Make Each Day Count
A daily guide for the mitzvah of Counting the Omer
Sefirat HaOmer
ספירת העומר
2021 | 5781
In early 2012 my good friend Joe Zgainer, also lovingly referred to as the "RAJBAZ" in our weekly Torah class, made a comment that I found troubling. Basically he said, “Aren’t we commanded to count the Omer? I don’t think it’s an optional thing.” That prompted me to begin a study on the questions– “Why did God command the counting of the Omer?” and “Should we count the Omer today?” At first the answers that came from my research were uplifting and confirmed what some others had said, that the counting of the omer was a hidden treasure in Jewish tradition. What I learned only made me want to dig even deeper. I asked questions like: …why is this period between Passover and Shavuot, two major feasts in the Hebraic calendar exposited in Leviticus 23, different from all the others? For example, we are not told to count the days between Feast of Trumpets and Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles) or between Sukkot and Passover. There must be a reason why God is asking us to do this and I really wanted to try to understand it. You may feel that it is enough to simply be obedient and do as we are commanded in the Torah, but I felt that if I asked for understanding and was persistent, God would reveal to me the answer. So I began to pray for insight and what was revealed to me was so exciting I felt compelled to share it with others. In fact, I thought that perhaps if I adequately communicated what I had learned about the possible benefits that could flow from the disciplined application of this daily investment of time, as well as a prepared text that could be followed, others would begin to practice it – possibly in addition to their daily devotions and study of God’s word. I subsequently shared the concept with others in our Hebraic Roots congregation, Issachar Community. In order to reveal these insights to a wider audience I subsequently arranged much of the information into a daily devotional format so that anyone who was willing to invest the time, might use it as a guide in their personal spiritual growth and in keeping God’s commandment regarding Counting the Omer. And now I am publishing this daily guide online here in my blog during the Omer Count from April 12-May 31, 2020. I hope your obedience and dedication will be rewarded in a manner beyond measure. Count the days and Make Each Day Count!
Figure 1. Timeline from Passover to Shavuot. This period on the calendar is known as “Sefirat HaOmer” – counting the Omer. According to Leviticus 23:15-16 forty-nine days – seven Sabbaths – are counted beginning the first day after the weekly Sabbath immediately following Passover. In 2019 this is the 20th of Nisan and Shavuot (Pentecost) is the 50th day or the 10th of Sivan. This period of time is called Sefirat HaOmer (סְפִירַת הָעוֹמֶר), or the "counting the sheaves." Every day during this season a special blessing is recited naming exactly how many days have been counted and revealing how many more days are left before the "seven weeks of days" are complete. Psalm 67 is often recited because it is composed of 49 Hebrew words which correspond to the 49 days of the Omer count. Image used adapted from: www.hebrew4christians.com.
This guide was first published in 2013, and revised to some extent each year thereafter making this the eighth edition. This year's edition is most unique in that during at least some of the Omer Count much of the world, including my place of residence in Minnesota, is on lock-down due to the Coronavirus Pandemic - COVID-19. 'Why is this unique?' you may ask. Well, there are some interesting parallels. During the first Passover the Israelites were commanded by God to remain in their homes with the blood of the sacrificial lamb painted on the door frames. This was so that the angel of death would 'passover' and they would be protected. We are being asked to stay in our homes in 2020 in order to avoid the plague of the COVID-19 virus. Another interesting parallel is that this plague was in some sense a judgement upon Egypt whose Pharaoh had decreed that all newborn infant Israelite boys be murdered at birth a generation earlier when Moses was born. I don't think I need to explain the coincidence, but yes, I am suggesting that this current outbreak is in some way a judgement on our nation and the world for the senseless murder of millions of unborn human babies since 1973.
It is important to note that in most years the day counting the omer begins and the subsequent days during the count according my presentation do not match the predominantly observed dates, a difference that I will explain more fully later in a blog titled "When do we start to count the Omer? What are the different views?" The view followed here is the Aristocratic Majority View, which is the view preferred most by the Messianic Community. The view followed by most Hebrew Calendars and also most popular in orthodox and mainstream Jewish communities, is the Hassidic Majority view. The interesting thing to note is that although in most years these views result in a different starting date for the omer count, in the years 2015, 2016, 2018 and 2019, because Passover fell on the sixth day of the week – i.e., on a Friday, both views resulted in the same starting date and therefore we we were all counting the days of the Omer on the same dates and celebrated Shavuot (Pentecost) on the same date as well. It is not entirely uncommon for this alignment to occur. During the last 50 years this has happened eleven times. The last time it happened in back to back years prior to 2015 was in 1991 and 1992 and before that, 1964 and 1965. Nevertheless, it is correct and at the same time, sad to say that in the majority of years I believe many are counting the omer on the wrong dates as far as the sovereign of the universe is concerned. Although last year in 2019, we began the counting the Omer on the same day, this year most of us who practice the mitzvah of counting the Omer will be counting on a different day, two days later than the predominant view. But don't let that take away your dedication, as you will see, if you are a believer in Yeshua the Messiah, the preferred date is clear.
