further developed. Rabbi Simon Jacobson
explains these 49 levels in his classic book, The Spiritual Guide to Counting the Omer. http://www.meaningfullife.com/torah/holidays/8b/Your_Guide_to_Personal_Freedom_-_Week_1.php, as do Rabbi Yaacov Haber
and Rabbi David Sedley in their book Sefiros: Spiritual Refinement through Counting the Omer http://www.torahlab.org/store/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=710.
The forty-nine-day period of counting the Omer is also a conducive time to study the teaching of the Mishna in Pirkei Avoth
6:6, which enumerates the "48 ways" by which Torah is acquired. Rabbi Aharon Kotler
explains that the study of each "way" can be done on each of the first forty-eight days of the Omer-counting; on the forty-ninth day, one should review all the "ways"http://www.aish.com/h/o/t/52829142.html.
forbids haircuts, shaving, listening to instrumental music, or conducting weddings, parties, and dinners with dancing. Traditionally, the reason cited is that this is in memory of a plague that killed the 24,000 students of Rabbi Akiva
. According to the Talmud
, 12,000 chavruta
(pairs of study partners) were divinely killed during the days of the Omer-counting for not honoring one another properly.
Lag Ba'omer
, the thirty-third day of the Counting of the Omer, is considered to be the day in which the plague was lifted, (and/or: the day in which the rebellion saw a victory,) so on that day, all the rules of mourning are lifted (some Sephardim, however, continue the mourning period up until the 34th day of the Omer, which is considered by them to be the day of joy and celebration). Spanish and Portuguese Jews
do not observe these customs. Some religious Jews shave each Friday afternoon during the mourning period of the Omer in order to be neat in honor of the Shabbat.
In practice, different Jewish communities observe different periods of mourning. Some families listen to music during the week of Passover
and then commence the period of mourning until Lag Ba'omer. Some Sephardic Jewish families begin the period of mourning from the first day of the Hebrew month of Iyar
and continue for thirty-three days until the third of Sivan. The custom among Jerusalemites (minhag Yerushalmi) is to follow the mourning practices during the entire Counting of the Omer, save for the day of Lag Ba'omer and the last three days of the counting (sheloshet yemei hagbalah). The extent of mourning is also based heavily on family custom, and therefore Jews will mourn to different degrees.
Rabbi Yechiel Michel Epstein
, author of Aruch Hashulchan, postulates that the mourning period also memorializes Jews who were murdered during the Crusades
, pogrom
s and blood libel
s that occurred in Europe
1,000 years after the period of Rabbi Akiva
http://www.aish.com/omerLagBOmer/omerLagBOmerDefault/Rebbe_Akivas_243000_Students_.asp#r5.
The Jewish calendar is largely agricultural, and the period of Omer falls between Passover and Shavuot. On Passover there is a shift from praying for rain to praying for dew and this begins the growth period for the fruit of the season. Shavuot is the day of the giving of the first fruits
. The outcome of the season's crop and fruit was still vulnerable during this period. Over these seven weeks, daily reflection, work on one's middot (characteristics) and potential inner growth from this work on self was one way to pray for and invite the possibility of affecting one's external fate and potential - the growth of the crop and the fruit of that season.
Although the period of the Omer is traditionally a mourning one, Jews can do actions that are not allowed during mourning on Lag Ba'Omer and a day of extreme happiness. Many Religious Zionists shave their beards and do other actions that are typically not allowed during the mourning period on Yom Ha'atzmaut
(Israeli Independence Day).
marks the yahrzeit (anniversary of the death) of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai. After the death of Rabbi Akiva's 24,000 students, Rabbi Akiva taught five students, among them Rabbi Shimon. The latter went on to become the greatest teacher of Torah in his generation. According to tradition, on the day of his death, he revealed the deepest secrets of the Torah in a Kabbalistic work called the Zohar
.
According to the Zohar, Rabbi Shimon's house was filled with fire and light that entire day as he taught his students. At the end of the day, the fire subsided and Rabbi Shimon died http://www.aish.com/omerLagBOmer/omerLagBOmerDefault/Lag_BOmer_.asp. On successive years, his students sought to recreate that experience of light and mystical revelation by kindling bonfires and studying the Zohar in the light of the flames.
Although the anniversary of the death of a tzaddik is usually a mournful day, the anniversary of Rabbi Shimon's death on Lag Ba'omer is a festive one. Bonfires are lit and people sing and dance by the flames. Weddings, parties, listening to music, picnics, and haircuts are commonplace.
