Counting the Omer: Origin and Practice

Seven Weeks of the Omer: Introductory Notes

The Omer, an offering of barley, was brought on the second day of Pesach to the Temple. Equivalent to 5.2 dry pints.
We count for 49 days: 7², that is, 7 x 7⁼49, is a full earthly cycle
Day 50 is Shavuot, a transcendent day, rising above the physical squaring of 7, arriving at Sinai to receive Torah
Parallels the number 7 as the days of the creation of the physical world and 8 as the super-sized step into the God-realm, the “out-of-this-world” dimension
Exodus mentioned 50 times in Torah
49-stage journey from the 1^st day of Pesach, sometimes represented as 49 gates
We, Israelites in Egypt, were at 49^th level (lowest level of 49) of spiritual states at the start of our exodus journey.
Counting the omer is a journey of redemption that prepares us to receive Torah
We count 49 days, but not the 50^th because the latter is a Divine dimension, ineffable, beyond time
Shavuot, as a marriage between humankind and God, with Torah as ketubah

(טו) וּסְפַרְתֶּ֤ם לָכֶם֙ מִמָּחֳרַ֣ת הַשַּׁבָּ֔ת מִיּוֹם֙ הֲבִ֣יאֲכֶ֔ם אֶת־עֹ֖מֶר הַתְּנוּפָ֑ה שֶׁ֥בַע שַׁבָּת֖וֹת תְּמִימֹ֥ת תִּהְיֶֽינָה׃ (טז) עַ֣ד מִֽמָּחֳרַ֤ת הַשַּׁבָּת֙ הַשְּׁבִיעִ֔ת תִּסְפְּר֖וּ חֲמִשִּׁ֣ים י֑וֹם וְהִקְרַבְתֶּ֛ם מִנְחָ֥ה חֲדָשָׁ֖ה לַיהוָֽה׃

Leviticus 23:15-16

(15) And from the day on which you bring the sheaf of elevation offering—the day after the sabbath—you shall count off seven weeks. They must be complete: (16) you must count until the day after the seventh week—fifty days; then you shall bring an offering of new grain to Adonai.

דברים ט״ז:ט׳-י׳

שִׁבְעָ֥ה שָׁבֻעֹ֖ת תִּסְפָּר־לָ֑ךְ מֵהָחֵ֤ל חֶרְמֵשׁ֙ בַּקָּמָ֔ה תָּחֵ֣ל לִסְפֹּ֔ר שִׁבְעָ֖ה שָׁבֻעֽוֹת׃ וְעָשִׂ֜יתָ חַ֤ג שָׁבֻעוֹת֙ לַיהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ מִסַּ֛ת נִדְבַ֥ת יָדְךָ֖ אֲשֶׁ֣ר תִּתֵּ֑ן כַּאֲשֶׁ֥ר יְבָרֶכְךָ֖ יְהוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֶֽיךָ׃

Deuteronomy 16:9-10

You shall count off seven weeks; start to count the seven weeks when the sickle is first put to the standing grain. Then you shall observe the Feast of Weeks for Adonai your God, offering your freewill contribution according as Adonai your God has blessed you.

בעל מי שילוח – הגדת הגיוני הלכה על שלחן ערוך

באכילת ביצה יש רמז לשתי הגאולות של ישראל, לגאולת הגוף משיעבוד מצרים ולגאולת הרוח בקבלת התורה. ומה הרמז בביצה על שני אלה? כל הנולדים בעולם כיון שנולדו נגמרה ההולדה בשלימות והגיעה את התכלית, זולת הביצה. ביצה הנולדה לא הגיעה בה ההולדה של תכליתה, עדיין היא צריכה להולדה שניה, להולדת האפרוח. וכלידת האפרוח הנולד בלידה אחר לידה, כך עם ישראל. כשיצאו ישראל ממצרים היתה יציאתם לידה להם, לידה ראשונה ...

Mordechai Yosef Leiner of Izbica

"Development"

The eating of the egg is a hint to the two redemptions of Yirael - the physical redemption from slavery in Egypt and the spiritual redemption when the Torah was received. How does the egg hint to both of these? All [creatures] are born complete at birth, except for the egg. When the egg is laid it is not completely born, it still needs to be hatched with a second process, until it is a chick. Just as the chick is born with a birth after the birth, so to with Am Yisrael. When Yisrael left Egypt, their exodus was a birth, the first birth.

Rambam, Moreh Nevuchim (Guide for the Perplexed) 3:43

"Awaiting the Beloved"
שבועות הוא יום מתן תורה. ולהגדיל היו ההוא נמנו הימים מן המועד הראשון אליו, כמי שממתין בו הנאמן שבאוהביו ושהוא מונה היום וגם השעות, וזאת היא סיבת ספירת העומר מיום צאתנו ממצרים עד יום מתן תורה, שהוא היה הכוונה והתכלית ביציאתם באמרו ואביא אתכם אלי (שמות י"ט:ד).
Shavuot is the time of the Giving of the Torah. In order to honor and elevate this day we count the days from the previous festival until it [arrives], like someone who is waiting for a loved one to arrive, who counts the days by the hours. This is the reason for counting the Omer from the day that we left Egypt until the day of the Giving of the Torah, as this was the ultimate purpose of leaving Egypt: “And I will bring them to Me” (Shemot 19:4).

אור החיים ויקרא פרק כג פסוק טו

וספרתם לכם וגו'. אומרו לכם לצד שיצו ה' לספור שבע שבתות, ואמרו ז"ל כי לצד שהיו בטומאת מצרים ורצה ה' להזדווג לאומה זו דן בה כמשפט נדה שדינה לספור ז' נקיים, וצוה שיספרו ז' שבועות ואז יהיו מוכשרים להכניסתם כלה לחופה

Ohr Ha'chaim Vayikra 23:16

"And count for yourself" - From G-d we are commanded to count the seven Sabbaths (weeks), and Chazal said: because they were immersed in the impurity of Egypt. And God wanted to partner with this nation, which he commanded on them, like the Niddah, to count 7 clean days. And they were commanded to count 7 weeks until then they could be kosher to enter the chuppah like the bride.

