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THE COUNTING OF THE OMER begins the Second Day of Passover and is counted until Shavuot.
You shall count for yourselves from the day after the day of rest, from the day brought the Omer of the wave offering; seven complete weeks there shall be, until the day after the seventh week shall you number fifty days... We are instructed to count seven weeks from the day of the offering (the second day of Passover) and on the 50th day, the festival of Shavuot (also known as the Feast of Weeks) begins. Since the destruction of the Temple, the Omer sacrifice is no longer offered, but it is still a mitzvah to count the 50 days between Passover and Shavuot. Temple Beth David has a one of a kind, unique Omer Calendar.
The calendar was designed and built by Temple member Mark Reed. It has a prominent place on the left side wall of the sanctuary. It can also be seen in the spring 2007 issue of Reform Judaism magazine(page 6).
bemitzvotav vetzivanu al sefirat ha'omer
Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Ruler of the universe, who sanctifies us
with mitzvot, and commands us concerning the counting of the Omer.
For more Omer information and some laughs,
"Count the omer with Homer!" at the "Homer" Calendar.
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The
term Omer means "barley sheaf" and refers to the offering
brought to the Temple on the second day of Passover. According to the
Bible (Leviticus 22:15):
