Count That Omer!
It is Jewish tradition to formally count forty-nine consecutive days beginning with the first day of Passover. The fiftieth day of this counting is Shavuot, the day we received Torah on Mount Sinai. Every night traditional families gather and, after reciting a bracha indicating that it's a mitzvah to count the days, announce, "Today is the nth day of the counting."
This ritual is called the Counting of the Omer because on Passover day Jews brought their first sheaves of barley to the Temple (the Hebrew word for sheaf is OMER) and began the counting of days at that time.
Why count? First, unless you try it, you'd be amazed at how difficult it is to remember to do such a simple thing as to declare out loud what day it is. We take time for granted. Seconds, minutes, hours, even days fly by. How often do we have to stop and wonder, "What day is this?" We quickly figure it out, but, for that moment, we've lost track of time. By consciously declaring out loud, "Today is the nth day of the counting," we stop taking time for granted. For at least fifty days of the year, we keep track of time, we're aware of its passage. That affects our perspective, and that's always important.
Second, it was exactly fifty days after we were redeemed from Egypt that we received Torah. We went from slavery to covenant. It was an incredibly difficult transition (witness the Golden Calf!). The people worried about water, food, organization, and outside enemies. Our lives are similarly filled with day?to?day stresses, challenges, deadlines, and concerns. By consciously counting the days from Passover to Shavuot, we are able to keep in mind why we celebrate Passover, why we're free; we celebrate Passover because we accepted Torah at Sinai fifty days later. Shavuot becomes a fixed point, an upcoming event that becomes especially important because we count off the days toward it. And, when thinking about Mount Sinai and covenant, our day?to?day concerns diminish in intensity. Compared to going from slavery to Torah, how significant is it that so-and-so's child was late for car-pool, or so-and-so didn't call back?
And so we count. Keep it up; it counts.
(witness the Golden Calf!). The people worried about water, food, organization, and outside enemies. Our lives are similarly filled with day?to?day stresses, challenges, deadlines, and concerns. By consciously counting the days from Passover to Shavuot, we are able to keep in mind why we celebrate Passover, why we're free; we celebrate Passover because we accepted Torah at Sinai fifty days later. Shavuot becomes a fixed point, an upcoming event that becomes especially important because we count off the days toward it. And, when thinking about Mount Sinai and covenant, our day?to?day concerns diminish in intensity. Compared to going from slavery to Torah, how significant is it that so?and?so's child was late for car?pool, or so?and?so didn't call back?
And so we count. Keep it up; it counts.