Counting the Omer Our translation and commentary today will deal with the period of time which has come to be called: the counting of the omer. We will translate Leviticus 23:15 21, then offer commentary on the contents, as well as give an overview of the meaning of the counting of the omer. One of the mitzvot,מצוות] mitzvot], or instructions from God to Israel, is the counting of the days between Pesach and Shavuot. This counting of days came to be known as counting of the omer. In ancient Hebrew, the word omer,עומר] omer] was a standard of dry measure, by which to measure or weigh crops and goods. As a primarily agricultural mo ed, the Israelites were counting how many omers of barley would be harvested. Thus, the tradition grew to refer to these days of counting as counting of the omer. Biblical instruction simply refers to the people as a nation counting the days. In this article we will discuss this counting of days. Here is our Torah text below. It is our source for understanding the daily living of this 7 weeks of the year s calendar. v. 15: Then you will count to yourselves [plural] from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you [plural] bring the sheaf for waving, 7 uncorrupted,תמים] tamim] Sabbaths will occur. v. 15: This verse is written in the second person plural, conveying to us that the entire nation is to live within these instructions. In history, there was a sharp dispute over the meaning of the word Sabbath in v. 15. The Pharisees believed it referred to Passover night [the 14 th of Nisan on the Jewish calendar, see Lev. 23:5]. Therefore, the counting of the omer always began on the next evening. This is because the exact same wording used to describe the seventh day Sabbath is used in Leviticus 23 to refer to this day which begins the counting of these seven weeks of days. The 7 th day of every week is a mo ed in Hebrew, ;מועד see 23:7,8 and 15 for examples of such. Every mo ed had the instructions of the Sabbath, and every Sabbath was a mo ed (see Leviticus 23.2, where the word mo ed is used to describe the times when God met with the nation). The Sabbath of Lev. 23:15 would be the day following the day of Pesach in each year. Therefore, this once a year Sabbath could land on any day of the week. It would not be the weekly seventh day Sabbath.
The Sadducees thought otherwise, believing the word Sabbath meant strictly a 7 th day Sabbath whenever it was used (that is, only on Saturday). They began their counting of the omer on the Saturday following Passover, no matter what day of the week that Passover fell on. In history, the Pharisees interpretation became followed by the Jewish people all over the world, and is still the majority interpretation today. It is important to know that the entire Jewish world has always agreed that the seven Sabbaths during the counting of the omer are always on Saturdays. In question was only the first Sabbath on which to calibrate the counting. The Sadducees represented only a miniscule percentage of the Jewish population, and never did the Jewish population of Israel use the Sadducees calculations about the omer in a widespread manner. Thus, the Pharisees interpretation of dating the counting of the omer has always been more popular than the Sadducees method, and has been the only one in use since the 4 th century. The word tamim [תמים] is used in our verse to describe the way in which the Sabbath days during the counting of the omer are to be observed. Tamim has a good number of nuances, such as innocent, perfect, full, non-corrupted, possibly something being done with the proper attitude. Jacob is described as being tam,תם] singular of tamim] in Genesis 25:27 [please see that verse]. v. 16: Until from the day after the 7 th Sabbath, count 50 days and bring a new grain,מנחה] minchah] offering. v. 16: Until from the day after is the literal Hebrew. It is the idiom meaning from the day afterwards. In other words, 7 Sabbaths are counted, and the day after the seven Sabbaths is the 50 th day of the counting. It is on that 50 th day that the new grain offering is offered. The Hebrew minchah refers to an offering that has no animal parts to it, but is made up of grains or flour among other contents. v. 17: From all of your towns you will bring two breads for waving: twotenths finely milled flour, there will be yeast; it will be baked as firstfruits to God. v. 17: By two breads we assume that two loaves of bread are being referred to here. 2
