![]() ![]() If the person misses the time of counting, the Omer can be counted all night. For example, the twentieth day is counted, “Today is twenty days, which is two weeks and six days to the Omer.” Counting the Omer should be done while standing.Īfter counting the Omer, it is customary to say: “May it be Your will that the Temple be rebuilt speedily in our days.” When counting the Omer, we count both the total number of days and weeks and days. Like all mitzvoth, a blessing is recited before counting the Omer:īarukh atah A-donai E-loheinu Melekh Ha-ʿolam asher qid’shanu b’mitzvotav v’tzivanu ʿal S’firat Ha-ʿomerīlessed are You, Lord our God, King of the Universe, Who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us to count the Omer This follows the rule that a mitzvah (commandment) that is frequent (thrice daily prayer and twice-daily Shema) takes precedence over a mitzvah that is performed less often (the seasonal counting of the Omer). But prayer (and reciting the Shema) come first. The count is ideally done as soon as the sun goes down and three stars appear. This counting between these two offerings is known as the Sefirat HaOmer, “Counting of the Omer.”Īccording to Jewish tradition, these 49 days mark the time between leaving Egypt and receiving the Torah at Mount Sinai. The Torah commands us to count 50 days from the day we brought the Omer, and on the 50th day, another grain offering was brought. This was harvested, prepared, and offered in the Temple on that day. The Omer, a biblical measurement of approximately 43 ounces, refers to the wave offering of barley that was brought to the Temple along with a sacrifice of a lamb. They must be complete: you must count until the day after the seventh week-fifty days then you shall bring an offering of new grain to Hashem. This commandment is given explicitly in the Torah:Īnd from the day on which you bring the sheaf of elevation offering-the day after the Shabbat-you shall count off seven weeks. The day after the seventh week of your counting will make fifty days.On the night after the Passover Seder, the second night of Passover (the 16th of Nisan), Jews begin to perform the commandment of counting the seven complete weeks of the Omer which culminates in the pilgrimage festival of Shavuot on the 50th day. ![]() Ad mimaharat hashabbat hash’vi’it tisp’ru chamishim yom.īehold, I am ready and prepared to fulfill the mitzvah of counting the omer, as it says in the Torah: You shall count from the eve of the second day of Pesach, when an omer of grain is to be brought as an offering, seven complete weeks. Hineni muchan um’zuman l’kayem mitzvat aseh shel s’firat ha’omer k’mo shekatuv baTorah: Us’fartem lakhem mimaharat hashabbat miyom havi’echem et omer hat’nufa, sheva shabbatot t’mimot tihiyenah. ![]() This meditation serves to focus the individual on the task at hand and to remind him/her of the biblical basis of the commandment: Many people precede the counting of the omer with a meditation that states one’s intention to fulfill the commandment. Thus, the reminder about what day to count is often phrased as “yesterday was the fifth day of the omer.” The blessing for counting the omer, as well as the language for each day of counting, appears in most prayer books at the end of the text for the evening service.īecause the blessing should precede the counting (and not the other way around), many Jews will not say what day of the omer it is until after the ritual counting. Today is 13 days, which is one week and six days of the omer Hayom sh’losha asar yom, she’hem shavuah echad v’shisha yamim la’omer For example:Īfter the first six days, one also includes the number of weeks that one has counted. Barukh ata Adonai Eloheinu Melekh ha’Olam asher kid’shanu b’mitzvotav v’tizivanu al sefirat ha’omer.īlessed are you, Adonai our God, Sovereign of the Universe, who has sanctified us with your commandments and commanded us to count the omer.Īfter the blessing, one recites the appropriate day of the count. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |