Counting of the Omer - ספירת העומר / ל"ג בעומר

The Counting of the Omer:

The Omer was a sheaf of barley that was waved in biblical times in honour of the spring Harvest.  The waving of the Omer took place on what is now the second night of Pesach.  Then the next forty-nine days were counted, until the wheat harvest on the fiftieth day (Shavout).

Traditionally, it is believed that it took until Shavout for the Hebrews to get from Egypt to Mount Sinai, where they received the Torah on the fiftieth day. Today, this period of the Omer is a time for self-reflection and spiritual improvement.

Usually, the first thirty-three days of this period are solemn and no joyous celebrations are supposed to take place.

On the twelth day of the Omer, on 27  Nissan, Yom Ha’Shoah, in memory of the Holocaust, takes place (see section on Yom Ha’Shoah for more information).

On the nineteenth day of the Omer, on 4 Iyar, Yom Ha-Zikaron (Day of Remembrance – see separate section for more information) takes place.

On the twentieth day of the Omer, on 5 Iyar, Yom Ha’atzmaut (Israeli Independence Day – see separate section for more information) takes place.

Lag B’Omer
18 Iyar, the thirty-third day of Omer (which is what ‘Lag B’Omer’ means), marks the end of the solemn period.  It is not known exactly why mourning ends on this day.  One explanation is that this is the anniversary of the day that manna fell from heaven during the Exodus from Eygpt of the Hebrews. 

Traditionally, orthodox Jewish families have their three year old children’s hair cut for the first time on Lab B’Omer.  It is also the one day during the Omer period that weddings are permitted to take place.

Bonfires and archery contests are popular on Lag B’Omer.  It is believed that this is because Rabbi Akiba’s students carried bows and arrows in a pretence of hunting, when in reality, they were conducting Torah study, which was forbidden at the time.

References:

Falcon PhD, Rabbi T. and Blatner, D. (2001) Judaism for Dummies, Hungry Minds, New York.