Counting of the Omer
(טו) וּסְפַרְתֶּ֤ם לָכֶם֙ מִמׇּחֳרַ֣ת הַשַּׁבָּ֔ת מִיּוֹם֙ הֲבִ֣יאֲכֶ֔ם אֶת־עֹ֖מֶר הַתְּנוּפָ֑ה שֶׁ֥בַע שַׁבָּת֖וֹת תְּמִימֹ֥ת תִּהְיֶֽינָה׃ (טז) עַ֣ד מִֽמׇּחֳרַ֤ת הַשַּׁבָּת֙ הַשְּׁבִיעִ֔ת תִּסְפְּר֖וּ חֲמִשִּׁ֣ים י֑וֹם וְהִקְרַבְתֶּ֛ם מִנְחָ֥ה חֲדָשָׁ֖ה לַיהֹוָֽה׃
(15) And from the day on which you bring the sheaf of elevation offering—the day after the sabbath—you shall count off seven weeks. They must be complete: (16) you must count until the day after the seventh week—fifty days; then you shall bring an offering of new grain to the LORD.
Counting of Shmitta
(ח) וְסָפַרְתָּ֣ לְךָ֗ שֶׁ֚בַע שַׁבְּתֹ֣ת שָׁנִ֔ים שֶׁ֥בַע שָׁנִ֖ים שֶׁ֣בַע פְּעָמִ֑ים וְהָי֣וּ לְךָ֗ יְמֵי֙ שֶׁ֚בַע שַׁבְּתֹ֣ת הַשָּׁנִ֔ים תֵּ֥שַׁע וְאַרְבָּעִ֖ים שָׁנָֽה׃ (ט) וְהַֽעֲבַרְתָּ֞ שׁוֹפַ֤ר תְּרוּעָה֙ בַּחֹ֣דֶשׁ הַשְּׁבִעִ֔י בֶּעָשׂ֖וֹר לַחֹ֑דֶשׁ בְּיוֹם֙ הַכִּפֻּרִ֔ים תַּעֲבִ֥ירוּ שׁוֹפָ֖ר בְּכׇל־אַרְצְכֶֽם׃ (י) וְקִדַּשְׁתֶּ֗ם אֵ֣ת שְׁנַ֤ת הַחֲמִשִּׁים֙ שָׁנָ֔ה וּקְרָאתֶ֥ם דְּר֛וֹר בָּאָ֖רֶץ לְכׇל־יֹשְׁבֶ֑יהָ יוֹבֵ֥ל הִוא֙ תִּהְיֶ֣ה לָכֶ֔ם וְשַׁבְתֶּ֗ם אִ֚ישׁ אֶל־אֲחֻזָּת֔וֹ וְאִ֥ישׁ אֶל־מִשְׁפַּחְתּ֖וֹ תָּשֻֽׁבוּ׃
connecting the two countings
(ח) [ח] "תספרו חמשים יום"-- יכול יספור חמשים ויקדש חמשים ואחד? תלמוד לומר "שבע שבתות תמימות תהיינה". [ אי "שבע שבתות תמימות תהיינה"], יכול יספור ארבעים ושמונה ויקדש יום ארבעים ותשעה? תלמוד לומר "תספרו חמשים יום". הא כיצד? מנה ארבעים ותשעה וקדש יום חמשים כיובל.
(8) 8) "you shall count fifty days": I might think that one should count fifty days and make the fifty-first the festival (of Shavuoth); it is, therefore, written (Vayikra 23:15) "seven complete Sabbaths shall they be." (In that case, I might think that he should count forty-eight days and make the forty-ninth the festival. It is, therefore, written "shall you count fifty days." How is this related? Fount forty-nine days and make the fiftieth day the festival, as with the Jubilee year.
We have an entire book called numbers, why is this so important to us? To count days, years, people? what value are imbuing on time?
(ט) שִׁבְעָ֥ה שָׁבֻעֹ֖ת תִּסְפׇּר־לָ֑ךְ מֵהָחֵ֤ל חֶרְמֵשׁ֙ בַּקָּמָ֔ה תָּחֵ֣ל לִסְפֹּ֔ר שִׁבְעָ֖ה שָׁבֻעֽוֹת׃
(9) You shall count off seven weeks; start to count the seven weeks when the sickle is first put to the standing grain.
Why do we find it important to mark time? How do you mark or imbue symbolism on to time and events?
(א) שבעה שבועות תספר לך. (מנחות סה סו) בב"ד. ומנין לכל אחד ואחד? ת"ל (ויקרא כ״ג:ט״ו) וספרתם לכם, לכל אחד ואחד.
(1) (Devarim 16:9) "Seven weeks shall you count for yourself": I might think that beth-din (is being exhorted to do the counting); it is, therefore, written (Vayikra 22:15) "And you shall count for yourselves" — each individual (is exhorted to do the counting).
by Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg, 2013
There is a theory (offered first by author William Bridges) that transitions happen in three stages: ending, the neutral zone and beginning. In order to effectively weather any important transition in our lives — whether in relationships, in the transition into our out of a major academic endeavor, in work, in geography — we cannot move forward until we have let go of who we have been, and what has been, in the past. Then, there’s a limnal space when we are no longer who we have been, but not yet who we will be next. Only after some time in the neutral zone will the beginning of our new selves, our new way of being in the world emerge in earnest...
The neutral zone is a time of quietness, of seeking out silence in order to allow the internal waves to fold over themselves, to allow things to simmer. It’s exactly a time of wilderness, desert, midbar — a time to explore the vast, rocky expanse between the Red Sea and Sinai.
The wilderness is a difficult place. It feels like there is no end, no limit to it. It’s a place of danger. Or uncertainty. Of silence. Self-care becomes a bigger priority than its ever been — your utter surivial is at stake. The sun is unrelenting — there’s nowhere to hide, no way to hide ourselves. We feel exposed, vulnerable. It’s no coincidence that everything imporant in the Bible — prophecies, kingships, Torah — came out in the wilderness. The wilderness pushes us to confront reality: What do I want? How hungry am I? What will satisfy me?
It’s not comfortable. Of course we count the days: How long have we been holding ourselves in this in-between space? How much longer before we get to move forward confidently into the new chapter?
Soon. But it’s not time yet. This is the time to sit with the anxiety, the ambiguity and the unknowability of our lives. This is the time to go down deep in to the deepest recesses of who we are, to find resources and riches we didn’t know were there. And in that limnality, in the quiet — we make ourselves ready to hear the voice of God.
As we move through the arc of the Omer,
We discover a weekly pause.
A stepping stone. A resting place.
To pause and ponder, To mourn, to celebrate.
Fusing the old with the new, The past with the present.
Each week finding moments,
Stepping out of our daily routines
Connecting with something greater than ourselves....
R. Bracha Jaffe
אם שכח לברך באחד מהימים בין יום ראשון בין משאר ימים סופר בשאר ימים בלא ברכה
אבל אם הוא מסופק אם דילג יום אחד ולא ספר יספור בשאר ימים בברכה:
If he forgot to bless on one of the days, between the first day [of the omer] and the rest of the days, he should count the rest of the days without a blessing.
But, if he uncertain if he skipped a single day and didn’t count, he should count the days with a blessing.