Jewish holiday
Jewish holidays are days observed by Jews as holy or secular commemorations of important events in Jewish history. In Hebrew, Jewish holidays and festivals, depending on their nature, may be called yom tov or chag or ta'anit...
s of Passover
Passover
Passover is a Jewish holiday and festival. It commemorates the story of the Exodus, in which the ancient Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt...
and Shavuot
Shavuot
The festival of is a Jewish holiday that occurs on the sixth day of the Hebrew month of Sivan ....
. This mitzvah
Mitzvah
The primary meaning of the Hebrew word refers to precepts and commandments as commanded by God...
derives from the Torah
Torah
Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...
commandment to count forty-nine days beginning from the day on which the Omer, a sacrifice containing an omer-measure of barley
Barley
Barley is a major cereal grain, a member of the grass family. It serves as a major animal fodder, as a base malt for beer and certain distilled beverages, and as a component of various health foods...
, was offered in the Temple in Jerusalem
Temple in Jerusalem
The Temple in Jerusalem or Holy Temple , refers to one of a series of structures which were historically located on the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem, the current site of the Dome of the Rock. Historically, these successive temples stood at this location and functioned as the centre of...
, up until the day before an offering of wheat was brought to the Temple on Shavuot. The Counting of the Omer begins on the second day of Passover
Passover
Passover is a Jewish holiday and festival. It commemorates the story of the Exodus, in which the ancient Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt...
(the 16th of Nisan
Nisan
Nisan is the first month of the ecclesiastical year and the seventh month of the civil year, on the Hebrew calendar. The name of the month is Babylonian; in the Torah it is called the month of the Aviv, referring to the month in which barley was ripe. It is a spring month of 30 days...
) for Rabbinic Jews, and after the weekly Shabbat
Shabbat
Shabbat is the seventh day of the Jewish week and a day of rest in Judaism. Shabbat is observed from a few minutes before sunset on Friday evening until a few minutes after when one would expect to be able to see three stars in the sky on Saturday night. The exact times, therefore, differ from...
during Passover
Passover
Passover is a Jewish holiday and festival. It commemorates the story of the Exodus, in which the ancient Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt...
for Karaite Jews
Karaite Judaism
Karaite Judaism or Karaism is a Jewish movement characterized by the recognition of the Tanakh alone as its supreme legal authority in Halakhah, as well as in theology...
, and ends the day before the holiday of Shavuot
Shavuot
The festival of is a Jewish holiday that occurs on the sixth day of the Hebrew month of Sivan ....
, the 'fiftieth day.'
The idea of counting each day represents spiritual preparation and anticipation for the giving of the Torah, which was given by God on Mount Sinai
Biblical Mount Sinai
The Biblical Mount Sinai is the mountain at which the Book of Exodus states that the Ten Commandments were given to Moses by God...
at the beginning of the month
Hebrew calendar
The Hebrew calendar , or Jewish calendar, is a lunisolar calendar used today predominantly for Jewish religious observances. It determines the dates for Jewish holidays and the appropriate public reading of Torah portions, yahrzeits , and daily Psalm reading, among many ceremonial uses...
of Sivan
Sivan
Sivan is the ninth month of the civil year and the third month of the ecclesiastical year on the Hebrew calendar. It is a spring month of 30 days...
, around the same time as the holiday of Shavuot. The Sefer HaChinuch states that the Jewish people were only freed from Egypt
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
at Passover in order to receive the Torah at Sinai, an event which is now celebrated on Shavuot, and to fulfill its laws. Thus the Counting of the Omer demonstrates how much a Jew desires to accept the Torah in his own life.
Source
The commandment for counting the Omer is recorded in :- 15. And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the day of rest, from the day that ye brought the omer of the waving; seven weeks shall there be complete;
- 16. even unto the morrow after the seventh week shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall present a new meal-offering unto the LORD.
However, the obligation in post-temple destruction times is a matter of some dispute. While Rambam (Maimonides) suggests that the obligation is still biblical, most other commentaries assume that it is of a rabbinic origin in modern times.
Background
The omer is a Biblical measure of volume of grain. On the second day of Passover, an omer of barley was offered in the Temple, signalling the allowance of the consumption of chadash (grains from the new harvest). On the 50th day after the beginning of the count, corresponding to the holiday of Shavuot, two loaves made of wheat were offered in the Temple to signal the start of the wheat harvest.The origins of the omer count, enumerated in the Midrash Rabbah Parashas Emor, explains that when the Children of Israel left Egypt they were told by Moses that 49 days after the exodus, they would be given the Torah
Torah
Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...
