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Counting the Omer

Leviticus 23:15 tells YHWH's people they are obligated to count the days from Passover to Shavu'ot - a period known as the Counting of the Omer. The counting is intended to remind us of the link between Passover, which commemorates the Exodus, and Shavu'ot, which commemorates the giving of the Torah. It reminds us that the redemption from slavery was not complete until we received the Torah.

In Temple times on the second day of Passover, an omer (unit of measure) of barley was cut down and brought to the Temple as an offering. This grain offering was referred to as the Omer. Therefore, from the second night of Passover (sunset Nisan 16th)to the night before Shavu'ot, we must recite a blessing and state the count of the omer. (For instance, on the 4th day of Omer, you would say: "Today is the fourth day of Omer."


Every year at Passover time the question arises: "When do we start counting the Omer?" This is a great question, because the Scriptures are simply not clear on the distinction of which "Shabbat" is inferred as to the beginning of the count! So, how we can determine this?

Leviticus 23: 5 "'In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, between sundown and complete darkness, comes Pesach for YHWH. 6 On the fifteenth day of the same month is the festival of matzah; for seven days you are to eat matzah. 7 On the first day you are to have a holy convocation; don't do any kind of ordinary work. 8 Bring an offering made by fire to YHWH for seven days. On the seventh day is a holy convocation; do not do any kind of ordinary work.'"

We now know from verse 5 that Pesach can be any weekday - it is the 14th of the month. We also know from verse 6, that the festival of matzah happens the next day, so it, too, can be on any day of the week. We learn from verse 7 that the first day of the festival of matzah is a holy convocation - a High Shabbat. So we know that that High Shabbat can be on any day of the week. We know (from the translation quoted, which is the CJB with "YHWH" replacing "ADONAI"), that these "special Shabbats" are called "holy convocations".

Since the commandments were already given (see Exodus 20:8), the weekly Shabbat was already made special, and the fact that YHWH reiterated in Levitucus 23:3 that the weekly Shabbat was special, we can solidly infer that these "holy convocations" cited in Leviticus 23:7 and 23:8 are "special Shabbats". In fact we sometimes call these "High" Shabbats or Sabbaths.


But just when we believe we have begun to understand Leviticus 23:5-8, Leviticus 23:10 throws a monkey wrench into the works:

Leviticus 23: 10 "Tell the people of Isra'el, 'After you enter the land I am giving you and harvest its ripe crops, you are to bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the cohen. 11 He is to wave the sheaf before YHWH, so that you will be accepted; the cohen is to wave it on the day after the Shabbat.

Which "Shabbat" is it? Is it the day after the High Shabbat (i.e., the first day of the festival of matzah, or day after the regular, weekly Shabbat)? Well, take a look at Leviticus 23:15-21:

Leviticus 23: 15 "'From the day after the day of rest -that is, from the day you bring the sheaf for waving -you are to count seven full weeks, 16 until the day after the seventh week; you are to count fifty days; and then you are to present a new grain offering to YHWH. 17 You must bring bread from your homes for waving-two loaves made with one gallon of fine flour, baked with leaven -as firstfruits for YHWH. 18 Along with the bread, present seven lambs without defect one year old, one young bull and two rams; these will be a burnt offering for YHWH , with their grain and drink offerings, an offering made by fire as a fragrant aroma for YHWH. 19 Offer one male goat as a sin offering and two male lambs one year old as a sacrifice of peace offerings. 20 The cohen will wave them with the bread of the firstfruits as a wave offering before YHWH, with the two lambs; these will be holy for YHWH for the cohen. 21 On the same day, you are to call a holy convocation; do not do any kind of ordinary work; this is a permanent regulation through all your generations, no matter where you live.

Notice in verse 15 we are to count 7 full weeks (49 days). Also notice that on the 50th day, an offering is made. Then take special note in verse 21, "that same day" (i.e., the 50th day), it is a "holy convocation" - a High Shabbat...This is Shavuot. Notice something else that you may not have realized: If we start counting the weeks from the regular weekly Shabbat (taking the meaning of "Shabbat" in Leviticus 23:11 as the regular weekly Shabbat), then the 49th day is also a Saturday. This means Shavuot would ALWAYS fall on a Sunday! And since the Hebrew calendar is lunar-solar, this absolutely cannot happen!

Since Pesach is ALWAYS on 14 Nisan, then Shavuot, 52 days later, MUST cross TWO new moons, and that provides TWO opportunities for the intervening months to have one extra day, so Shavuot must "float", that is, it cannot always fall on the same day of the week!

Thus, if were correct to start the omer count from the regular weekly Shabbat, we would expect YHWH's instructions in Leviticus 23, verses 16 and 21, to clearly indicate that Shavuot would always follow the regular Shabbat after counting 7 weeks!


Get it? For if the "49th day" was a regular Shabbat anyway (as it would always be by starting the omer count on a Saturday Shabbat), is seems that YHWH, in Leviticus 23:15 would say instead something like "On the day after the Shabbat, after counting 7 full weeks, you are to..." rather than what He actually says: "Count 50 days" and "That same day, you are to call a holy convocation." This is fairly substantial evidence that the counting of the 50 days is from the High Shabbat, not the regular weekly Shabbat after the first day of the festival of matzah.

It seems clear that the counting of weeks begins on the day after the first day of the festival of matzah, and thus the counting can begin on any weekday on which the 2nd day after Pesach happens to fall that year; and thus Shavuot falls also during any weekday, 50 days later - unless, of course, the first day of matzah happens to fall on a regular weekly Shabbat and Shavuot would fall on a Sunday, 50 days later by both reckonings.

This interpretation is in-line with the Jewish tradition that Moshe told the people of Israel that 49 days after the exodus they would be given the Torah and is part of the meaning of Shavuot - commemoration of the receipt of the Torah on Mt Sinai.

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Thank YOu for this!
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