Sefiras HaOmer

by Elisheva bas Chana

Sefiras HaOmer

Speak to the children of Israel and say to them: When you come to the Land which I am giving you, and you reap its harvest, you shall bring to the kohen an omer of the beginning of your reaping. And he shall wave the omer before HaShem so that it will be acceptable for you; the kohen shall wave it on the day after the rest day. And on the day of your waving the omer, you shall offer up an unblemished lamb in its first year as a burnt offering to HaShem. - Vayikra 23:10-12

The mitzvah tells us that on the second day of Pesach, the 16th of Nissan, we are to provide a special offering of a sheaf of barley, making this offering our way of thanking HaShem.

The sheaf of the wave offering takes place on the second day of Pesach to keep it separate from the offering on the first day of Pesach, because the first day of Pesach is devoted to celebrating and retelling how HaShem freed us from Mitzrayim.

The mitzvah of counting the Omer:

“And you shall count for yourselves, from the morrow of the rest day, from the day you bring the omer as a wave offering, seven weeks; they shall be complete. You shall count until the day after the seventh week, the fiftieth day, on which you shall bring a new meal offering to HaShem.” - Vayikra 23:15-16

You shall count seven weeks for yourself; from the time the sickle is first put to the standing crop, you shall begin to count seven weeks. - Devarim 16:9

The mitzvah commands us to count 50 days from the second day of Pesach to the sixth of Sivan, which is the day when we celebrate Shavuos, the start of the wheat harvest, and the day of Matan Torah.

On the 16th of Nissan, we brought an omer of barley to the Beis HaMikdash for the sheaf of wave offering. Fifty days later, on Shavuos, we brought wheat to the Beis HaMikdash to ask for blessings for the start of the wheat harvest. The fifty-day counting period is called Sefiras HaOmer. In Parsha Emor, the Jewish people had reached 49 levels of impurity when they left Mitzrayim, and needed 49 days to undergo a spiritual cleansing before they became holy enough to receive the Torah from HaShem.

Although the Beis HaMikdash no longer exists, we still count the Omer. Every night of Sefiras HaOmer we say the blessing:

“Boruch Atah HaShem Eloheinu Melech HaOlam Asher Kideshanu Bemitzvotav Vetzivanu Al Sefiras HaOmer.”

The mitzvah of counting the Omer is very simple to perform: every evening for seven weeks we count another day of the Omer. There are several passages in the Siddur which some of us recite before and after, but the counting itself remains the mitzvah.

The understanding of this mitzvah is that counting the days towards Shavuos expresses our excitement, hope, and trust.

When we accepted the Torah at Sinai, with the promise “Naaseh V’Nishma” - We will do and we will hear - this was the expression of the “barley connection” that we had been nurturing during those weeks. We accepted upon ourselves to do HaShem’s Will without knowing what was involved. We were following HaShem into the “unknown of Torah,” just as we followed Him into the unknown in the desert weeks earlier.

This seven-week period - the Omer offering and the counting - symbolises our relationship with HaShem. Sefiras HaOmer honours the spiritual cleansing that our ancestors experienced after HaShem liberated them from Mitzrayim, to make them worthy to receive the Torah. They were in fact shedding impure habits and practices, so that on a behavioural level they were changing their state from impurity to purity.

The goal during the seven weeks was not only attaining the purity that lay ahead of them, but also accessing and actualising the purity that lay within them. This goal remains true to this day. Every year, when we ready ourselves to receive the Torah, it is crucial to remind ourselves that all the purity already exists within us and makes a difference in the world.

In our world today, to count the Omer is, step by step, to improve our inner lives, our morality.

The Torah gives us guidance, not only on how to make a Jewish home, but also on how to build a healthy and just world.

The counting of the Omer finds connection with the giving of the Torah. Each Jewish person, individually, must count the days of the Omer, from the second day of Pesach to the day before Shavuos. The Torah was not given to us only as a nation, but HaShem has given the Torah to each of us individually with the words:

“I am HaShem, your G-D.”

Each of us was, and still is today, Divinely granted the strength and ability to fulfil the Torah.

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Elisheva bas Chana – Celebrating the Heart of Yiddishkeit

Elisheva is a passionate voice for authentic Jewish life, blending Torah wisdom, mitzvos, and the timeless beauty of Yiddishkeit. Her writing shines a light on the strength and grace of Jewish women—from the legacy of Devorah Leah, daughter of the Alter Rebbe, to today’s women who live with faith, modesty, and purpose. Through her words, Elisheva celebrates Torah study, family purity, and radiant tznius, inspiring readers to embrace the joy, depth, and enduring spirit of Jewish tradition. Contact Elisheva.