. The populace was so excited at the prospect of a spiritual liberation, following the physical emancipation from Egypt, they kept a count of the passing days that ended with the giving of the Torah at the foot of Mount Sinai. The Torah itself, in Leviticus
Leviticus
The Book of Leviticus is the third book of the Hebrew Bible, and the third of five books of the Torah ....
23:15-16, states that it is a commandment to count seven complete weeks from the day after Passover night ending with the festival of Shavuot
Shavuot
The festival of is a Jewish holiday that occurs on the sixth day of the Hebrew month of Sivan ....
on the fiftieth day. Shavuot is the festival marking the giving of the Torah to the Jewish nation on the 6th of the Hebrew month of Sivan
Sivan
Sivan is the ninth month of the civil year and the third month of the ecclesiastical year on the Hebrew calendar. It is a spring month of 30 days...
.
In keeping with the themes of spiritual growth and character development during this period, the Jewish sages compare the process of growth to the two types of grain offered at either pole of the counting period. In ancient times, barley was an animal food and wheat, a human food. At Passover, the Jews were raised out of the Egyptian exile although they had sunken almost to the point of no return. The Exodus
The Exodus
The Exodus is the story of the departure of the Israelites from ancient Egypt described in the Hebrew Bible.Narrowly defined, the term refers only to the departure from Egypt described in the Book of Exodus; more widely, it takes in the subsequent law-givings and wanderings in the wilderness...
was unearned, a gift from God, like the food of animals who are not expected to develop their spiritual potential. For the next forty-nine days, however, the Jewish people worked on themselves to be able to receive the Torah on their own merit. The receiving of the Torah required spiritual elevation and active cooperation. Thus the Shavuot offering is "people food" http://www.aish.com/omerThemes/omerThemesDefault/Mind_Over_Matter__.asp.
The count
As soon as it is definitely night (approximately thirty minutes after sundown), the one who is counting the Omer recites this blessing:- "Baruch atah A-donai E-loheinu Melekh Ha-olam asher kid'shanu b'mitzvotav v'tzivanu al S'firat Ha-omer."
Then he or she states the Omer-count in terms of both total days and weeks and days. For example, on the 23rd day the count would be stated thus: "Today is twenty-three days, which is three weeks and two days of (or "in" http://ohr.edu/ask_db/ask_main.php/63/Q2/) the Omer." The count is said in Hebrew
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
.
According to the Halakha
Halakha
Halakha — also transliterated Halocho , or Halacha — is the collective body of Jewish law, including biblical law and later talmudic and rabbinic law, as well as customs and traditions.Judaism classically draws no distinction in its laws between religious and ostensibly non-religious life; Jewish...
, a person may only recite the blessing while it is still night. If he or she remembers the count the next morning or afternoon, the count may still be made, but without a blessing. If one forgets to count a day altogether, he or she may continue to count succeeding days, but without a blessing.
The Omer may be counted in any language, however one must understand what one is saying.
"Omer-counters" are typically offered for sale during this time, and are displayed in synagogue
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
s for the benefit of worshippers who count the Omer with the congregation at the conclusion of evening services. Omer-counters range from decorative boxes with an interior scroll that shows each day's count through a small opening; to posters and magnets in which each day's count is recorded on a tear-off piece of paper; to calendars depicting all seven weeks and 49 days of the Omer (a small pointer is advanced from day to day); to pegboards that keep track of both the day and the week of the Omer. Reminders to count the Omer are also produced for hand-held computers and via SMS
Short message service
Short Message Service is a text messaging service component of phone, web, or mobile communication systems, using standardized communications protocols that allow the exchange of short text messages between fixed line or mobile phone devices...
services for cell phone
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
s.
Karaite Practice
Karaites begin counting the Omer on the day after the weekly Sabbath during PassoverPassover
Passover is a Jewish holiday and festival. It commemorates the story of the Exodus, in which the ancient Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt...
, rather than on the second day of Passover (the 16th of Nisan).
Alternate Interpretation
Of the three Jewish pilgrimage festivals, SukkotSukkot
Sukkot is a Biblical holiday celebrated on the 15th day of the month of Tishrei . It is one of the three biblically mandated festivals Shalosh regalim on which Hebrews were commanded to make a pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem.The holiday lasts seven days...
