Thursday night on April 6, the Omer counting had begun, but what exactly is the Omer counting?
April 10, 2023 / 19 Niesan 5783
After the exodus from Egypt, the Jewish people were on their way to Mount Sinai. They were to receive the Torah there.
The period between the exodus (Passover) and receiving the Torah (Shavuot) lasted 49 days.
This 49-day period is called the Omer counting, Sefirat Ha'omer (ספירת העומר)
Leviticus 23:15-16
"(15)And from the day on which you bring the sheaf of elevation offering-the day after the Sabbath-you shall count off seven full weeks: (16)you must count until the day after the seventh week-fifty days; then you shall bring an offering of new grain to the LORD."
But why this time in between? Were the people not ready to receive the Torah immediately?
The Jewish people lived in slavery for 400 years under the (negative) influence of Egyptian culture.
You can guess then that the "education" the Jewish people went through was not sufficiently pure.
The Jewish people needed a time of self-reflection and adjustment of negative habits in order to receive Torah with a sincere heart.
Today, it is still customary within Judaism to have a time of self-reflection and an inner search, between Passover and Shavuot.
A time to be honest with yourself, dare to look at character traits and ask yourself where you stand (spiritually).
The days are counted to prepare for Shavuot where the counting begins with a bracha (blessing) and ends with a psalm.
There is also a meditation focusing on the kabbalistic sefirot.
A sefira within a sefira, aka your character traits and behavior.
This serves as training for awareness of yourself in dealing with others and of your own self.
At the same time, the Omer is also a period of mourning.
For example, disciples of Rabbi Akiva died of an infectious disease, which, according to the Talmud, happened because they did not treat each other with respect.
There was also a great revolt against the Romans, led by Bar Kochba, which was put down during the Omer period. Many Jews died during this battle.
Because of the time of mourning, there are no Jewish weddings, no celebrations are held, it is the custom not to go to the hairdresser and some men leave their beards during the Omer.
The word Omer literally means "sheaf of wheat."
The period between Passover and Shavuot was originally harvest time during which the farm workers collected the Omer offering from the fields.
And with the Omer offering, G-d was thanked for the grain.
As Noachides, what can we learn from the Omer count?
By looking deep within ourselves, we can sometimes find something we can refine.
In this regard, I find the saying "What ye would not want done to you, do not do to another." very appropriate.
Because if you yourself don't like to hear complaining, for example, don't complain yourself and look at things from a different perspective.
Of course, you can then go even deeper by looking further into your own emotions. Do you get angry easily? So where does this anger come from?
Often it comes from your own "I," aka your own "ego." Not everything can always happen the way we want it to.
The trick is to learn to control your anger and change your thoughts.
In doing so, you then also have to deal with Emuna, the trust in HaShem.
The more you step out of yourself, the more you make room for HaShem and the more you regain control over your own feelings and thoughts.
The deep awareness during the Omer counting can help us become better people, for ourselves but also for our loved ones.
Sources used:
https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/how-to-count-the-omer/
https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omertelling
https://www.sefaria.org/sheets/311361.54?lang=bi&with=all&lang2=bi
Written by Sarah Bakker
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