Sefirat HaOmer: Counting the Omer from Passover to Shavuot

Sefirat HaOmer (Counting the Omer) is the biblical commandment to count 49 days from the second night of Passover until Shavuot. In Temple times, an omer (measure) of barley was offered on the second day of Passover, and the counting marked the days until the wheat offering on Shavuot. Today, we count to connect the Exodus (Passover) with receiving the Torah (Shavuot), representing our journey from physical to spiritual freedom.

The omer is counted at night, after nightfall (tzet hakochavim), beginning on the second night of Passover. Stand and recite the blessing, then announce the count: 'Today is day X of the Omer' (and after the first week, 'which is X weeks and X days of the Omer'). If you forget to count at night, count during the next day without a blessing, then resume counting with a blessing the following night.

The blessing is: 'Baruch Atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech HaOlam, asher kidshanu b'mitzvotav v'tzivanu al sefirat ha'omer.' Then state the count. For example: 'Hayom yom echad la'omer' (Day 1), or 'Hayom sh'losha asar yom, shehem shavua echad v'shisha yamim la'omer' (Day 13, which is one week and six days). Many follow the count with Psalm 67 and a prayer for the Temple's rebuilding.

If you forget to count for an entire day (both night and the following day), you continue counting the remaining days without a blessing. The reasoning is that the 49 days form one complete mitzvah, and missing a day may break the continuity required for the blessing. However, continue counting without a blessing - the count itself is still meaningful. Set a daily reminder to avoid missing a day.

The Omer period is observed as a time of semi-mourning because 24,000 students of Rabbi Akiva died during this time. Customs include not holding weddings, not taking haircuts, not listening to live music, and not wearing new clothes. These restrictions are lifted on Lag BaOmer (the 33rd day) when the plague ended. Different communities observe these restrictions during different portions of the 49 days.

Kabbalistically, each day of the Omer corresponds to a combination of seven divine attributes (sefirot), offering 49 opportunities for spiritual refinement. The count represents our spiritual journey from the impurity of Egypt to the purity needed to receive the Torah. Many use this period for introspection and character development, focusing each day on a different aspect of personal growth as preparation for Shavuot.