Counting the Omer 2021 - Day Three

Day Three

24^th of Nisan 5781 – from sundown on April 5^th to sundown on April 6^th, 2021

Counting of the Omer begins after sundown reciting the following blessing:

ברוך אתה יהוה אלוהינו , מלך העולם , אשר קדשנו במצותי

וציונו עלי לספירת העומר

Barukh ata Adonai Eloheinu Melekh ha'Olam asher kid'shanu b'mitzvotav
v'tizivanu al sefirat ha'omer.

Blessed are you, Lord our God, King of the Universe, who has sanctified us with your commandments and commanded us to count the omer.

After the blessing, recite the day of the count:

היום  שלושה ימים לעומר

Hayom sh’loshah yamim la'omer

Today is three days of the omer.

Read Psalm 67:  (Hebrew Names Version)

May God be merciful to us, bless us, 
And cause his face to shine on us.            Selah. 

That your way may be known on eretz, 
And your yeshu`ah among all nations, 

Let the peoples praise you, God. 
Let all the peoples praise you. 

Oh let the nations be glad and sing for joy, 
For you will judge the peoples with equity,
And govern the nations on eretz.                Selah.             

Let the peoples praise you, God. 
Let all the peoples praise you.            

The eretz has yielded its increase. 
God, even our own God, will bless us.        

God will bless us. 
All the ends of the eretz shall fear him. 

After the reciting Psalm 67, recite Psalm 119: 17-24: (NKJV)      ג          Gimel

Deal bountifully with Your servant, That I may live and keep Your word.  Open my eyes, that I may see wondrous things from Your law.  I am a stranger in the earth; do not hide Your commandments from me.  My soul breaks with longing For Your judgments at all times.  You rebuke the proud--the cursed, who stray from Your commandments.  Remove from me reproach and contempt, for I have kept Your testimonies.  Princes also sit and speak against me, but Your servant meditates on Your statutes.  Your testimonies also are my delight and my counselors. 

 Prayer for day three: 

Our Father in Heaven, we implore You, by the awesome power of Your right hand, release the captive. Accept the prayers of your people; strengthen and purify us, Awesome and Mighty King of the Universe, we beseech you, that You guard as the apple of your eye your people Israel. Bless them, cleanse them; bestow upon them forever Your merciful kindness. Powerful, Holy One, in Your abounding goodness, preserve and protect Your people who are mindful of Your holiness. Strengthen us and give us courage to stand against all the forces of darkness that call good 'evil' and evil 'good.' Heal our land that has been defiled by the shedding of innocent blood and help our nation to turn back to you. Accept our supplication and hear our cry, You who knows the secret thoughts. Blessed be the name of the glory of His kingdom forever and ever.

Almighty God, Sovereign of the universe, You have commanded us through Moses Your servant to count the days of the omer, in order to purify us from our evil and uncleanness so that the souls of your people may be cleansed from their defilement. Therefore, may it be Your will, Lord our God and God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, that in the counting of the omer which I (we) have counted today, I (we) may be purified and sanctified with your unimaginable holiness. And through my (our) obedience to your commandments, may Your abundant bounty be bestowed upon all the world. May it rectify our soul and our spirit from every baseness and defect, and may it purify and sanctify us with all your holiness. 

Abba, father, on this, the third day of the counting of the omer, we remember your bountiful kindnesses to your children in that you brought them out of Egypt to a place where their only way of escape was by your mighty hand teaching them to trust in you to deliver them from all harm. We humbly ask that You refine us, help us to always trust only in Your salvation, Yeshua. Amen.

After reciting the prayer, continue to pray and meditate on how God took the Israelites in a circuitous path between Migdol and the sea. How He made Pharaoh think that they were wandering around in confusion so that he would pursue and attack them knowing that He would deliver them out of Pharaoh's hand. Reflect on times when you were tempted to fear that God had abandoned you. 

Suggested selections for further reading include the special readings for Passover and other related selections from the New Testament writings (B'rit Hadashah): Exodus 14:1-4; Numbers 33:7; 2 Samuel 22:14-21; Matt 28:11-15

Suggested reading from the weekly Torah portion: Shmini – 3rd reading: Leviticus 9:24 - 10:11
Suggested reading from the Brit Hadashah: John 13:21-32; Acts 5:1-11

The Sefirot for Day Three is: Tiferet of Chesed  or the Beauty of Loving-Kindness. Suggested activity for today: Make a plan to give help to a stranger through an act of kindness or donation.

Go to Counting the Omer 2021 - Day Four
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