Editing Counting of the Omer (section)

== Kabbalistic interpretation ==

The period of the counting of the ''Omer'' is considered to be a time of potential for inner growth—for a person to work on one's good characteristics (''middot'') through reflection and development of one aspect each day for the 49 days of the counting.

In [[Kabbalah]], each of the seven weeks of the ''Omer''-counting is associated with one of the seven lower [[sephirot|sefirot]] ([[Chesed#Kabbalah|Chesed]], [[Gevurah]], [[Tiferet]], [[Netzach]], [[Hod (Kabbalah)|Hod]], [[Yesod]], [[Malkuth]]). Similarly, each day of each week is associated with one of these same seven ''sefirot'', creating forty-nine permutations. The first day of the ''Omer'' is therefore associated with "''chesed'' that is in ''chesed''" (loving kindness within loving kindness), the second day with "''gevurah'' that is in ''chesed''" (might within loving kindness); the first day of the second week is associated with "''chesed'' that is in ''gevurah''" (loving-kindness within might), the second day of the second week with "''gevurah'' that is in ''gevurah''" (might within might), and so on.

Symbolically, each of these 49 permutations represents an aspect of each person's character that can be improved or further developed. Recent books which present these 49 permutations as a daily guide to personal character growth have been published by Rabbi [[Simon Jacobson]]<ref>{{cite web|last=Jacobson|first=Simon|title=Your Guide to Personal Freedom Counting the Omer: Week One|url=http://www.meaningfullife.com/torah/holidays/8b/Your_Guide_to_Personal_Freedom_-_Week_1.php|work=Excerpt from "A Spiritual Guide to Counting the Omer"|publisher=meaningfullife.com|access-date=8 April 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130310054235/http://www.meaningfullife.com/torah/holidays/8b/Your_Guide_to_Personal_Freedom_-_Week_1.php|archive-date=10 March 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Jacobson|first=Simon|title=Spiritual Guide to the Counting of the Omer|year=1996|publisher=Meaningful Life Center|isbn=978-1886587236|pages=72}}</ref> and Rabbi [[Yaacov Haber]] and David Sedley.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Haber |first1=Yaacov |title=Sefiros: Spiritual Refinement Through Counting the Omer |last2=David |first2=Sedley |publisher=TorahLab |year=2008 |isbn=978-1-60763-010-4 |pages=160}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | last=Adlerstein | first=Yitzchok | title=Sefirah, Sefiros, and Getting G-d Wrong | website=Cross-Currents | date=2008-04-24 | url=https://cross-currents.com/2008/04/24/sefirah-sefiros-and-getting-g-d-wrong/ | access-date=2024-05-24}}</ref> The work ''Counting the Omer: A Kabbalistic Meditation Guide''<ref>{{cite book|last=Kantrowitz|first=Min|title=Counting the Omer: A Kabbalistic Meditation Guide|year=2009|publisher=Gaon Books|isbn=978-1-935604-00-6 |pages=244|url=http://www.rabbiminkantrowitz.com/}}</ref> includes meditations, activities and ''[[Kavanah|kavvanot]]'' (proper mindset) for each of the kabbalistic four worlds for each of the 49 days.

The 49-day period of counting the Omer is also a conducive time to study the teaching of the [[Mishnah]] in [[Pirkei Avot]] 6:6, which enumerates the "48 ways" by which Torah is acquired. Rabbi [[Aharon Kotler]] (1891–1962) explains that the study of each "way" can be done on each of the first forty-eight days of the ''Omer''-counting; on the forty-ninth day, one should review all the "ways."<ref>{{cite web|last=Weinberg|first=Noah|title=Counting with the 48 Ways|date=7 May 2003|url=http://www.aish.com/h/o/t/52829142.html|publisher=Aish HaTorah, Israel|access-date=8 April 2013}}</ref>