, Passover
Passover
Passover is a Jewish holiday and festival. It commemorates the story of the Exodus, in which the ancient Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt...
and Shavuot
Shavuot
The festival of is a Jewish holiday that occurs on the sixth day of the Hebrew month of Sivan ....
, both Sukkot and Passover occur on the 15th day of the lunar month, the day of the full moon, which, in pre-electricity days, was of major importance. Shavuot, as currently practiced, occurs about a week before the full moon.
In defining the Passover observance and the counting of the Omer, states:
- 7 In the first day ye shall have a holy convocation; ye shall do no manner of servile work.
- 8 And ye shall bring an offering made by fire unto the LORD seven days; in the seventh day is a holy convocation; ye shall do no manner of servile work.
- 9 And the LORD spoke unto Moses saying:
- 10 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them: When ye are come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring the sheaf of the first-fruits of your harvest unto the priest.
- 11 And he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, to be accepted for you; on the morrow after the sabbath the priest shall wave it.
- 12 And in the day when ye wave the sheaf, ye shall offer a he-lamb without blemish of the first year for a burnt-offering unto the LORD.
- 13 And the meal-offering thereof shall be two tenth parts of an ephah of fine flour mingled with oil, an offering made by fire unto the LORD for a sweet savour; and the drink-offering thereof shall be of wine, the fourth part of a hin.
- 14 And ye shall eat neither bread, nor parched corn, nor fresh ears, until this selfsame day, until ye have brought the offering of your God; it is a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.
- 15 And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the day of rest, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the waving; seven weeks shall there be complete;
- 16 even unto the morrow after the seventh week shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall present a new meal-offering unto the LORD.
Verse 8 defines a "day of rest", or sabbath, on the seventh day of Passover. If we use this day as the sabbath referred to in verse 11, instead of the day of rest defined in verse 7 as is currently done, we start counting on the 8th day after the start of Passover, and Shavuot occurs 58 days, or approximately two lunar months, after Passover, and falls on a full moon.
Deeper symbolism
The period of Omer is considered to be a time of potential for inner growth - for a person to work on one's middot or good characteristics through reflection and development of one aspect each day for the 49 days of the counting.In Kabbalah
Kabbalah
Kabbalah/Kabala is a discipline and school of thought concerned with the esoteric aspect of Rabbinic Judaism. It was systematized in 11th-13th century Hachmei Provence and Spain, and again after the Expulsion from Spain, in 16th century Ottoman Palestine...
, each of the seven weeks of the Omer-counting is associated with one of the seven lower sefirot (#4-10): Chesed
Chesed
The Hebrew noun khesed or chesed is the Hebrew word for "kindness." It is also commonly translated as "loving-kindness," or "love." Love is a central Jewish value, and leads to many particular commandments. Chesed is central to Jewish ethics and Jewish theology...
, Gevurah, Tipheret, Netzach, Hod
Hod (Kabbalah)
Hod in the Kabbalah of Judaism is the eighth sephira of the Kabbalistic tree of life. It is derived from hod הוד in the Hebrew language meaning "majesty" or "splendor" and denoting "praise" as well as "submission"....
, Yesod, and Malchut. Each day of each week is also associated with one of these same seven sefirot, creating forty-nine permutations. The first day of the Omer is therefore associated with "chesed that is in chesed", the second day with "gevurah that is in chesed"; the first day of the second week is associated with "chesed that is in gevurah," the second day of the second week with "gevurah that is in gevurah," and so on. Symbolically, each of these 49 permutations represents an aspect of each person's character that can be improved or further developed. Rabbi Simon Jacobson
Simon Jacobson
Simon Jacobson is the author of Toward a Meaningful Life , founder of and publisher of the Yiddish English weekly, The Algemeiner Journal.-Life and career:...
explains these 49 levels in his classic book, The Spiritual Guide to Counting the Omer. http://www.meaningfullife.com/torah/holidays/8b/Your_Guide_to_Personal_Freedom_-_Week_1.php, as do Rabbi Yaacov Haber
Yaacov Haber
Rabbi Yaacov Haber has been engaged in teaching Jews about their heritage for almost thirty years. He is considered one of the pioneers of the "Kiruv" or outreach movement and is world renowned as being one of the foremost experts in Adult Jewish education....
and Rabbi David Sedley in their book Sefiros: Spiritual Refinement through Counting the Omer http://www.torahlab.org/store/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=710.
