What do we remember? How do we remember?

The omer (Hebrew: עֹ֫מֶר‎ ‘ōmer) is an ancient Israelite unit of dry measure used in the era of the Temple in Jerusalem. It is used in the Bible as an ancient unit of volume for grains and dry commodities, and the Torah mentions as being equal to one tenth of an ephah. According to the Jewish Encyclopedia (1906), an ephah was defined as being 72 logs, and the Log was equal to the Sumerian mina, which was itself defined as one sixtieth of a maris;the omer was thus equal to about ​¹²⁄100 of a maris. The maris was defined as being the quantity of water equal in weight to a light royal talent,and was thus equal to about 30.3 litres, making the omer equal to about 3.64 litres. The Jewish Study Bible (2014), however, places the omer at about 2.3 liters.

In traditional Jewish standards of measurement, the omer was equivalent to the capacity of 43.2 eggs, or what is also known as one-tenth of an ephah (three seahs). ^]In dry weight, the omer weighed between 1.560 kg. to 1.770 kg., being the quantity of flour required to separate therefrom the dough offering.

The word omer is sometimes translated as sheaf — specifically, an amount of grain large enough to require bundling. The biblical episode of the manna describes Godas instructing the Israelites to collect an omer for each person in your tent, implying that each person could eat an omer of manna a day.

In the Instructions of Moses (Torah in Hebrew), the main significance of the omer is the traditional offering of an omer of barley on the day after the Sabbath, or according to the pharisian and rabbinical view, on the second day of Passover during the feast of unleavened bread (during the period of Temple sacrifice) as well as the tradition of the Counting of the Omer (sefirat ha'omer) - the 49 days between this sacrifice and the two loaves of wheat offered on the holiday of Shavuot. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omer_(unit))

Note that there is no explicit discussion in Yevamot concerning any commemorative ritual or restrictions; to the extent that Talmudic literature discusses Sefirat Ha'Omer, the rabbis are occupied with the specific details of the counting as commanded in Lev. 23:15. Exactly on what day does the counting start? What is the precise and necessary spoken formula for the count? When does it end? That literature is silent on all the other behaviors that otherwise have informed historic Jewish life.

The Teshuvah of Natronai Bar Hilai Gaon, composed in Babylon, circa 800 ce:

What which you asked why do we not marry between Pesach and Shavout, is it because of a prohibition or not. You should know that it is not because of a prohibition, but rather because of a mourning custom. For our sages said, Rabbi Akiva had 12,000 pairs of students and all of them died between Pesach and Shavout. From that time on the early scholars enacted the practice the we not marry during this time. (Courtesy of R. Joel Zeff)

Epistle of Rav Sherira Gaon, was composed in Babylon, 987 CE. A comprehensive history of the composition of the Mishna and Talmud, which was written in response to an inquiry from the Jewish community of Kairwan, Tunisia.

Meir of Rothenburg (c. 1215 – 2 May 1293) was a German Rabbi and poet, a major author of the tosafot on Rashi's commentary on the Talmud. He is also known as Meir ben Baruch, the Maharam of Rothenburg. Rabbi Menachem Meiri referred to Rab Meir of Rothenberg, as the "greatest Jewish leader of Zarfat" alive at the time, Zarfat is Medieval Hebrew for France which was a reference to Charlemagne's rule of Germany. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meir_of_Rothenburg)

Sefer Minhagim D'be Maharam (R. Meir of Rothenberg) circa 1300 CE:

It is the custom not to marry between Pesach and Shavout... and after Nissan we say each Shabbat mournful elegies....until Shavout. On Shabbat before Shavout we say Yizkor for those killed in the persecutions ans say "Av HaRachamim".

(Courtesy of R. Joel Zeff)

"Sefer Minhag Tov, an anonymous treatise composed circa 1275, whose author may have studied with northern French Tosafists but who certainly did study with R. Moses ben Meir of Ferrera and perhaps settled in Bari or Taranto..." From Kabbalah: Journal for the Study of Jewish Mystical Texts, Volume 6 pg. 144 (Courtesy of R. Joel Zeff).

Sefer Minhag Tov circa 1300 CE, Italian:

It is a good custom not to cut ones' hair, not to inaugurate a new garment or any other new thing, to enjoy the bath house, or to cut one's nails from Pesach to Shavout in honor of the pure pious and upright who gave up their lives for the sanctification of the Name....(Courtesy of R. Joel Zeff)

Composed in Uzhgorod, published in 1864 CE. The Kitzur Shulhan Arukh is a summary of the Shulhan Arukh of Joseph Karo with reference to later commentaries, The Kitzur states what is permitted and what is forbidden without ambiguity. Ganzfried emphasised the customs of Jews of Hungary at that time. This work was explicitly written as a popular text, and its wide circulation has seen it become a standard reference work in halakhah; functioning as an abridgement of the Shulhan Arukh much like its Sephardi counterpart, the Ben Ish Hai. Ganzfried based his decisions on three Ashkenazi authorities: Rabbi Yaakov Lorberbaum; Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, author of Shulhan Arukh HaRav; and Rabbi Abraham Danzig, author of Hayyei Adam and Hochmat Adam. In cases of disagreement he adopted the majority view. However, the Mishnah Berurah has mostly supplanted his work, along with the Hayyei Adam and the Arukh HaShulhan, as the primary authority on Jewish daily living among Ashkenazi Jews.