Another thing to note is the surprising similarity in the pattern of counting the days of the omer with that of counting the years of the Jubilee cycle according to Exodus 23:10 and Leviticus 25:1-10. 2016 was believed by many to be a Jubilee year. In fact, the newly established 'nascent' Sanhedrin in Jerusalem has declared 2016 to be a jubilee year but since the years leading up to it were not counted according to the practice outlined in Leviticus 25:8, it was not consecrated and the commandments relating to the Jubilee year were not addressed. As a consequence that same Sanhedrin has begun counting the Jubilee year and this year, the Hebrew year 5780, is being counted as the fifth year in the current Jubilee cycle. This concept was explored in depth by Messianic Rabbi Jonathon Cahn in his book “The Mystery of the Shemitah: The 3,000-Year-Old Mystery That Holds the Secret of America's Future, the World's Future, and Your Future!” However, Jonathon Cahn's newest book, as of this writing, "The Oracle: The Jubilean Mysteries Unveiled" shows in a convincing way that the most recent Jubilee year was more likely to have been 2017. In his book Jonathan Cahn masterfully traces the historical events over the past 150 years relating to the prophetic establishment of the nation of Israel following a 50 year cycle beginning in 1867.
"The 50-year Jubilean mystery is coming true in our lifetime, and this 50-year cycle will shake the world. Every 50 years, a major prophetic happening concerning the restoration of Israel has occurred, including the 1867 uncovering of biblical Jerusalem after 2,000 years, the 1917 Balfour Declaration giving the land of Israel back to the Jewish people, the 1967 Six-Day War and the 2017 recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel by President Donald Trump and America—the first such declaration issued by a world power since ancient times. These are just a few of the mysteries that are uncovered, with many other mysteries leading up to the events of our times and revealing the future."[1]
The importance of this as regards the counting of the omer lies in the similarity in the pattern of the counting of seven sabbatical years, or 49 years in all, leading up to the declaration of the Year of Jubilee in the 50th year, and the counting of the forty-nine days of the omer over 7 weeks leading up to Shavuot on the 50th day. This similarity may be of tremendous prophetic significance as we approach the time of Yeshua’s return. Is it possible that just as the celebration and the various traditions associated with Passover prefigure the first coming of the Messiah and His atoning death on the cross, so the counting of the omer is a rehearsal of sorts foreshadowing His second coming and the beginning of the Millennial Kingdom? …the advent of Ha Yovel Mashiach, Messiah’s Jubilee? If 2017 was not the Jubilee year in which Messiah was to return, could it be in the next Jubilee year 2067? Let's look at the calendar regarding Passover and the Omer Count for 2020.
In my next posts I will address the reasons we should want to count the omer, what the different views are about when one should count the omer and I will begin to share with you my suggested method for counting so that you can count with me, if you like, day-by-day, counting up to the Feast of Weeks, Shavuot on May 31. Won't you take this journey with me. As my good friend Joe Zgainer likes to say: "What else have you got to do?" Especially considering we are all hunkered downing our homes, waiting and praying for this pestilence to pass over us.
Here are the other related posts
Counting the Omer - When do we start to count? What are the different views?
Week One overview
Counting the Omer - Day One
How this guide is organized
Counting the Omer and the Feasts, the Year of Jubilee and Jewish Mystical Tradition
Download a printable copy of this book.
Here are the other related posts
Counting the Omer - When do we start to count? What are the different views?
Week One overview
Counting the Omer - Day One
How this guide is organized
Counting the Omer and the Feasts, the Year of Jubilee and Jewish Mystical Tradition
Download a printable copy of this book.
[1] From The Oracle by Jonathan Cahn, 2019, Frontline Publishing. Jonathan Cahn is the author of The Harbinger and The Mystery of the Shemitah, the president of Hope of the World Ministries and leader of the Jerusalem Center in Wayne, NJ. To learn more or get in touch Goto HopeOfTheWorld.org.
No comments:
Post a Comment