By Hillel ben David (Greg Killian)
The Halachah, the laws
of Sefirat H'Omer
Let’s begin this study with a little background information. The fifty day period between the Feast of Pesach (Passover) and the Feast of Shavuot (Feast of Weeks) is known as Sephirat HaOmer, the counting of the Omer. On the second day of Pesach, the Omer offering from the new barley crop was brought into the Temple in Jerusalem. It began a period of counting and preparation for Shavuot, the anniversary of the giving of the Torah and the yearly celebration of re-accepting the Torah upon ourselves. There is actually a mitzva (a command) to count each specific day which is done at the completion of Arbit, the evening service.
A quick glance at the description of the mitzva of sefirat ha-omer in parashat Emor highlights the relationship between this mitzva and the special korbanot, sacrifices, which bracket it. On the first day of the omer the korban (sacrifice) omer (from which counting the omer derives its name) is offered, which consists of the flour derived from newly harvested barley. The Torah commands us to then count fifty days until we offer a new mincha (meal offering) consisting of two breads baked with flour derived from newly harvested wheat. Quite different from our normal association between counting the omer and receiving the Torah, parashat Emor actually establishes the omer as an integral part of this korban sequence. In the Torah portion, Emor, we are enjoined concerning "Counting the Omer":
Vayikra (Leviticus) 23:10-16 "Speak to the Israelites
and say to them: 'When you enter the land I am going to give you and you reap
its harvest, bring to the priest a sheaf of the
first grain you harvest. He is to wave the sheaf before HaShem
so it will be accepted on your behalf; the priest is to wave it on the day
after the Sabbath. On the day you wave the sheaf,
you must sacrifice as a burnt offering to HaShem a
lamb a year old without defect, Together with its grain offering of two-tenths
of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil--an offering made to HaShem by fire, a pleasing aroma--and its drink offering of a
quarter of a hin of wine. You must not eat any bread,
or roasted or new grain, until the very day you bring this offering to your
HaShem. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations
to come, wherever you live. "'From the day after the Sabbath, the day
you brought the sheaf of the wave offering, count for yourself seven full weeks. Count for yourself fifty days up to the
day after the seventh Sabbath, and then present an offering of new grain to
HaShem.
We also see this command in:
Devarim (Deuteronomy) 16:9-12 Count off seven weeks from the time you
begin to put the sickle to the standing grain. Then celebrate the Feast of Weeks to HaShem your HaShem by giving a freewill offering in proportion to the blessings HaShem your HaShem has given you. And rejoice before
HaShem your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling
for his Name--you, your sons and daughters, your menservants and maidservants,
the Levites in your towns, and the aliens, the
fatherless and the widows living among you. Remember that you were slaves in Egypt, and follow carefully these decrees.
As we can see, this injunction to count forty-nine days, out
loud, is Biblical and dependent on bringing the Omer of barley, as an offering,
to the Temple. Today, without the
Menachoth 66a for Scripture says, Thou shalt number unto thee,[1] that is, the numbering depends upon [the decision of] the Beth-din; accordingly the Sabbath of the Creation cannot be intended as the numbering would then be in the hands of all men.[2] R. Jose says. On the morrow after the Sabbath means on the morrow after the Festival. You say that it means on the morrow after the Festival, but perhaps it is not so, but rather on the morrow after the Sabbath of Creation! I will prove it to you. Does Scripture say, ‘On the morrow after the Sabbath that is in the Passover week’? It merely says, ‘On the morrow after the Sabbath’; and as the year is full of Sabbaths, then go and find out which Sabbath is meant.[3] Moreover, ‘Sabbath’ is written below,[4] and ‘Sabbath’ is written above; just as in the former case it refers to the Festival, and indeed to the beginning of the Festival, so in the latter case, too, it refers to the Festival, and indeed to the beginning of the Festival.[5] R. Simeon b. Eleazar says, One verse says. Six days thou shalt eat unleavened bread,[6] whereas another verse says, Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread.[7] How are they to be reconciled?’ [In this way:] you may not eat unleavened bread of the new produce the seven days. but you may eat unleavened bread of the new produce six days.[8] From the day that ye brought [the ‘Omer of the waving]...shall ye number:[9] now I might think that the ‘Omer must be reaped and offered [on the day stated], but the counting may begin whenever one wishes,[10] the text therefore also states, From the time the sickle is first put to the standing corn thou shalt begin to number.[11] But from [this verse], ‘From the time the sickle is first put to the standing corn thou shalt begin to number’, I might think that the ‘Omer must be reaped and then one begin