MINHAGIM OF SEFIRAT HAOMER

 
From the end of Pesach until the 33rd day of the Omer we have the tradition of keeping certain customs of mourning, in memory of the twenty-four thousand students of rabbi Aqiba who died in that period of time in the years 130 ACE.

 
 
 
1. Weddings or engagements are not allowed during the days of the Sefira, but in our community it is customary to allow an engagement to take place during Rosh Chodesh Iyar.
 
 
 
 
2. The first day to allow the performance of a wedding, according to the Sephardic Minhag, is on the 34th day of the Omer while for the Ashkenazi Minhag is on the 33rd.
 
 
 
3. Men are not allowed to get a haircut during the days of the Sefira until the 34th day of the Omer. Women are not subject to any restrictions regarding their hair.
 
 
 
4. It is customary not to wear any new clothing for which one would regularly say the Berakha Sheheheyanu. Since this custom is not mentioned in the Shulchan Arukh there is some leniency to it. For example: If a specific new garment will not be available after the Omer or if the price will increase after Lag laOmer it is permitted to acquire the new clothing. If the new clothing is much needed, it can be worn on Shabbat for the first time, saying Sheheheyanu for it. Buying new clothing for a wedding is permitted, for the bride the groom and their immediate family. Buying new clothing for a Brit Milah is also permitted for the family.
 
 
 
 
5. Buying a new house is permitted, but if possible, one should move into it only after Lag laOmer. If one does not have a house or an office, he can move into the new property even before Lag laOmer. It is NOT forbidden to make a contract or a closing for a house during these days. There are no restrictions for buying, renting, or selling a property as business operations.
 
 
6. During these days, one should avoid listening to live music and/or going to a movie theater.
 
 
7. In our community the celebration of Yom haAtzmaut, Israel’s Independence Day, which commemorates the anniversary of the re-establishment of the State of Israel overrides the mourning restrictions of the Omer period, thus we celebrate that day with joyous prayers, banquettes, dancing, and music.
 
 
 

It is important to notice that all the restrictions we follow in the days of Omer are not associated with superstitions or notions of bad luck or bad Mazal. These Minhagim are related to the mourning we keep, honoring the memory of the students of Ribbi Aqiba.
 
 
 


When does the new Jewish day begin?

The counting of the days of ‘omer connects the Holiday of Pesach, the commemoration of our physical freedom, with Shabu’ot, the day we received the Tora.  Without getting out of Egypt, it would not have been possible for us to receive the Tora. And without receiving our Tora we would have taken with us Egypt’s gods, mores and values.  Only once we were free from Pharaoh we were at liberty to choose to be under God’s commandment, and accepted to become His chosen people .

The days of the Omer are counted at night. Because for us Jews, the new day starts at night.

Now, at what precise moment the new day starts, and at what time the previous day ends is a complicated technical Halakhic matter.

Very briefly: there are two possible astronomic indicators for the new day

  1. Sunset, when the sun disappears from sight
  2. Nightfall, which is marked by the visibility of the stars in the sky.

All Rabbis agree that before sunset it is still considered day # 1. And most Rabbis agree that after three medium stars are visible it is considered day #2.  Now, the time in between sunset and the appearance of the three stars is known as the twilight zone or in Hebrew, ben hashemashot. This time-period fluctuates between 15 min (13 ½ to be precise) to 30 minutes or more, depending on many variables, such as geographic location, year’s season, etc.

Regarding Shabbat, for example, we take the strictest stand by receiving Shabbat always before sunset and ending Shabbat after three medium stars are visible.

In most Sephardic communities the starting time to count the ‘omer is 15 minutes after sunset.

In exceptional circumstances Rabbis would authorize to count with Berakha earlier, but never before sunset.

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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).