![]() Today counting the omer can be a time of meditation where we can renew our spirits as we prepare for Shavuot. Each day we must take one more step away from the impurities of Egypt that have remained within us. Kabbalists saw the omer period as a preparation for receiving the Torah on Mount Sinai. Rambam even said that the commandment for us to count today comes directly from Torah! While there is no longer a Temple or an omer offering, the rabbis declared that we should still count the days between Passover and Shavuot. Since the Temple no longer stands, and most of us are no longer involved in agriculture, what’s the point of counting the omer today? Shavuot in the Bible was not connected with the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai, as it is now. Why was it important to count the days from the bringing of the omer until Shavuot?Ģ. This is a law for all time in all your settlements, throughout the ages.ġ. ![]() On that same day you shall hold a celebration it shall be a sacred occasion for you you shall not work at your occupations. You shall bring from your settlements two loaves of bread as an elevation offering…Ģ1. You must count until the day after the seventh week fifty days then you shall bring an offering of new grain to YHWH.ġ7. From the day on which you bring the sheaf of elevation offering the day after the Sabbath you shall count off seven weeks. The Torah commanded that seven weeks be counted for the omer. Literally translated, omer means “a sheaf.” It refers to the measure of grain that was once offered at the Temple in Jerusalem. The period of “the omer” begins the second night of Passover and continues until Shavuot. Count every last day until Shavuot - 50 in all. Now that Passover seders are over, and we are eating matzah and are full of affliction, one might ask, “What’s a good Jewish professional to do during these days?” The answer? Count them. Reprinted with permission from Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life. I can’t help but wonder if it might somehow be significant that the omer of grain to be elevated – representing the Messiah who was accepted as the sin offering and Passover sacrifice to atone for our sins – was one-tenth, or one tithe of, the measure or volume of a man? Is there significance to His being likened to a tithe of humankind in some sense? I can't help but wonder.My Jewish Learning is a not-for-profit and relies on your help Donate Remember that one omer is equal to one tenth of an ephah. So how was the grain removed from the sheaves and prepared for the elevating ceremony:Īn omer of grain was also used in other Levitical sacrifices as a measure for a sin offering. ![]() The heads of grain were separated from the stalks as part of the preparation before they were elevated before the altar. The harvested first sheaf underwent a rigorous preparation before the omer elevating ceremony. Ten omers equal one ephah, and ten ephahs equal one homer. Obviously, we're not talking about stalks of grain here!īy the way, there are two similar words in this dictionary definition, which may cause some confusion: Remember that one homer is made up of 100 omers. ![]() So think of a two-liter bottle of Pepsi, and that’s about the amount of grain that would be elevated. How much is an omer? Here is a dictionary definition: The same article defines an omer as being equivalent to 2.4 liters (wet or dry measurement) in our modern measuring system. So when it says to wave a sheaf, it's really saying to wave, or elevate, an omer. Now an omer is a unit of dry measure, rather than a stalk of grain. First I want to bring to your attention that "Sheaf" was translated from the Hebrew word "Omer" (Strong's #6016).
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