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May 2004

Rabbi Simkha Y. Weintraub, LCSW, Rabbinic Director, JBFCS

The Omer: Counting the Days, Making Days Count

In the ancient Temple in Jerusalem, on the second day of Passover, a measure of grain from the first harvest was offered. Since biblical times (see Leviticus 23: 15-21) Jews ritually counted seven weeks from that day until the festival of Shavuot, marking a period called the Omer (an ancient dry measure, and the Hebrew word for "sheaf").

The Torah does not spell out the reason for the Omer counting, but its meaning certainly operates on the same two levels as the two holidays it joins --

• agricultural: hoping for a successful harvest and thanking God for nature and its bounty; and
• historical: moving from the Exodus/Liberation of Passover to the Covenant/Revelation of the Torah at Mt. Sinai, which was associated with Shavuot.

A widely-observed Omer custom is to study Pirke Avot -- Ethics of the Fathers, focusing on one of the book’s six chapters on each of the six Sabbaths between Passover and Shavuot. This book of Rabbinic aphorisms is full of profound ethical teachings, with the last chapter focused on Torah, an appropriate segue to Shavuot, which celebrates the Revelation at Sinai.

As a taste of the rich resource of Pirke Avot, which we encourage you to explore, we offer some sayings from it:

Chapter/Verse

1:14
Hillel used to say: If I am not for myself, who will be for me? But if I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?

4:1
Who is wise? The one who learns from all people...
Who is mighty? The one who subdues his/her passions...
Who is rich? The one who is happy with his/her portion...
Who is honored? The one who honors fellow creatures...

5:10
There are four kinds of characters among people:
The one who says, ‘What is mine is mine and what is yours is yours,’ this is the average sort;
The one who says, ‘What is mine is yours and what is yours is mine,’ this is an ignoramus;
The one who says, ‘What is mine is yours and what is yours is yours,’ this is a saintly person;
The one who says, ‘What is mine is mine and what is yours is mine,’ this is a wicked one.

These "Spirituality Notes" are excerpts from our monthly E-newsletter. Articles are © JBFCS Rita J. Kaplan Jewish Connections Programs and may be reprinted free of charge as long as this credit line is included.

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