The forty-nine-day period of counting the Omer is also a conducive time to study the teaching of the Mishna in Pirkei Avoth
Pirkei Avoth
Pirkei Avot , which translates to English as Chapters of the Fathers is a compilation of the ethical teachings and maxims of the Rabbis of the Mishnaic period. Because of its contents, it is also called Ethics of the Fathers. The teachings of Pirkei Avot appear in the Mishnaic tractate of Avot,...
6:6, which enumerates the "48 ways" by which Torah is acquired. Rabbi Aharon Kotler
Aharon Kotler
Aharon Kotler was an Orthodox Jewish rabbi and a prominent leader of Orthodox Judaism in Lithuania, and later the United States, where he built Beth Medrash Govoha in Lakewood Township, New Jersey.- Early life :...
explains that the study of each "way" can be done on each of the first forty-eight days of the Omer-counting; on the forty-ninth day, one should review all the "ways"http://www.aish.com/h/o/t/52829142.html.
As a period of semi-mourning
The period of counting the Omer is also a time of semi-mourning, during which the HalakhaHalakha
Halakha — also transliterated Halocho , or Halacha — is the collective body of Jewish law, including biblical law and later talmudic and rabbinic law, as well as customs and traditions.Judaism classically draws no distinction in its laws between religious and ostensibly non-religious life; Jewish...
forbids haircuts, shaving, listening to instrumental music, or conducting weddings, parties, and dinners with dancing. Traditionally, the reason cited is that this is in memory of a plague that killed the 24,000 students of Rabbi Akiva
Rabbi Akiva
Akiva ben Joseph simply known as Rabbi Akiva , was a tanna of the latter part of the 1st century and the beginning of the 2nd century . He was a great authority in the matter of Jewish tradition, and one of the most central and essential contributors to the Mishnah and Midrash Halakha...
. According to the Talmud
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
, 12,000 chavruta
Chavruta
Chavruta, also spelled chavrusa , is a traditional Rabbinic approach to Talmudic study in which a pair of students independently learn, discuss, and debate a shared text. It is a primary learning method in yeshivas and kollels, where students often engage regular study partners of similar knowledge...
(pairs of study partners) were divinely killed during the days of the Omer-counting for not honoring one another properly.
Lag Ba'omer
Lag Ba'omer
Lag BaOmer , also known as Lag LaOmer amongst Sephardi Jews, is a Jewish holiday celebrated on the thirty-third day of the Counting of the Omer, which occurs on the 18th day of Iyar. One reason given for the holiday is as the day of passing of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai. Modern Jewish tradition links...
, the thirty-third day of the Counting of the Omer, is considered to be the day in which the plague was lifted, (and/or: the day in which the rebellion saw a victory,) so on that day, all the rules of mourning are lifted (some Sephardim, however, continue the mourning period up until the 34th day of the Omer, which is considered by them to be the day of joy and celebration). Spanish and Portuguese Jews
Spanish and Portuguese Jews
Spanish and Portuguese Jews are a distinctive sub-group of Sephardim who have their main ethnic origins within the Jewish communities of the Iberian peninsula and who shaped communities mainly in Western Europe and the Americas from the late 16th century on...
do not observe these customs. Some religious Jews shave each Friday afternoon during the mourning period of the Omer in order to be neat in honor of the Shabbat.
In practice, different Jewish communities observe different periods of mourning. Some families listen to music during the week of Passover
Passover
Passover is a Jewish holiday and festival. It commemorates the story of the Exodus, in which the ancient Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt...
and then commence the period of mourning until Lag Ba'omer. Some Sephardic Jewish families begin the period of mourning from the first day of the Hebrew month of Iyar
Iyar
Iyar is the eighth month of the civil year and the second month of the ecclesiastical year on the Hebrew calendar. The name is Babylonian in origin. It is a spring month of 29 days. Iyar usually falls in April–June on the Gregorian calendar.In the Hebrew Bible, before the Babylonian Exile, the...
and continue for thirty-three days until the third of Sivan. The custom among Jerusalemites (minhag Yerushalmi) is to follow the mourning practices during the entire Counting of the Omer, save for the day of Lag Ba'omer and the last three days of the counting (sheloshet yemei hagbalah). The extent of mourning is also based heavily on family custom, and therefore Jews will mourn to different degrees.
Rabbi Yechiel Michel Epstein
Yechiel Michel Epstein
Yechiel Michel Epstein , often called "the Aruch ha-Shulchan" , was a Rabbi and posek in Lithuania...
