By Hadar Cohen

Hadar Cohen is a Jerusalemite feminist artist, writer, dancer, and Jewish educator. Hadar is a graduate of Cooper Union, where she studied Electrical Engineering, and alt*div, an alternative divinity school centering the intersection of justice and spirituality.

We asked Hadar Cohen, a very wise Jewish educator, to give us a deep dive into Counting The Omer, a 49-day journey of daily spiritual reflection guided by ancient Jewish wisdom, taking place on the days between Passover and Shavuot.

Now it’s easier than ever to experience the power and beauty of this ritual. Sign up for My Moon Message and we’ll send you daily texts to guide your growth. Take a read below, then sign up and we’ll deliver Jewish wisdom to the palm of your hand.

Sefirat HaOmer is the 49 day cycle between the holidays of Passover (when the Jewish people find freedom) and the holiday of Shavout (the day the Torah was received on Mount Sinai).

There is deep meaning in every aspect of this ritual. The word Sefirat comes from the hebrew root SFR which means to count or to tell, and HaOmer means “the sheaf.” There are agricultural and historical reasons for this marking of time, as well as spiritual meanings marking our journey from slavery to freedom:

Agricultural Cycle

Passover represents the beginning of the harvest season. In the times of the Temple, Jews would bring a measure of the spring barley harvest to the Temple as a form of gratitude and prayer for a successful harvest.

There was a ceremony conducted by priests, waving the offerings in the 6 directions which acknowledged the role of G-d in the harvest. Once this ceremony was completed, people could enjoy the harvest. Sefirat HaOmer counts 49 the days between the initial harvest of the simple grains, to the more luxurious grain, wheat.

Spiritual Rhythms of Hebrew Calendar

Sefirat HaOmer starts in the evening of the second night of Passover, when we celebrate our freedom from Egypt - the ultimate Jewish liberation story.

Yet, once we are freed from the bondage of slavery, we are not fully prepared to stand up as free people.

Rather, we need to undergo a transformative process to spiritually and psychologically prepare and cleanse ourselves. Once we have fully come into our liberated state, we are ready to receive the Torah on Shavout - true wisdom, the divine word, direct experience of revelation.

Sefirat HaOmer counts the days between Passover and Shavout as a marking of time to prepare ourselves for our freedom.

It is not enough to be free, we must do the hard work of introspection and self-examination to truly know our freedom.

Sefirat HaOmer mirrors the journey of the Israelites from Egypt to Sinai - we left as oppressed people and we became liberated through the time we spent in the desert.

It is a spiritual spring cleaning inviting us into inner transformation.

What are the Sefirot?

Sefirot can most simply be described as aspects of divine consciousness as laid out in Jewish wisdom; ten manifestations of divine light.

Sefirot, like Sefirat, come from the root SFR which means to count, or to tell. Sefira describes an aspect of God. The Sefirot are often depicted in a diagram called the Tree of Life:

Jewish wisdom teaches that we are created in the image of the Divine; the body is a physical manifestation of the Divine image. We can connect to the Divine most directly through our connection and relationship to our bodies. The Sefirot are aspects of Divinity in the world that manifest particularly in our bodies.

The system of Sefirot that we are referencing now comes from 16th century Lurianic Kabbalah. It is a complex system of relationships and aspects between Sefirot. During this time, Kabbalists dedicate each day of the Omer to an opportunity for deeper spiritual connection, developing a system by which each week and every day of the Omer has a unique relationship between two Sefirot.

Of the 10 Sefirot, three are called “Upper Sefirot,” described as particularly divine and mostly inaccessible to the human experience. Then there are the seven lower Sefirot, understood as the foundational building blocks of humanity.

The 3 Upper Sefirot

Keter

Crown, G-dhead, point of G-d-contact, unexpressed, above consciousness, upper most realm, a gesture towards G-d’s perfection, G-d in G-d’s fullest and undifferentiated form, pure, the infinite, divine abundance.

Chochma

Wisdom, rooted in knowledge and experience, an initial point of beginning, blueprint of creation, a point, exists but does not exist.

Binah

Understanding, ability to perceive and explain meaning, the process itself, wisdom producing itself in an environment where it can grow and reside, taking on dimension.

The 7 Lower Sefirot

Chesed

Loving-kindness, grace, compassion, divine flow, abundance, river.

Gevurah

Strength, discernment, constraint, boundaries, container, judgement, restraint, containment.

Tiferet

Beauty, balance, harmony, order, heart space, splendor, trunk, symmetry, the sun.

Netzach

Endurance, victory physical energy, persistence, dedication, Moses-style of leadership.

Hod

Splendor, glory of physical forms, radiance, diversity, variety, Aaron’s priestly style of leadership.

Yesod

Foundation, basis, groundwork, ultimate access and channel that permits communication and  transmitting light.

Malchut / Shechina

Indwelling presence, soverniety, Divine royalty, manifestation, liminal, does not produce its own light, receiving upper light and delivering.

The Ritual Itself: How to Count The Omer

After nightfall, but before dawn while standing, some recite this before:

Hineni muchan um’zuman l’kayem mitzvat aseh shel s’firat ha’omer k’mo shekatuv baTorah:  Us’fartem lakhem mimaharat hashabbat miyom havi’echem et omer hat’nufa, sheva shabbatot t’mimot tihiyenah. Ad mimaharat hashabbat hash’vi’it tisp’ru chamishim yom.

Behold, I am ready and prepared to fulfill the mitzvah of counting the omer, as it says in the Torah: 'You shall count from the eve of the second day of Pesach, when an omer of grain is to be brought as an offering, seven complete weeks. The day after the seventh week of your counting will make fifty days.'

(Leviticus 23:15-16)

Then, recite the first blessing:

Baruch atah Adonai elohaynu melech ha’olam ahser kidshanu b ‘mitzvotav v’tivanu al sefirat haomer.

Blessed are You, God, Source of all time and space*, You make us holy through Your commandments and commanded us to count the Omer.

Then, the second blessing:

Hayom (number) yamim l’Omer, she’hem shavuah (number) v’yom (number) l’Omer.

Today is the (number) day, which makes (number) weeks and (number) days of the Omer.

Some people also:

Recite Psalms 67:1-8

For the leader; with instrumental music. A psalm. A song. May God be gracious to us and bless us; may He show us favor,selah that Your way be known on earth, Your deliverance among all nations. Peoples will praise You, O God; all peoples will praise You. Nations will exult and shout for joy, for You rule the peoples with equity, You guide the nations of the earth.Selah. The peoples will praise You, O God; all peoples will praise You. May the earth yield its produce; may God, our God, bless us. May God bless us, and be revered to the ends of the earth.

Chant the names of the pair of the Sefirot 112 times

(6*18 - 6 for 6 directions and 18 for life = 108, and then 4 times for the 4 letters of YHVH, God’s name) *replaced for each week:

• Chesed: Source of Lovingkindness

• Gevurah: Source of Power

• Tiferet: Source of Beauty

• Netzach: Source of Endurance

• Hod: Source of Splendor

• Yesod: Source of Foundation

• Malchut: Source of Royalty

Source Text: https://www.sefaria.org/sheets/164205?lang=bi

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Counting the Omer is a deeply personal journey, and we’re honored to be your guide.

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