Sefiras Haomer Questions

Sefiras Haomer Questions:

1. What is Sefiras Haomer?
2. Why is this time period sad?
3. Why are there different customs as to which days when we act sadly?
4. Lots of great people have died throughout Jewish history. Why then during the sefira do all the Jews remember the deaths of R’ Akivas talmidim?
5. What is the idea behind counting days?
6. Why is the significance of counting 49 days?
7. Why do we count the weeks as well as the days?
8. What are we not allowed to do during Sefiras Haomer?
9. Why do we only do counting before Shavuos and not before any other festival?
10. When excited and approaching a fixed date, e.g. rocket being launched, we count downwards. Why then with the sefira do we count upwards?

Sefiras Haomer answers:

1. Sefiras Haomer meaning the counting of the omer. It starts on the second night of Pesach when we count seven weeks and then on the fiftieth day is Shavuos. The omer is a korban…
2. The Gemora (Yevomas 62b) brings that R’ Akiva had 24,000 talmidim and they all died during the time period from Pesach until Shavuos. To remember this we take on forms of aveilus to demonstrate our sadness at this great tragedy.
3. Chazal say that the talmidim of R’ Akiva died for a period of 33 days within the time from Pesach until Shavuos. Since we do not know exactly what days these happened on therefore this leads to different customs as to which 33 days to pick to demonstrate our sadness.
4. The uniqueness of this tragedy is the fact that it’s negative affect had impacted all future generations and therefore we must all mourn. Most of the Gemora comes from R’ Akiva and his five new talmidim whom he taught after his loss of the 24,000 talmidim. Just imagine how much more Torah would have been passed on to us had these 24,000 talmidim remained alive!
5. The counting of days is to show that we are leading up to the main thing – Shavuos and the receiving of the Torah. We count from Pesach since the whole point of taking the Jew out of Egypt was to give them the Torah (see Shemos, 3:12).
6. See my article on Sefiras Haomer.
7. Perhaps the idea is to emphasis that that besides for the significance of the number of days, see answer 6, there is also significance behind the number of weeks. This means that really 49 and 7 are interchangeable only that 49 are all the details while 7 is where they come together in groups…
8. The customs are not to have haircuts, weddings and listening to music.
9. Perhaps it is to show us something unique about the festival of Shavuos. The other festivals, Pesach and Sukkos, are based on events that happened in the past that had ramifications for us and therefore we celebrate. Shavuos is something that is relevant to us on an ongoing basis throughout the year. The world can only exist if there is constant Torah. The counting before Shavuos expresses how each individual must prepare himself in excitement for the Torah that is essential for life.
10. See answer 9. Counting down is where you want to get to the fixed date immediately and wish to remove the days in between that act as an obstacle. Counting up, in contrast, is where you want the days in between as a time for building and preparation before reaching the final fixed date. This is what we are doing during Sefiras Haomer as a lead up to Shavuos.

See further interesting facts about Sefiras Haomer here and about the death of the talmidim of R’ Akiva here.