Counting the Omer - Week One

At the end of the seder, we sing a song that is all about counting:

Thirteen how knows 13? 

I know 13, 

Thirteen are the attributes of G!d, Twelve are the Tribes of Israel, Eleven are the stars in Joseph's dream, Ten are the commandments, Nine are the months before birth, Eight are the days to the brit milah, Seven are the days in a week till Shabbat, Six are the orders of the Mishnah, Five are the books of the Torah, Four are our matriarchs, Three are our forefathers, Two are the tablets of the commandments, One is Our G!d who is in the heavens and on earth.

We count up to 13. But on the second night of Passover, we begin counting much higher as we count the 49 days from leaving behind bondage and crossing the Sea of Reeds to receiving the Torah at Sinai. We are counting the 49 days from redemption to revelation, from Passover to Shavuot, from the depths of despair to the heights of joy, from physical enslavement to spiritual freedom, from the barley harvest offering to the wheat harvest offering. We count seven weeks of seven.

These seven sevens are usually counted in relation to seven attributes of G!d. These seven divine s'firot or midot connect as well to the seven days of creation, the seven days of the week, the seven years of the Sabbatical, or sh’mita  year, and other seven.

This year, in counting the Omer, I would like to focus on the seven days of creation.

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. Now the earth was unformed and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the spirit of God hovered over the face of the waters. And God said: ‘Let there be light.’ And there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day. Gen. 1:1-5

In the tradition of making connections, which is done with the middot, this first night of counting the Omer links Day 1 of Creation to Day 1.

“Let there be light.” Let there be light within light, light in connection to light, light squared, nothing but light. And may we understand that night leads to day and day leads to night and the two are inseparable. May we understand that without light there is no shadow. May we rise out of our darkness and into light as we journey toward freedom. May we trust that the night will end, no matter how dark it is.

With this blast of light and the interconnection between night and day, we begin our journey from Passover to Shavuot, from bondage to revelation.

May your journey be filled with much goodness and strength and may you find others walking beside you.

Here are the details for the blessing and counting for the first night, Saturday night.

Baruch atah Adonai Eloheinu melech ha'olam, asher kid-shanu b'mitzvotav, vitzivanu, al sefirat ha'omer.
Blessed are you Adonai our G!d, ruler of the universe, who sanctifies us with its commandments and commands regarding the counting of the omer.

Or, alternatively,

Brucha at Yah, Eloheinu ruach ha'olam, asher kidshtanu b'mitzvoteha, vitzivatanu al sefirat ha'omer.
Blessed are you Ya our G!d spirit of the universe, who sanctifies us with its mitzvot and commands us regarding the counting of the omer.

HaYom yom echad laomer. 
Today is Day 1 of the Omer.

Chag Sameach – Happy Passover!

Rabbi Katy Z. Allen