Jewish Holidays

women are exempt from the mitzva of sefirat ha-omer, as it is dependent on time. However, a woman who wants to perform this mitzva may do so.

One who is uncertain whether he neglected to count one day may continue counting with a berakha, because we only defer to the opinion that one cannot continue counting with a berakha when one is certain that he missed a day.

According to Behag, it is one long mitzva that extends from Pesaĥ to Shavu’ot. However, most poskim maintain that each night’s count is a separate mitzva.

If one regularly prays Ma’ariv at a late hour all year round, it is best that he count after praying at his regular time. However, if one is preoccupied and cannot pray Ma’ariv with a minyan after tzeit, and he intends instead to pray by himself later on, he should preferably count the omer right after tzeit, in order to fulfill the mitzva as soon as possible.

We begin to count the omer on the night of the sixteenth of Nisan. “From when the sickle is first put to the standing grain” refers to the omer harvest.

A fundamental question about sefirat ha-omer is whether the mitzva is mandated by Torah law or rabbinical enactment while the Temple no longer stands.

There are some people, in Israel for the most part, who oppose the use of the Gregorian calendar in their every-day interactions, and choose to use the Jewish calendar instead. Let us delve into and explain the importance of the Jewish calendar.

Hoshana Rabba is one of the least understood days of the Jewish calendar. What is the source of her specialness, which isn't mentioned at all in the Torah? The class deals with the ancient sources for 3 different aspects of Hoshana Rabba which in fact, overlap and harmonize to give us a deeper understanding of this final day of Sukkot, as the "final appeal" sealing how our year is going to look!