Today is the 30th Day of the Omer. The omer represents a period of anticipation, including our physical anticipation of the coming harvest and the first fruits, as well as our spiritual anticipation of revelation, both celebrated on Shavuot. However, the omer also represents a period of mourning. According to the Talmud, we mourn for the death of Rabbi Akiba’s 24,000 students, who suffered from a plague for failing to treat one another with respect. Historians suggest that the period of mourning may be associated with those who died during the unsuccessful Bar Kochba revolt. However, tradition holds that on the 33rd day of the omer, Lag B’Omer, the Jews enjoyed a respite from their distress. As such, the days of mourning are suspended, and many Ashkenazi Jews engage in celebrations, including parties, weddings, picnics, bonfires, and more. Sephardic Jews wait for the 34th day to celebrate. The most well-known custom is the lighting of [...]

Today is the 29th Day of the Omer.Today is Pesach Sheni, the Second Passover, celebrated one month following the initial Passover celebration. In the Book of Numbers, the Israelites discover, as they prepare to celebrate their first Passover following the Exodus from Egypt, that several people could not partake in the Passover offering, due to ritual impurity stemming from contact with corpses. They approach Moses and Aaron, who introduce Pesach Sheni—a second opportunity to partake in the Passover offering—for anyone who is ritually impure or on a distant journey.The creation of Pesach Sheni illustrates the malleability of tradition to fit the needs of those who observe it. Even before the first Passover celebration, the laws of Passover had to be amended to fit the realities of our forebears’ lives! This dynamic example begs us to consider: When must we amend existing rituals to ensure we do not exclude those who [...]

Today is the 28th day of the Omer. In addition to its association with the harvest, the omer evolved to represent a period of spiritual preparation and anticipation, as our sages teach that the Israelites received the Torah on Mount Sinai on the festival of Shavuot. According to the 13th Century Spanish commentary, Sefer HaChinuch, the Israelites only achieved freedom so that they might receive the Torah, offering them freedom of the spirit, alongside the physical freedom they enjoyed following the Exodus. Jewish spiritual practices suggest that each day of the omer represents a confluence of two of the seven lower s’firot, Divine attributes that humans may aspire to emulate. Thus, each day of the omer represents an opportunity for spiritual introspection and development in preparation for our own revelation, like the revelation enjoyed by our forebears at Sinai. Still, others recommend the study of Pirkei Avot 6:6, which enumerates forty-eight methods for acquiring the wisdom of Torah. These [...]

Today is the 27th day of the Omer. On the second day of Passover, Jews began a 49-day observance of S’firat Ha'Omer, counting the omer, which numbers the days between Passover and Shavuot, inspired by the teachings of Leviticus and Deuteronomy: “You shall count from the day following the sabbath – the day you brought the measure of your wave offering – seven weeks. They must be complete. You must count until the day after the seventh sabbath – fifty days. Then, you shall approach [the altar] with a new tribute for Adonai (Leviticus 23:15-16).” “Count off seven weeks. Begin counting when the sickle is first put to the standing grain. Then you shall make the Festival of Weeks [Shavuot] for Adonai, your God… (Deuteronomy 16:9-10).” Unfortunately, neither passage from the Torah is extremely clear when the counting of the omer should begin. In Leviticus, the counting appears tied to the Sabbath following [...]