, author of Aruch Hashulchan, postulates that the mourning period also memorializes Jews who were murdered during the Crusades
Crusades
The Crusades were a series of religious wars, blessed by the Pope and the Catholic Church with the main goal of restoring Christian access to the holy places in and near Jerusalem...
, pogrom
Pogrom
A pogrom is a form of violent riot, a mob attack directed against a minority group, and characterized by killings and destruction of their homes and properties, businesses, and religious centres...
s and blood libel
Blood libel
Blood libel is a false accusation or claim that religious minorities, usually Jews, murder children to use their blood in certain aspects of their religious rituals and holidays...
s that occurred in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
1,000 years after the period of Rabbi Akiva
Rabbi Akiva
Akiva ben Joseph simply known as Rabbi Akiva , was a tanna of the latter part of the 1st century and the beginning of the 2nd century . He was a great authority in the matter of Jewish tradition, and one of the most central and essential contributors to the Mishnah and Midrash Halakha...
http://www.aish.com/omerLagBOmer/omerLagBOmerDefault/Rebbe_Akivas_243000_Students_.asp#r5.
The Jewish calendar is largely agricultural, and the period of Omer falls between Passover and Shavuot. On Passover there is a shift from praying for rain to praying for dew and this begins the growth period for the fruit of the season. Shavuot is the day of the giving of the first fruits
First Fruits
First Fruits are a religious offering of the first agricultural produce of the harvest. In classical Greek, Roman, Hebrew and Christian religions, the first fruits were offered to the temple or church. First Fruits were often a primary source of income to maintain the religious leaders and the...
. The outcome of the season's crop and fruit was still vulnerable during this period. Over these seven weeks, daily reflection, work on one's middot (characteristics) and potential inner growth from this work on self was one way to pray for and invite the possibility of affecting one's external fate and potential - the growth of the crop and the fruit of that season.
Although the period of the Omer is traditionally a mourning one, Jews can do actions that are not allowed during mourning on Lag Ba'Omer and a day of extreme happiness. Many Religious Zionists shave their beards and do other actions that are typically not allowed during the mourning period on Yom Ha'atzmaut
Yom Ha'atzmaut
Yom Ha'atzmaut commemorates Israel's declaration of Independence in 1948. It is celebrated on 5 Iyar according to the Hebrew calendar. Yom Ha'atzmaut is preceded by Yom Hazikaron, the Israeli Fallen Soldiers and Victims of Terrorism Remembrance Day.-History:...
(Israeli Independence Day).
Lag Ba'omer
Besides being the day on which the plague affecting Rabbi Akiva's students ceased, Lag Ba'omerLag Ba'omer
Lag BaOmer , also known as Lag LaOmer amongst Sephardi Jews, is a Jewish holiday celebrated on the thirty-third day of the Counting of the Omer, which occurs on the 18th day of Iyar. One reason given for the holiday is as the day of passing of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai. Modern Jewish tradition links...
marks the yahrzeit (anniversary of the death) of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai. After the death of Rabbi Akiva's 24,000 students, Rabbi Akiva taught five students, among them Rabbi Shimon. The latter went on to become the greatest teacher of Torah in his generation. According to tradition, on the day of his death, he revealed the deepest secrets of the Torah in a Kabbalistic work called the Zohar
Zohar
The Zohar is the foundational work in the literature of Jewish mystical thought known as Kabbalah. It is a group of books including commentary on the mystical aspects of the Torah and scriptural interpretations as well as material on Mysticism, mythical cosmogony, and mystical psychology...
.
According to the Zohar, Rabbi Shimon's house was filled with fire and light that entire day as he taught his students. At the end of the day, the fire subsided and Rabbi Shimon died http://www.aish.com/omerLagBOmer/omerLagBOmerDefault/Lag_BOmer_.asp. On successive years, his students sought to recreate that experience of light and mystical revelation by kindling bonfires and studying the Zohar in the light of the flames.
Although the anniversary of the death of a tzaddik is usually a mournful day, the anniversary of Rabbi Shimon's death on Lag Ba'omer is a festive one. Bonfires are lit and people sing and dance by the flames. Weddings, parties, listening to music, picnics, and haircuts are commonplace.
External links
- Homer Calendar
- Torahvort.com
- Counting with Rabbi Yael Levy
- Omer Resources on neohasid—how to count, Omer widgets and apps, special days, nigunim, etc.
- Counting the Omer: A Kabbalistic Meditation Guide by Rabbi Min Kantrowitz