Counting the Omer as Preparation
Rabbi Raphael Shimshon Hirsch explains that Shavuot was the final day of preparation, the day when the people of Israel were ready to receive the Torah. This invests the period of the counting of the omer with additional significance. The forty-nine days between the exodus from Egypt and the day before the reception of the Torah are not just days of anticipation. They are days of preparation, of moral and spiritual growth. As we count the days of the omer we must evaluate our spiritual state. We must use this period to improve ourselves and correct our flaws and deficiencies. It is this period of preparation which makes us worthy of receiving the Torah.

Approach #1: If one misses an entire day, counting may continue but without a blessing. Thus, one must count all 49 days with a blessing to fulfill .

אורח חיים תפ״ט:ח׳

אם שכח לברך באחד מהימים בין יום ראשון בין משאר ימים סופר בשאר ימים בלא ברכה אבל אם הוא מסופק אם דילג יום אחד ולא ספר יספור בשאר ימים בברכה:

Shulchan Arukh, Orach Chayyim 489:8

If he forgot to bless on one of the days, between the first day [of the omer] and the rest of the days, he should count the rest of the days without a blessing. But, if he uncertain if he skipped a single day and didn’t count, he should count the days with a blessing.

Approach #2: Since each day is a mitzvah in-and-of-itself, if one misses an entire 24-hour day of counting with a blessing, one may (and should) still continue to count with a blessing the next day.

"One counts without a blessing" (D"H from the Kitzer S"A): This is the opinion of the Shulhan Arukh and the Ahronim. [But] see in Sefer Otzar Ha-Hayyim (R. Yitzhak Safrin from Karmona, 1806 - 1874) who brings [the opinion] that if one forgets to count [a 24-hour period] counting may continue with a blessing since the majority of Rishonim interpreted each and every day to be a mitzvah in-and-of itself. And he [Otzar Ha-Hayyim] also brought that all the rebbes that were students of the Besht followed this practice [end quote Otzar Ha-Hayyim]. And I [Rabbi Braun] heard that the reason they followed this custom [of continuing with a blessing] against the Shulhan Arukh is because earlier times are not like later ones (i.e., the time of R. Karo is different from our time). Earlier, people were meticulous about counting the Omer and if they forgot to count once, they still counted but without a blessing, since blessings don't prevent one from fulfilling the obligation. But in our time [strict] religious Judaism is declining rapidly and if we tell someone to keep counting without a blessing, [this person] will think that they aren't actually fulfilling any obligation and won't be scrupulous to continue counting [at all]! Therefore, instruct those who come and ask [what to do if they miss a day] that they should count with a blessing, since in any event this was the opinion of the Rishonim. (R. Shlomo Zalman Braun Shearim Metzuyanim Be-Halakhah (120:4).)

ל’’ג בעומר

Lag B'omer, The 33rd Day of the Omer

Lamed = 30

gimmel = 3

Talmud Bavli, Yevamot 62b

ר"ע אומר למד תורה בילדותו ילמוד תורה בזקנותו היו לו תלמידים בילדותו יהיו לו תלמידים בזקנותו שנא' בבקר זרע את זרעך וגו' אמרו שנים עשר אלף זוגים תלמידים היו לו לרבי עקיבא מגבת עד אנטיפרס וכולן מתו בפרק אחד מפני שלא נהגו כבוד זה לזה והיה העולם שמם עד שבא ר"ע אצל רבותינו שבדרום ושנאה להם ר"מ ור' יהודה ור' יוסי ורבי שמעון ורבי אלעזר בן שמוע והם הם העמידו תורה אותה שעה.
Rabbi Akiva says, “If you have learned Torah in your youth you must [continue to] learn Torah in your old age. If you have had students in your youth you must [continue to] have students in your old age,” as the verse says, “In the morning plant your seeds and in the evening do not let your hand rest.” They said that Rabbi Akiva had twelve thousand pairs of students from Givat to Antiprat and they all died during one period of time because they did not treat each other with respect. The world was desolate until Rabbi Akiva came to the Rabbis of the South and taught them. [They were] Rabbi Meir, Rabbi Yehudah, Rabbi Yossi, Rabbi Shimon and Rabbi Elazar ben Shamua. It was they who re-established Torah at that time.

Bereishit Rabbah 61:3

אמר רבי עקיבא [לתלמידיו החדשים]: "בניי, הראשונים לא מתו אלא שהיתה עיניהם צרה אלו לאלו, תנו דעתכם שלא תעשו כמעשיהם."
Rabbi Akiva said to his new students, “My sons, the first ones only died because they did not look generously toward one another other. Pay attention that you do not act like them.”

Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chayim, 593:1-2

נוהגים שלא לישא אשה בין פסח לעצרת עד ל"ג בעומר מפני שבאותו זמן מתו תלמידי רבי עקיבא אבל לארס ולקדש שפיר דמי. . .
נוהגים שלא להסתפר עד ל"ג בעומר שאומרים שאז פסקו מלמות. . .

It is customary not to get married between Pesach and Shavuot because the students of Rabbi Akiva died during that time period, but it is permissible to get engaged. . . .

It is customary not to shave or take a haircut until Lag B’Omer, when they say that the students stopped dying …

For Calendar, Blessings, and Instructions:

https://opensiddur.org/prayers/solilunar/solar-cycles/sefirat-haomer/the-order-of-counting-the-omer-in-the-spring/

Laurie Franklin