v. 18: And you will offer over the bread seven uncorrupted lambs that are one year old, one young bull and two rams. They will be a whole burnt offering,עולה] olah] to God, and their grain offering [minchah] and their libation offering,נסך] nesek], with fire, a pleasing smell to God. v. 18: The Hebrew words used refer to specific offerings that were parts of this Shavuot offering. You can study more about them in the opening chapters of the book of Leviticus, e.g. chapters 1 8.,חטאת] v. 19: And you (plural) will do one male goat as a sin offering hattat], and two-year-old sheep for a wholeness offering,למים] shlemim]. v. 19: By you will do, we logically assume that it means the actions of preparing and offering this offering. v. 20: And the priest,כוהן] kohen] will wave them over the bread of the firstfruits, an offering of waving in front of God, over the two sheep. It will be holy to God, for the priest. v. 20: The phrase holy to God [kodesh yiyu l adonay lakohen], meant that Israel offered this offering to God, and then the priests and ONLY the priests were allowed to eat from these offerings. Something that was kodesh [קודש] in the matter of offerings was often referred to by this term. v. 21: And you will call this very day a special gathering time. You will not do any type of wage earning work. This is an instruction forever, for all of your towns, for all your generations. v. 21: The language of v. 21 is the same language used in describing both the Sabbath day and Passover. Mikreh kodesh, מקרא קודש is what the Sabbath is called, as well, and the prohibition of wage earning work applies to the Sabbath Day, Passover day, and Shavuot. Mikreh kodesh [literally a holy gathering ] means a special time of meeting between God and the nation. In the Jewish calendar (and in the biblical one), this is the season where we find ourselves currently. We are counting the days between Passover and Shavuot. Shavuot is also known as Weeks. In the Greek Scriptures, the word 50 days (pentecost) is used to refer to the biblical holy day 3
called Shavuot in Hebrew. The reasons for this special counting of the fifty days between Passover evening and Shavuot are many. They are not specifically written about in our text in Leviticus 23, but we will elaborate on one of the main reasons. In Deuteronomy 11:10 15, it is written: Deut. 11:10 The land you are entering to take over is not like the land of Egypt, from which you have come, where you planted your seed and irrigated it by foot as in a vegetable garden. Deut. 11:11 But the land you are crossing the Jordan to take possession of is a land of mountains and valleys that drinks rain from heaven. Deut. 11:12 It is a land the Lord your God cares for; the eyes of the Lord your God are continually on it from the beginning of the year to its end. Deut. 11:13 So if you faithfully hear (shema) the commands I am giving you today to love the Lord your God and to serve him with all your mind and with all your whole living being (nephesh) Deut. 11:14 then, I will send rain on your land in its season, both autumn and spring rains, so that you may gather in your grain, new wine, and oil. Deut. 11:15 I will provide grass in the fields for your cattle, and you will eat and be satisfied. (NIV) In antiquity, Jewish farmers would go out every day to inspect their fields during the time between Passover and Shavuot. It was when the barley and wheat growth was quickly occurring. It is estimated that at least 80% of Israel s population in those days was involved in farming. Between Passover and Shavuot, these fifty days, was when the food supply for the year was growing. By going into their fields and visually observing the growth of their barley and wheat harvest, the people could see that God was faithful to His promises of Deuteronomy chapter 11. When the covenant relationship between Israel and God was honored by the nation, then the farmers would have observed good growth during these fifty days, ending with their harvest celebration and thanksgiving to God during Shavuot. From children to their parents to their family elders, everyone in the nation could see the faithfulness of God in action through the crop growth. And they could all know that they would have enough food for the upcoming year. Since starvation and drought were two major problems in the ancient world, Israel was learning how to avoid such problems by being covenantally faithful. God was using the Land of Israel 4
and the season of the counting of these 50 days to affirm His covenant faithfulness to the people. Deuteronomy 11:13 15 would take place on a yearly basis before the very eyes of the people as they inspected their fields. Therefore, this 50-day counting of the days, replete with inspection of the fields, was a very meaningful time. There were other reasons for counting the days, as well, as a preparation time for Shavuot. As you may know, both Shavuot and Passover were pilgrimage times for adult males in Israel. During Shavuot, the men would come with baskets full of their best new fruit and crops from the year. They would offer them in worship to God in the Temple area, and recite a beautiful prayer, along with the priest on duty. The city walls of Jerusalem were decorated with fragrant flowers, and the priests would come out and greet the pilgrims with songs. Often, whole families were able to make the pilgrimage and enjoy the journey and time of celebration together as an individual family as well as with the national family. We hope this article helps you understand this special set of days between Pesach and Shavuot. May God bless you and all of Israel during these remaining days of counting the omer, as we wait in expectation of Shavuot and its manifold blessings! BD and BN 5