Counting of the Omer

Common card · No. 487161

Counting of the Omer (Hebrew: סְפִירַת הָעוֹמֶר, romanized: Sefirat HaOmer; sometimes abbreviated as Sefira) is a ritual in Judaism. It consists of a verbal counting of each of the 49 days between the holidays of Passover and Shavuot. The period of 49 days is known as the "omer period" or simply as "the omer" or "sefirah". The count has its origins in the biblical command of the Omer offering (sheaf-offering), which was offered during the Passover festival, and after which 49 days were counted, and the Shavuot holiday was observed. The Temple sacrifices have not been offered since the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, but the counting until Shavuot is still performed. Shavuot is the only major Jewish holiday for which no calendar date is specified in the Torah; rather, its date is determined by the omer count. The Counting of the Omer begins on the second day of Passover (the 16th of Nisan) for Rabbinic Jews (Orthodox, Conservative, Reform), and on the day after the weekly Shabbat...

Read on Wikipedia · Image Baruch Zvi Ring (c. 1872 - 1927) Details on Google Art Project, Public domain