Why do we count?
It is a Torah commandment to count 49 days, starting from the second day of Passover (on the 16th of Nissan) and ending on the eve of Shavuot (5th of Sivan).
The ‘Giving of the Torah’ that took place on Shavuot – when God appeared and gave the people of Israel the ‘Ten Commandments’ – is the main reason the people of Israel were redeemed from Egypt. The purpose of the liberation was for the Jews to receive the Torah and fulfill its commandments. Therefore, we count the days from Passover to Shavuot, to show how much we long for and anticipate receiving the Torah.
Who counts, and when?
- Everyone practices counting ‘Sefirat HaOmer’, including women and children.
- Starting from the evening following the first day of Passover – the night of the 16th of Nissan – until Shavuot, we count ‘Sefirat HaOmer’ every night at the end of the evening prayer. Women who do not pray the evening prayer, count after ‘Tzeit Hakochavim’ (appearance of the stars).
How to Count?
- Before counting, one should recite the blessing: “Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us on the counting of the Omer.” After that, state the number of days that have passed since the beginning of the counting. For example, on the evening of the fourth day, we count: “Today is four days of the Omer.”
- When one week of the Omer has passed, we ‘sum it up’ within the counting. For example, on the evening of the seventh day, we count: “Today is seven days, which is one week of the Omer.” And the following day: “Today is eight days, which are one week and one day of the Omer,” and so on. We do this because we are obliged to count both days and weeks.
- Both the blessing and the counting are to be said while standing.
- At the time of the counting, you should mentally recite the verses and letters that appear in the prayer book according to each day. For example, on the night of the second day, when we count “two days of the Omer,” we mentally recite the word “B’koach” from the verse “Ana B’koach,” the word “Yechaneinu” from Psalm 67 – “God, be gracious unto us,” and the letter Shin from the phrase “Yismechu viyranenu leumim,” and so on. All this is found in the prayer book, in the “Order of the Omer Counting” next to the daily count.
- After the counting, we say: “May the Merciful One restore the service of the Holy Temple to its place, speedily in our days, Amen, Selah.”
Additional passages that are customary to say after the counting:
- Psalm 67 which begins with the words “For the conductor with instrumental music, a song, God be gracious unto us..”
- The profound and concealed prayer of Rabbi Nechunia: “Ana B’koach Gedulat Yemincha..”
- A special prayer, taken from the world of Kabbalah and opening with the words “Master of the Universe.” We mention the commandment of Counting the Omer given to us in order to be purer and to remove “husks” and coverings of materialism and arrogance from us, and ask God that through the merit of the counting, we will be able to rectify what we have “blemished” in the “Divine Sefirot.” Here, each night we add the “Divine Sefira” of the night, such as: “Chesed Shebechesed,” “Gevurah Shebechesed,” and so forth. We conclude the prayer asking that we be purified, sanctified and drawn closer to God.
In Kabbalistic teachings, it is explained that there are 10 Sefirot corresponding to the 10 faculties of the soul found in a person. Among them, 3 belong to the world of intellect: Chochmah (wisdom), Binah (understanding), and Da’at (knowledge), and 7 belong to the world of emotion and attributes: Chesed (kindness), Gevurah (strength), Tiferet (beauty), Netzach (eternity), Hod (glory), Yesod (foundation), and Malchut (sovereignty). Each “Sefira“ expresses in the human soul a different quality and feeling. Chesed expresses the attribute of love, Gevurah expresses feelings of power and restraint, and so forth. This deep and broad concept is extensively explained in the teachings of Kabbalah, and in particular in Chabad Chassidus.
- All these sections appear in the prayer book in a structured way, following the text of “Counting of the Omer.”
If one forgets to count:
- If one forgets to count at night, they should count during the daylight hours of the following day – until sunset – without a blessing, and continue to count with a blessing on the remaining nights.
- If one forgets to count both at night and during the day of the following day, they continue to count on all the following nights without a blessing.
- If a person does not remember whether they counted or not – they continue to count with a blessing.
