Sefirat Haomer

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.

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.

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.

Before counting the omer, one recites the following berakha: “Blessed are you, Lord our God, King of the universe, Who has sanctified us with His mitzvot and commanded us concerning the counting of the omer” Both the berakha and the count are optimally recited while standing, but if one recited them while seated, he has nonetheless fulfilled his obligation .

By counting the omer, we draw a line that ascends continuously from Pesaĥ to Shavu’ot. The festival of Pesaĥ represents Israel’s national aspect: the Exodus revealed Israel’s uniqueness, in that God chose us from among all the other nations despite the fact that we were mired in 49 levels of impurity.

Starting from the night of the omer harvest, there is a mitzva to count 49 days, which are seven weeks. This is known as sefirat ha-omer, counting the omer.

How can we try to understand why the awful tragedy happened in Meiron? People just wanted to celebrate lag baomer there but came back in body bags! Why would such a thing happen?

Rabbi Moshe Isserlis recorded Lag Ba'Omer as a mini-festival. It is a happy day on which tachanun is not recited. The customs of mourning that we observe during the period of counting the Omer are ceased.

Many Jews visit the grave of Rashbi on Lag BaOmer, but the real point of this occasion is to attach oneself to this righteous sage through his teachings.

Why is the mourning period for the students of Rabbi Akiva, so much more halachically serious than similar tragedies, in Jewish history?