SEFIRAT HAOMER: Counting the days

In the times of the Bet haMiqdash, during the second day of Pesach, an offering was presented in the altar of the Temple which consisted of a preparation of one ‘omer of barley flour, signaling that from that moment the Jews are allowed to consume from the new harvest (chadash). ‘omer is a Biblical unit of measurement of approximately one gallon, and by extension, it became the name of that important offering. 
Following the Biblical instructions the offering of the ‘omer also indicated the beginning of a period of seven weeks or forty-nine days until the Holiday of Shabuot (Vaiyqra –Leviticus– 23:15-16).
This is known as Sefirat ha’omer –the Mitzva of counting 49 days from the ‘omer to Shabuot. Thus, the Holiday of Pesach, our physical or political freedom, is connected with Shabuot, when we achieve our ‘mental’–spiritual and cultural– freedom by receiving the Tora.  
  
Our rabbis explained that unlike physical liberty, mental freedom does not happen overnight. It is a long process of deprograming. In the case of the people of Israel, it consisted among other things of getting rid of all the former habits of slave-mentality and learning to take charge of their own lives. They also had to recognize and leave aside the pagan and immoral practices of the idol-worshipping Egyptian society (tum-a) which were obviously incompatible with the principles of our Tora. In Pesach we got out of Egypt. And during the days of ‘omer we had to get Egypt out of our system in preparation for the big day:  The giving of the Torah and the establishment of our covenant (berit) with the Almighty celebrated at Mount Sinai.
  
The counting of the Omer takes place at night and it is preceded by a by a blessing: ...Asher Kideshanu beMitzvotav veTzivanu al Sefirat ha’Omer. Then we proceed to count the day and the week. Today, for example, we count 9 days; that is: one week and two days from the ‘omer.  
  
(to be continued…)
  
Preparing ourselves  for Yom HaShoa
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SEFIRAT HAOMER: More on the Mitzva of Counting the Omer

Today is the 29th day of Nisan, 5771, 14 days of Omer (2 weeks)

The days of the Omer need to be counted at night. As you already probably know, for us the new day starts at night. Like Shabbat which starts Friday night.

At what precise time the new day starts is a controversial complicated technical Halakhic matter. But very briefly: there are two possible astronomic indicators for the new day:
1. Sunset. 2. The appearance of stars in the dark sky. All Rabbis agree that before sunset it is still considered day # 1 and after the stars are visible it is considered day #2. The time in between sunset and the stars (twilight zone or ben hashemashot) fluctuates between 15 min (13 ½ to be precise!) to 30 minutes or more depending on many variables (geographic location, year’s season, etc.). Regarding Shabbat, for example, we take the stringiest stand: we receive Shabbat before sunset and we end Shabbat the next day, after the stars are visible.

Regarding the counting of the Omer, according to Rabbi Eliyahu Ben Hayim the starting time to count the Omer will be 13 ½ minutes after sunset. For a Minyan one could be more lenient but never before sunset.

Children, although formally exempt from the Mitzvah of counting the days of the Omer until Bar or Bat Mitzva, should be encouraged to count every night including the recitation of the berakha, because the rules of berakha lebatala (saying a formal blessing unnecessarily) does not apply for children.

Rabbi Yosef Bitton. YMJC | 130 Steamboat Rd. | Great Neck | NY | 11024



What is Lag laOmer?

16th of Iyar, 5770 (31 days of Omer. 4 weeks, 3 days)

33 of Omer

Lag BaOmer (for Sephardic Jews is more accurate to say: “Lag laOmer”) means the 33rd day of the count of the Omer. The restrictions of mourning are lifted on this day and weddings, parties, etc are permitted from this day on.
This year it will fall this coming Saturday night/Sunday. During the time of Rabbi Akiba (approx. 150 of the Common Era) 24,000 of his students died from a divine-sent plague during these days of the Omer. The Talmud says that this was because they did not show proper respect to one another. The 33rd day of the Omer this plague ended. Another interpretation is that the students fell as they participated in Bar Kokhba’s revolt against the Romans (Rabbi Akiba was known for his support of bar Kokhba’s revolt).
Some of rabbi Akiva students survived, among them Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai who became one of greatest teacher of Torah in his generation and who is mostly known for authored the Sefer haZohar, “The book of splendor” the main book of Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism).

According to tradition, Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai passed away on the 33rd day of the Omer. Lag laOmer is known among Sepharadic Jews as the Hillulah (wedding) De Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai. Very briefly: During his lifetime –which included 12 years of isolation- Rabbi Shimon achieved the highest possible level of human attachment to God. The rabbis of the Kabbala called this level metaphorically “engagement” (Irusin) which is when a Jew is totally, passionately and exclusively dedicated to God. If during his lifetime, the Rabbis of the Kabbalah explain, one has achieved this superior level, then his departed soul will be “married” (I insist: metaphorically), in other words, intimately connected to the Ziv haShekhina (the Almighty’s Splendorous Presence).