Sefirat Haomer

If, at a time when it is permissible to count, one’s friend asks him, “What is today’s omer count?” one should not answer, “Today is day such-and-such of the omer,” unless he has already counted with a berakha.

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.

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.