In the Jewish tradition, forty nine days – seven weeks of days – are carefully counted between the second day of Unleavened Bread and Shavu’ot (Pentecost or “Weeks”). This period of time is called Sefirat HaOmer (“counting the sheaves”). Every day during this season, a special blessing is recited naming exactly 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.

The Blessing

Every evening, from the second night of Passover to the night before Shavu'ot, we recite the following blessing before stating the count of the omer:

The Declaration

After reciting the blessing, we then declare the count of the omer in both days and weeks. For example, on the first day we say, “Haiyom yom echad ba’omer” (today is one day of the omer), on the second day we say, “Haiyom yom sheni ba’omer” (today is two days of the omer), but on the seventh day we say, “Haiyom shivah yamim, shehem shavuah echad ba’omer” (today is seven days, which are one week of the omer), and on the eighth day we say, “Haiyom shemonah yamim, shehem shavuah echad v’yom echad ba’omer” (today is eight days, which is one week and one day of the omer).

This continues, day by day, until we reach the 49th day, when we say, “Haiyom tishah v’arba’im yom, shehem shivah shavu’ot ba’omer” (today is forty-nine days, which are seven weeks of the omer).

After the blessing is recited and the count has been declared, it is customary to say this short prayer:

HaRachaman hu Yachazir Lanu ("O Compassionate One! May He return for us")
Avodat Beit HaMikdash Li'mekomo ("the Service of the Temple to its Place")
bimhayra be'yameinu. Amen; Selah. (speedily and in our time. Amen; Selah)

Note that the 33rd day of the count (the eighteenth of Iyar) is called called Lag B’Omer, and is a minor holiday. Note also that Orthodox Judaism, based on Talmudic reasoning, starts the count of the omer on the evening of Nisan 16, preceding the day the Omer Offering (yom bikkurim) was brought to the temple.

A Period of “Semi-Mourning”

The Omer period is considered a time of semi-mourning in memory of a devastating plague (or losses in battle) which killed thousands of the disciples of Rabbi Akiva during the Bar Kochba Revolt (130 CE). Ordinarily, weddings, celebrations and even haircuts are avoided during this period, but on Lag B’Omer these prohibitions are lifted, since the plague in Akiva's camp was said to have ended on that day during the revolt.

The Meaning of Sefirat Ha’Omer

According to the Jewish sages, the Omer count represents the way of teshuvah, one day for each of the 49 “levels of sin” that the Jewish people had degraded into while being slaves in Egypt. Just as there are 49 levels of spiritual impurity, so there are said to be 49 levels spiritual of purity (mem-tet panim tumah, v'mem-tet panim tahora). Since God is holy and Shavu’ot is about the encounter with God, we must ready and sanctify ourselves by performing the Omer count. Counting the omer, then, is a means of preparation for the giving of the Torah to Israel -- and for being restored to God.

From a Messianic perspective, however, it is clear that God also wanted to be sure that the Jewish people did not miss something else here.  Could He have made it any clearer? It’s almost as if there is a dotted line pointing directly from Passover to Pentecost - a “Jubilee” of days:

In the Jewish Tradition, the forty nine days between Pesach and Shavu’ot mark the time between the Festival of "Physical Redemption" (Passover) and the Festival of "Spiritual Redemption" (Shavu’ot). In the rabbinical tradition, Shavu’ot commemorates God's giving of the Torah to Israel at Mount Sinai, called Mattan Torah. Historically, as one of the three pilgrimage festivals (shelosh regalim), Jews from all over the world would come to Jerusalem to celebrate and reaffirm their commitment to the covenant of Moses at this time.

And such was the custom when God delivered the Substance of which the festival of Pentecost was merely a “type and a shadow.” For the Brit Chadashah reveals that Pentecost is the climax of God’s plan for our deliverance through Yeshua the Mashiach, the true Lamb of God (Seh Elohim). The countdown to Pentecost represents the giving of the anticipated New Covenant to mankind, since on this very day the Holy Spirit was given to form kehillat Mashiach - the Church of Christ.

With a touch of divine irony, during the season that Jews from around the world gathered in Jerusalem to reaffirm their commitment to the covenant of Moses, the Holy Spirit descended upon Israel to offer the promise of the New Covenant to all who will believe (see Acts 2:1-42). This new covenant makes Torah a matter of the heart, written by God’s Spirit, yielding a life fruitful in the liberty given to us through the love and grace of the Lord Yeshua the Mashiach, blessed be He.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance:
against such there is no Torah. (Gal 5:22-23)

Sefirat Ha’Omer and Post-Resurrection Appearances of Yeshua

Because of the resurrection and the connection to Shavuot (Pentecost), the counting of the Omer is highly symbolic for believers. All of Yeshua's post-resurrection appearances occurred within the days of the Omer count.

Some of these appearances were as follows: On the first day of the Omer, Yeshua appeared to Mary Magdalene (Mark 16:9; John 20:16-18), some other women (Matt. 28:5-10), and then to Simon Peter (Luke 24:34; 1 Cor. 15:5).

On the second day, He appeared to the two on the Road to Emmaus (Luke 24:31) and later that evening to the Twelve disciples (Mark 16:14; Luke 24:33-39; John 20:19).

A week later, He appeared to the Twelve again (John 20:26) and eight days later appeared to Thomas (John 20:24-29). Some time later, He appeared the third time to the disciples as they went back to their fishing jobs (John 21:1-14).

Later He appeared to 500 (1 Cor. 15:6) and then to James, the half-brother of Yeshua (1 Cor. 15:7). On the 40th day of the Omer, He ascended into heaven from Bethany, but before doing so, Yeshua commanded His followers not to leave Jerusalem until the promise of the Father was fulfilled during Shavuot (Luke 24:50; Acts 1:9-12).

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