What is Omer Counting?
Omer Counting (Sefirat HaOmer in Hebrew) is a Jewish practice of counting 49 days from the second night of Passover until the day before the holiday of Shavuot. The omer is counted each evening after sundown, beginning with the recitation of a blessing: “Blessed are you, Adonai our God, Sovereign of the Universe, who has sanctified us with your commandments and commanded us to count the omer.” The practice originates in the biblical command to count from the eve of the second day of Pesach, when an omer of grain was brought as an offering, marking the link between the first grain offering and the offering at the peak of harvest.
An omer was an ancient Hebrew measure of grain; biblical law (Leviticus 23:9-11) forbade any use of the new barley crop until an omer was brought as an offering to the Temple in Jerusalem. Although Temple sacrifices have not been offered since the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, the counting until Shavuot is still performed.
Origins & Lineage
The Book of Leviticus (23:15-16) commanded: “And from the day on which you bring the offering… you shall count off seven weeks. They must be complete.” This commandment led to the traditional practice of S’firat HaOmer, or “Counting the Omer.” The count has its origins in the biblical command of the Omer offering (sheaf-offering), which was offered during the Passover festival, and after which 49 days were counted, and the Shavuot holiday was observed.
As the holiday of Shavuot became associated with the giving of the Torah—not only with a celebration of agricultural bounty—the omer period began to symbolize the thematic link between Passover and Shavuot. While Passover celebrates the initial liberation of the Jewish people from slavery in Egypt, Shavuot marks the culmination of the process of liberation, when the Jews became an autonomous community with their own laws and standards.
After the Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 C.E., the Omer offering could no longer be observed. But the practice of counting the Omer continued and is still observed by many Jews.
Over the past few years, the somewhat esoteric practice of connecting the counting of the Omer to the seven lower sefirot has been gaining popularity in liberal Jewish circles. The usual structure for this practice is to devote each of the seven weeks to one sefirah and within each week to devote one day to each sefirah. Every day is thus dedicated to a primary (of the week) and secondary (of the day) sefirah.
How It’s Practiced
The counting of the omer begins on the second night of Passover; Jews in the Diaspora generally integrate this counting into the second seder. Every day, for seven weeks (49 days), practitioners count how much time has elapsed since the second day of Passover (16 Nissan). On the first day, one says, “Today is one day to the Omer.” Once the seventh day is reached, weeks are counted as well.
After the first six days, one also includes the number of weeks that one has counted. The inclusion of both the day and the week stems from a rabbinic argument about whether the Torah mandates counting days or weeks. The compromise position, manifested in the ritual, is to count both days and weeks.
The counting is preferably done at night, at the beginning of the Jewish day. If one realizes the next morning or afternoon that they have not yet counted, the count may still be made, but without a blessing. If one forgets to count a day altogether, he or she may continue to count succeeding days, but without a blessing.
The bottom seven sefirot are referred to as the Middot—the emotional and practical elements. During the time of the Omer, practitioners are meant to focus on the purification of the bottom seven sefirot. Kabbalistic and Hasidic teachers suggest that we read the Hebrew words “sefirat ha’omer,” the counting of the Omer, as “sefirot ha’omer,” the divine attributes that emanate into the world during the period of the Omer. For each of the seven weeks, they teach, we should reflect on a particular personal quality. Each week, we should increase our capacity to express that quality.
This period is a time of partial mourning, during which weddings, parties, and dinners with dancing are not conducted, in memory of a plague during the lifetime of Rabbi Akiba. Haircuts during this time are also forbidden.
Omer Counting Today
After the Temple was destroyed in 70 CE, the physical offering ceased, but the practice of counting continued as a verbal and spiritual ritual. Over time, the Omer evolved from an agricultural observance into a journey of inner growth. In the Rabbinic tradition, these 49 days became a bridge between freedom and purpose.
Contemporary practitioners encounter Omer counting through smartphone apps, daily email reminders, and guided meditation books. Resources range from traditional prayer books to modern Kabbalistic guides that pair each day with reflections on emotional attributes (chesed/lovingkindness, gevurah/strength, tiferet/compassion). Synagogues often display omer-counters—devices that track the daily count—and some congregations hold weekly gatherings during the counting period.
The practice has found resonance beyond Orthodox communities. Reform, Conservative, Reconstructionist, and Jewish Renewal movements have adapted the counting to emphasize personal growth and mindfulness. Some practitioners use the 49 days for creative projects—daily art-making, journaling, or acts of service—structured around the seven-week framework.
Common Misconceptions
Omer Counting is not a meditation technique in the contemporary secular sense, though modern practitioners have incorporated mindfulness elements. It remains a mitzvah (commandment) with specific halakhic (legal) requirements about timing and continuity.
The practice is not universally observed the same way. The Counting of the Omer begins on the second day of Passover (the 16th of Nisan) for Rabbinic Jews (Orthodox, Conservative, Reform), and on the day after the weekly Shabbat during Passover for Karaite Jews. Samaritan Judaism has an additional difference: because the date of the Samaritan Passover usually differs from the Jewish one by approximately one lunar month, the Karaite and Samaritan counting rarely coincides. Ethiopian Jews traditionally interpreted the “day of rest” to be the last day of Passover.
The connection to Kabbalistic sefirot is a relatively late development, not the original biblical intention. The agricultural and historical meanings precede the mystical interpretations that emerged prominently in the 16th century with Lurianic Kabbalah.
Missing a single day has consequences: practitioners may recite the blessing only if they have not missed a single day’s counting. If they have omitted the counting even one night during that stretch, they may no longer recite the blessing, but instead must listen as a friend says the blessing.
How to Begin
Start on the second night of Passover (or join at any point, though the blessing is only recited if no days have been missed). Set a daily reminder for after sunset. Many practitioners use smartphone apps like “Omer Counter” or “MyOmer” that provide the Hebrew blessing, English translation, and the correct count for each day.
For those interested in the Kabbalistic dimension, Rabbi Simon Jacobson’s A Spiritual Guide to Counting the Omer offers accessible daily reflections on the 49 combinations of sefirot. Rabbi Jill Hammer’s Omer Calendar of Biblical Women pairs each day with a biblical figure. Rabbi Yael Levy’s Journey Through the Wilderness provides a mindfulness-based approach.
Begin simply: recite the blessing, state the count, and take a moment of stillness. The depth emerges through consistency across seven weeks, not through perfect understanding on day one.