Editing Counting of the Omer (section)

{{Short description|Counting of the days from Passover to Shavuot}}
{{Infobox holiday
| image         = Baruch Zvi Ring - Memorial Tablet and Omer Calendar - Google Art Project.jpg
| caption       = Omer calendar
| holiday_name  = Counting of the Omer
| official_name = 
| observedby    = '''[[Jews]]''' (In various forms also by: [[Samaritans]]; [[Messianic Jews]] and other [[Christian observance of Passover|Christians]]; [[Groups claiming affiliation with Israelites|some groups claiming affiliation with Israelites]])
| longtype      = Jewish and Samaritan, religious
| begins        = 16 Nisan
| ends          = 5 Sivan
| date{{LASTYEAR}} = {{Calendar date/infobox|year=last}}
| date{{CURRENTYEAR}} = {{Calendar date/infobox|year=current}}
| date{{NEXTYEAR}} = {{Calendar date/infobox|year=next}}
| date{{NEXTYEAR|2}} = {{Calendar date/infobox|year=next2}}
| type          = Jewish
| relatedto     = [[Passover]], [[Shavuot]]
| date          = 
}}
{{Sefirat HaOmer Box|floatright=floatright}}
{{Judaism}}

'''Counting of the Omer''' ({{Langx|he|סְפִירַת הָעוֹמֶר}}, '''Sefirat HaOmer''', sometimes abbreviated as '''Sefira''') is a ritual in [[Judaism]]. It consists of a verbal counting of each of the 49 days between the holidays of [[Passover]] and [[Shavuot]]. The period of 49 days is known as the "omer period" or simply as "the omer" or "sefirah".<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Counting the Omer and Israel's National Holidays - Jewish Tradition |url=https://yahadut.org/en/shabbat-and-festivals/counting-the-omer-and-israel-s-national-holidays/ |access-date=2024-04-01 |website=yahadut.org |language=en}}</ref>

The count has its origins in the biblical command of the [[Omer offering]] (or sheaf-offering), which was offered on Passover, and after which 49 days were counted, and the Shavuot holiday was observed. The [[Korban|Temple sacrifices]] have not been offered since [[Siege of Jerusalem (70 CE)|the destruction]] of the [[Temple in Jerusalem]], but the counting until Shavuot is still performed. Shavuot is the only major Jewish holiday for which no calendar date is specified in the Torah; rather, its date is determined by the omer count.<ref name=":0" />

The Counting of the ''Omer'' begins on the second day of Passover (the 16th of [[Nisan]]) for [[Rabbinic Judaism|Rabbinic Jews]] ([[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox]], [[Conservative Judaism|Conservative]], [[Reform Judaism|Reform]]), and after the weekly ''[[Shabbat]]'' during Passover for [[Karaite Judaism|Karaite Jews]]. According to all practices, the 49-day count ends the day before Shavuot, which is the 'fiftieth day' of the count.

The ''[[Omer (unit)|omer]]'' ("[[Sheaf (agriculture)|sheaf]]") is an old [[Hebrew Bible|Biblical]] measure of volume of unthreshed stalks of [[Cereal|grain]], the amount of grain used for the Temple offering.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-05-22 |title=From Death to Harvest: Finding Jesus in Firstfruits and Pentecost |url=https://hilltoptlh.org/blog/2020/05/from-death-to-harvest-finding-jesus-in-firstfruits-and-pentecost/ |access-date=2024-12-08 |website=hilltoptlh.org |language=en-US}}</ref>