Fulfill the Mitzvah of the Omer

"Number Your Days that You May Gain a Heart of Wisdom" (Psalm 90:12)

What does it mean that if we number our days we will develop a heart of wisdom? Try counting the Omer and find out! Beginning on the second night of Passover (Sunday evening, April 20 in 2008), it is traditional to count the days of the Omer. An "Omer" is the measure of the first barley harvest of the year, which was required to be offered up to God during the days of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. One midrash (rabbinic legend) also suggests that the Israelites were told upon their exodus from Egypt that they would receive the Torah in fifty days. They were so excited they decided to count each day until that sacred occasion. The holiday of Shavuot (literally, "weeks" because of the 7 weeks between it and Passover) commemorates the giving of the Torah to the Jewish people.

To count the days of the Omer, one begins the second night of Passover. The blessing below is said each night, followed by the announcement of what day of the Omer it is. One then continues to count for the next 49 nights. The 50th night is the beginning of the Pentacost festival, Shavuot.