The Counting of the Omer is a classic example of a ritual rooted in the agricultural past of ancient Israel. While Pesach is the Festival of Freedom, it is also the Festival of Spring, marking the beginning of the barley harvest. The first sheaf was to be taken as an offering to the Temple: “and he [the priest] shall wave the sheaf before the Lord” (Leviticus 23:11).
Until the thanksgiving offering of the Omer was brought on the second day of Pesach, it was forbidden to eat “bread, parched corn or fresh ears”.
The same passage in Leviticus also lays down the commandment that from the time of the offering “you shall count” seven weeks until Shavuot, the Festival of First Fruits, on the 50th day (which is what the Greek word Pentecost means).
So from the Second Seder till the eve of Shavuot, each day of the 49 days of the Omer are counted at nightfall with a special blessing.
Why is the Omer a sad season?
The Omer period is one of collective semi-mourning. According to the Talmud, 24,000 disciples of the great Rabbi Akiva perished during this time because they did not show respect for each other. But there may be a more historical explanation, linked to the failed uprising of Bar-Kochba against Roman occupation, a heroic but doomed enterprise which resulted in catastrophe.
Hence weddings and public celebrations with music do not take place except on certain days such as the festival of Lag Ba’Omer (the 33rd day of the Omer) and the New Moon. The pious do not cut their hair.
The exact period of abstention varies between communities. For some, the sombre season stops at Lag Ba’Omer; for others, it runs from the second day of the month of Iyar to three days before the festival of Shavuot.
The Spiritual Significance of the Omer
Since Shavuot came to mark the Giving of the Torah, the Omer is like a countdown from national liberation at Pesach to the defining religious moment of Jewish peoplehood, the revelation at Sinai. The Kabbalists attached special significance to this period, focusing each day of the Omer on a particular aspect of spiritual growth.