The Observant Life: The Wisdom of Conservative Judaism for Contemporary Jews, Martin S. Cohen, Senior Editor

Since the destruction of the Temple, the custom of counting the omer mostly serves to draw a direct line between Passover and Shavuot, a line that can be taken to connect the concept of growth from mere freedom from slavery to the point at which one understands that ultimate freedom comes to human beings through obedience to divine law.

Traditionally, the s’firah period is a time of semi-mourning. The Talmud describes a tragedy that occurred in the time of Rabbi Akiva, when thousands of his students died in this period between Passover and Shavuot (BT Y’va-mot 62b). The exact circumstances of this tragedy are unclear, but the Talmud looks inward and blames the debacle on the lack of respect that these students showed toward one another. Scholars also note that this was the period of the Hadrianic persecutions in the beginning of the second century C.E. and that Rabbi Akiva was one of the principal players in the Bar Kokhba revolt just a short time after that. Regardless of the ultimate cause, however, the impact of the tragedy was undeniable. Over the generations, other sorrows and tragedies were added to the list of disasters that befell the Jewish people during this particular period, and it became a kind of magnet in time for sadness and grief. As a result, even in modern times we pass through these weeks in a spirit of semi-mourning (SA Oraḥ Ḥayyim 493: 1– 4).....

Yom Ha-shoah, Yom Ha-zikkaron, Yom Ha-atzmaut, and Yom Y’rushalayim

By a decree of the Israeli Knesset, the twenty-seventh day of the Hebrew month of Nisan is observed annually as Holocaust Memorial Day, called Yom Ha-shoah in Hebrew, in memory of the victims of the Nazis and in honor of those who resisted their efforts at genocide. The original date, the fourteenth of Nisan, was chosen to pay tribute to the Warsaw Ghetto uprising which took place on that date. Later, however, Yom Ha-sho·ah was moved to the twenty-seventh of Nisan so that it could be observed after Passover......While there is no universally accepted liturgy for this commemoration, it is a time to pause and reflect on the horrors of the Holocaust. To this end, many synagogues and communities hold special services on the evening of Yom Ha-sho·ah that incorporate speakers, prayers, and poetry appropriate to the day.....

The State of Israel was proclaimed on the fifth of Iyyar, 5708, corresponding to May 14, 1948, and this day is celebrated as Israel Independence Day, also popularly known by its Hebrew name, Yom Ha-atzmaut. In Israel, the day is celebrated with parades and great celebration. For Jews everywhere, the fact of Israeli independence is considered not merely in terms of its political implications, but also in terms of its religious significance. Nevertheless, a specific formal liturgy for its commemoration has not yet been established..... Some prayerbooks, including Siddur Sim Shalom, incorporate a new Al Ha-nissim prayer modeled on the versions recited at Ḥanukkah and on Purim into the Amidah and the Grace after Meals. Some congregations also recite the full version of Hallel. Further, some synagogues call three people to the Torah to read a special passage about God’s protection of Israel in the Promised Land, Deuteronomy 7: 12– 8: 18. In such synagogues, the third aliyah is considered the maftir reading and is then followed by a haftarah, Isaiah 10: 32– 12: 6 (the same as for the eighth day of Passover), which deals with God’s promises of national redemption. It is also customary to recite the Prayer for the Welfare of the State of Israel that appears in most prayerbooks.

Although Yom Ha-atzma·ut falls during s’firah, the celebration of Israel Independence Day is usually, and reasonably, deemed to take precedence over the restrictions on joyous behavior normally associated with the weeks between Passover and Shavuot.

The day before Yom Ha-atzmaut is called Yom Ha-zikkaron, Memorial Day, and is dedicated to the memory of all those who have died in defense of the State of Israel since 1948 and of the Jewish yishuv in pre-State days. As on Yom Ha-shoah, there is no special liturgy for this day. It is appropriate to add special prayers to the service and to recite the El Malei Raḥamim memorial prayer in memory of those who have died in defense of Israel. Many congregations recite Kaddish in memory of the fallen. A memorial candle may also be lit at home or in the synagogue, or in both places. In Israel, an air raid siren is sounded early in the morning of Yom Ha-zikkaron as the entire country pauses to observe a national moment of mourning. Observing a similar moment of silence in sympathy with the citizens of Israel is also an appropriate gesture for Jews in the Diaspora.....

On the twenty-eighth day of Iyyar in 1967, the IDF entered the Old City of Jerusalem, which Jordan had occupied since the War of Independence in 1948. Among other things, this meant that the Western Wall (the kotel), the last surviving remnant of the Temple, was again in Jewish hands, as were many other sites of incomparable historical and cultural significance. It has become customary to observe the twenty-eighth of Iyyar as Yom Y’rushalayim (Jerusalem Day). There

is no fixed liturgy for this day, nor are there any specific home or communal rituals that have evolved. It is merely an opportunity to reflect on the sanctity of Jerusalem and to honor the men and women of the Israel Defense Forces who participated in its liberation. It is also appropriate to remember those who fell in the battle for the city, both in 1948 and then again in 1967.

--R. Alan B. Lucas

The Observant Life: The Wisdom of Conservative Judaism for Contemporary Jews (Kindle Locations 5491-5503; 5524-5562). Kindle Edition.