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What Even IS the Omer?! Ancient Spiritual Refinement for Modern Times

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April 25, 2024

What is the Counting of the Omer? The Omer is a period of seven weeks, or forty-nine days, from the second Passover Seder to the summer holiday of Shavuot. This year, the Omer period runs from the evening of April 23 to June 11. When we say we “count” the Omer, we really mean counting out loud all of those 49 days sequentially with special blessings. 

Since October 7, many of us have been counting the days that hostages have been held in Gaza. As Pesach continues and more than 130 people have remained captive for more than 200 days, adding the practice of counting the Omer brings a stark reminder of how long the hostages have been praying for release. While we know that counting the Omer will end on the 49th day, as we celebrate Shavuot and the revelation of the Torah at Sinai, we count days without an end to captivity in sight for the hostages.

Why is counting the Omer significant? 

What’s the deal with all the colors, values, and names of people? 

Jewish mystics imagined God as having multiple faces or attributes called sefirot, including chesed (love or expansiveness), gevurah (strength, severity, or judgment), etc. The mythic characters of the Torah represent these attributes. For example, Abraham represents chesed, while Esther represents malchut (majesty, and the presence of the indwelling feminine face of God known as the Shekhinah). Some Jews who studied the kabbalistic system saw the counting of the Omer as a way to meditate on seven of these sefirot and include them in one’s own life. 

But people aren’t the only ones who contain these qualities. Mystically speaking, so do colors, foods, and even parts of the body! One modern understanding is that each of us embodies the divine in a unique way. Through understanding that God appears in many different earthly outlets, we can move beyond the idea that God is only one thing — only a father, only a king, only male, has human features — and come to understand that God moves through our world in multiple ways.

A time of emotional complexity 

On the one hand, the Omer period is a time to connect deeply to the divine and to celebrate a daily escalation of closeness with the Torah. On the other hand, many massacres recorded in Jewish history purportedly took place in the spring months:

These sad events are traditionally memorialized by refraining from participation in joyous events during the Omer period. According to the Code of Jewish Law, Orakh Hayim 493:2, no weddings should take place, and it is customary not to cut one’s hair with one exception: Lag B’Omer, the 33rd day of the counting of the Omer, is observed as a semi-holiday, and suspends many of the mourning customs for 24 hours of the Omer period.

Some ways to observe the Omer period this year:

Decrease in joy: Some folks have the custom of avoiding hair cuts (including shaving and waxing), using perfumes, listening to live music, and even attending parties during the Omer period as a way to connect to the historical sadness of the moment. Others make an extra intention to refrain from telling jokes, watching funny shows or movies, or eating luxurious meals. What might it be like for you to tap into these customs as a way to deepen your own Omer experience?