Counting the Omer

The following links can assist with your Omer Count:

Count the Omer with Homer Simpson - plus great omer information

Great ideas to create your own Omer Counter!

There are many apps to help you count the Omer. Rabbi Charlie likes Rabbi Karyn Kedar’s Omer: A Counting App available on Apple, Google, and Amazon.

CBI spark Opportunity – Live the Value of Tikkun Olam!

Over the past year, CBI spark has provided many opportunities for learning and doing to help repair our world. Starting Saturday night, our tradition gives us another chance to do the mitzvah of tzedakah.

In ancient Israel, Passover was not only a celebration of freedom - it also represented the beginning of the grain harvest. According to the Mishnah, on the 2nd night of Pesach, Jews would mark the seasonal harvest by setting aside a bundle of grain, called an "omer." That began fifty days of counting the omer, which this year begins on Saturday night and ends on Shavuot.

Most of us are no longer farmers, but this ancient tradition can still be meaningful. Instead of bundles of grain, we can collect tzedakah or cans of food. Not everyone has had a good harvest this past year and food banks tend to run low in the summertime, so this is a great time to connect our tradition and communal need.

Starting Saturday night - I’m encouraging all CBI households to say the blessing and count the omer at services or at home for the next seven weeks. As you do, please set aside a can of food or some physical tzedakah (quarter, dollar, ten dollars) and watch the pile grow. And on the spiritual side, many people find the opportunity to stop once a day and literally count their blessings, to be a valuable, daily affirmation.

This time period was a time of anxiety/sadness, so it was customary not to shave. If you’re willing, join with Rabbi Charlie in not shaving during the omer count as a reminder to count each night. After Shavuot, we'll be able to make a much needed donation and help to sustain people who need it.