Counting the Omer (Sefirat HaOmer)

The 49-day count from the second night of Pesach to the eve of Shavuot — a Torah commandment, a practical bridge, and a Kabbalistic discipline.

By The EditorsEssential

Sacred Time · 3 minute read

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Summary. From the second night of Pesach, Jews count 49 days (seven weeks) leading up to the festival of Shavuot. The commandment is in Vayikra 23:15. Each evening, after nightfall, the count is recited with a brief blessing: "Today is X days, which is X weeks and X days, in the Omer." The Kabbalistic tradition (Lurianic in particular) maps each of the 49 days to a specific combination of seven Sefirot (e.g., chesed sheb'chesed for day 1, gevurah sheb'chesed for day 2), making the count a structured contemplative discipline.

The Mitzvah

The Torah commands (Vayikra 23:15): "You shall count for yourselves, from the morrow of the Sabbath, from the day you bring the omer of waving, seven complete weeks shall there be." In the Beit HaMikdash, the omer was a measure of barley brought on the second day of Pesach; the counting marked the period to the wheat harvest, celebrated on Shavuot. The mitzvah of counting persists; the agricultural specifics await the rebuilding of the Temple.

How to Count

Each night, after nightfall: stand, say the blessing (Baruch ata Adonai... asher kid'shanu b'mitzvotav v'tzivanu al sefirat ha-omer), then recite the day's count. The first night: Hayom yom echad ba-omer ("Today is the first day of the Omer"). From day seven onward, the count includes weeks: Hayom shiv'a yamim, shehem shavua echad, ba-omer ("Today is seven days, which is one week, in the Omer"). The full count is in every siddur. If you forget to count one night before going to bed, count without a blessing the next day; if you miss an entire day (a full 24 hours), continue counting without a blessing from then on. If you remember to count consistently through to Shavuot, you have fulfilled the mitzvah in full.

The Kabbalistic Map

The Kabbalistic tradition maps the 49 days to combinations of the seven "lower" Sefirot (Chesed, Gevurah, Tiferet, Netzach, Hod, Yesod, Malchut). Week 1 is Chesed (loving-kindness); within that week, day 1 is chesed sheb'chesed (loving-kindness within loving-kindness), day 2 is gevurah sheb'chesed (severity within loving-kindness), and so forth. The count becomes a contemplative discipline: each day, one meditates on the particular quality and on the inner work it asks of you. Many siddurim include the Sefirot for each day; Rabbi Simon Jacobson's A Spiritual Guide to the Counting of the Omer is the contemporary popular guide.

Restrictions of the Omer

The first 33 days of the Omer (with one minor exception, Lag BaOmer, the 33rd day) are observed in Ashkenazi tradition as a period of partial mourning: no weddings, no haircuts, no live music. The mourning commemorates the deaths of Rabbi Akiva's 24,000 students who died from a plague between Pesach and Shavuot (Talmud Yevamot 62b), traditionally attributed to interpersonal strife (lack of kavod between them). Sephardic practice varies; many Sephardic communities mourn from Pesach to the 34th day or the entire 49 days. Reform and many Conservative communities have relaxed these restrictions.

Lag BaOmer

The 33rd day of the Omer (lag = the Hebrew letters lamed-gimel = 33). Traditionally celebrated as the day Rabbi Akiva's plague ended, the day of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai's death (and revelation of the Zohar, by tradition), and a day of celebration with bonfires (especially in Meron, Israel, at the site of Rabbi Shimon's tomb). Weddings, haircuts, and music resume on Lag BaOmer through to Shavuot.

Where Denominations Diverge

Orthodox observance is universal. Conservative observance is universal. Reform observance varies; some Reform congregations include the count in services, others do not. The mourning restrictions are widely observed in Orthodox; substantially relaxed in many non-Orthodox settings.