"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. The day after the seventh week of your counting will make fifty days, and you shall present a new meal offering to God (Leviticus 23:15-16)."

There is confusion as to whether the mitzvah to count means to count weeks, as the first part of the biblical injunction would indicate, or to count days, as the second part of the injunction demands. The compromise (our tradition is full of them-a great lesson unto itself) is to count both weeks and days.

For many Jews, the Omer period is a period of mourning. Why? The Talmud states: "Rabbi Akiva had twenty-four thousand students and all of them died in one period of time because they did not treat each other with respect. It is taught that they all died between Passover and Shavuot, and that they all suffered bitter deaths" (Yevamot 62b). Another source informs us that after this tragedy Rabbi Akiva raised up additional students, and he said to them, "All of my former students died because they looked jealously upon one another. Make sure not to do as they did.." The practice of mourning during this period includes forbidding weddings, dancing and even haircuts. It is a serious and intense time.

It is worth noting that the observance of the Omer period as a period of mourning is a custom which was practiced by Jews without any kind of explicit rabbinic enactment. Thus, great differences developed between the practices of the various ethnic communities - each community according to its own tradition and in keeping with what it saw fit to emphasize. Some communities mourned for the full 7 weeks, others for only 33 days, and so on.

I have great difficulty observing a lengthy period of mourning in memory of rabbinical aspirers from 2,000 years ago. However, I do think there is a valuable lesson to be learned, and perhaps a new, more positive practice to be undertaken. Instead of mourning, let us refocus our commitment to kindness and courtesy. Each day of the Omer, as we move further away from Passover and closer to Shavuot, let us count each day as one to build up our commitment to treat our family members, our friends, and those outside of our immediate circle of intimates, with caring and sensitivity. Thus, when the Feast of Weeks arrives, we will be fully prepared to receive God’s great gift of Torah, into our Jewish community and into our hearts. Amen.

Keith Miller
Hazzan
Director of Education