The Period of the Omer--An Explanation

 By Rabbi Daniel Kohn

1.On the eve of the second night of Pesach, at the second seder, we begin to count each night, for 49 nights, 50 days, until the festival of Shavuot, which falls 7 weeks later. Why do we count each of the days of these 7 weeks?

2.In Leviticus 23:15-21, its says,in reference to the day after the beginning of Pesach,

"You shall count off seven weeks. They must be complete: you must count until the day after the seventh week--fifty days; they you shall bring an offering of new grain to the Lord."

The Hebrew word, "to count" is Lispor, therefore, this period of time is known as the Sefirah, the counting. The Torah also says that at the end of this period of counting, the Israelites were to bring a sheaf, or in Hebrew, an Omer, of new wheat as an offering to the Tabernacle. Therefore, this period is also known as the Omer, as well as the Sefirah.

1.Where would the Israelites get this Omer, this sheaf of new wheat? Well, it just so happens that this period of the Omer covers the exact time of the first Spring wheat growing season in the land of Israel. Pesach marks the end of the cold, torrential rainy season and the beginning of the more temperate, growing season. The period of the Sefirah covers 7 weeks which is exactly how long it takes to plant and grow to harvest a complete crop of wheat! Therefore, this new sheaf, or Omer of wheat, was to be offered from this first new crop of wheat at the conclusion of the Sefirah, the counting of 7 weeks.

2.To mark the successful conclusion of this first wheat growing season, the Israelites would celebrate their gratitude to God's bounty by bringing loaves of bread from their new harvest to the Temple in Jerusalem where they would be ultimately eaten by the priests. Thus, the Omer culminates in the festival of Shavuot, which literally means, the Feast of Weeks, that is, referring to the 7 week count-down from Pesach till Shavuot.

3.Each of the three pilgrimage festivals of Judaism, Pesach, Shavuot and Sukkot has an agricultural basis as well as an historical significance . During Pesach, not only do we celebrate the end of the rainy season and the beginning of the growing season, as well as the new lambing time, but we also commemorate the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt. So too, on Shavuot, not only do we celebrate the successful conclusion of the first wheat growing season, but we celebrate the anniversary of the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai!. In the liturgy, we refer to Shavuot as Z'man Matan Torah, "the time of the giving of the Torah."

4.So we see that agriculturally and historically, there is a close connection between Pesach and Shavuot, which are linked by the counting of the Omer. In fact, there is a midrash which further explains this close connection. When the Israelites were told of their forthcoming liberation from Egypt, they were also informed that 50 days thereafter, they would receive the Torah. The Israelites were so excited that they began counting the days till then. This practice then became a Mitzvah for all future generations to do as well.

5.Counting the days of the Omer is the bridge connecting Pesach and Shavuot, indicating that Pesach is not merely a festival which celebrates freedom for its own sake, just freedom from slavery, but also freedom for something, for a higher purpose--freedom to receive and practice Judaism! Afterall, when Moses spoke with Pharoah, Moses did not just simply say, "Let my people go" as the song would have you believe, Moses said, Shlach et Ami VeYa'avduni, "Let me people go that they may worship Me!" Pesach celebrates religious freedom! The freedom to worship God according to the dictates of our tradition unmolested or unencumbered by enemies.

6.The counting of the Omer, therefore, is an extension of the celebration of our religious freedom. The counting of the Omer takes place at night, which is when each Jewish day begins. We say it standing, after the Alenu and there is a special Bracha which precedes it.

7.Since the counting of the day of Omer is the essence of the mitzvah, should someone ask us what day of the Omer it is, one should never tell someone else, "Hey, did you know that it is the x day of the Omer?", as then, you have inadvertantly already fulfilled the mitzvah of counting the Omer and lost the opportunity of saying the accompanying Bracha! Therefore, we always respond by saying that yesterday was the x day of the Omer!

8.The period of the Omer is also considered a time of tension and mourning in our tradition. It is improper to schedule weddings during these seven weeks and men are supposed to grow beards as a symbol of mourning. There are a number of possible explanations for this. The first is that the nature of the Omer season itself is fraught with danger and tension. In an agricultural society which was dependent upon the successful harvest of the wheat crop for survival, a late rain or snowfall could jeapordize the life of the community!

9.Also, the Talmud claims that it was during the season of the Omer that the Bar Kochba revolt was ultimately crushed by the Roman army in 135 C.E. and that in the period of persecution that followed, 12,000 of Rabbi Akiba's students were put to death (B. Yev 62b)

10.This association of the period of Sefirah with mourning was reinforced by later persecutions and massacres of Jews in Europe by the Christian Crusaders who, on their way to liberate the Holy Land from the Moslems, slaughtered thousands of Jews along the way. Therefore, it was decided in modern times to establish Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Day, during this period of time.

11.There is one bright spot, however, amidst this season of counting and solemnity, and that is Lag B'Omer. Lag, in Hebrew is formed by the two letters, Lamed and Gimel, which also have the numerical equivelant of 33! Therefore, the 33 day of the Omer is a pseudo-holiday for it was supposedly on this day that during the Bar Kochba rebellion, the Jews achieved a minor military victory on which they rejoiced. So nowadays, Lag B'Omer is a day for bonfires at night and picnics during the day.