Finished Counting Omer 5778, 2018

Now that the Shavuot Holiday is over, so too is the count. I used this page to help remind me on Shabbat, when my phone is off. Actually, I only succeeded in counting the omer once I had a cell phone to remind me.

What's your trick or tip?

One of Those Embarrassing Moments

As the ceremony for Israel's Soldiers and Terror Victims Memorial Day was about to begin, I very carefully turned off the volume of my phone, so I wouldn't hear all the rings and pings.

I'm pretty sure that I've blogged that my easiest method for Omer Counting Reminder is just to set up a simple phone alarm. It works well on weekdays at least. And to be honest, I hadn't realized how well it works. Yes, you guessed it. Even though the volume for phone-calls and notifications of emails, whatsapps etc was off, the alarm went off on schedule. Even worse is that I never recognize the sound of that alarm as coming from my phone, and it rang on and on and on until I noticed that everyone nearby was looking at me.

Then I finally turned it off and quickly opened the email, found a "sefira count letter," said the blessing and counted.

Simple Trick to Help Remember to Count the Omer Friday Nights

During the week, I get reminded to count the Omer by my phone, emails etc but on Friday night, the Eve of Shabbat I get stuck, since I can't use any of those electric reminders. So a couple of years ago I started hanging a sign across from where I like to sit on Shabbat. Yes, across from the couch.

As you can see, each week I cross out the old number and add the new one. 

I usually notice it. Though this past Friday night, I had been dozing while waiting for my husband to return from shul. Suddenly I heard him say:

"And what's this thing?"

He was pointing to my sign. I thanked him, then told him and then I made the blessing and counted the Omer!

Those Free Sefira Count Reminders!

Every year I sign up for a few Free Sefira Count Reminders. Which do you recommend and how do you sign up for them? Please reply in the comments, thanks.

google

And besides all that, in recent years I simply program my phone alarm to "wake me up to count" every evening. The problematic times/days are Friday Night, Shabbat, and Erev Chag Acharon--last Eve of Passover, when the phone is off, ditto for computer etc. I don't go to shul at night, so the counting during dovening does not help me.  Does anyone have any "tricks" or "hints" for that problem?

PS I'm planning a special Passover edition of the Kosher Cooking Carnival. If you have something to contribute, a link, recipe etc, please email me with KCC as subject by 6am Israel time, tomorrow, Tuesday. Thanks

Remembering to Count the Omer

According to Jewish Law, it's an mitzvah to Count the Omer, the 49 days from Passover until Shavuot. This is easier said than done for many. For the first decades, yes, decades, after I became religious I never ever succeeded. And then with the help of a cell phone reminder I began to count, but every week I had a problem.

The hardest counting time/day for me is Friday night, Shabbat, when my phone isn't around to remind me. So this year I've hung a sign just across from where I like to sit and read on Friday night when I finish making the salad and setting the table, when my husband is in shul. That is my quiet time alone to transition from the busy week to Shabbat mode.

The sign has helped me so far.

That Lag ל"ג 33 B'Omer Stink is Seeping In

I miss the innocence of youth when I could enjoy a good campfire without thinking of the smell.  In Israel Lag B'Omer, the 33rd  day (or more exactly night) of the omer is celebrated at campfires.

According to the Torah (Lev. 23:15), we are obligated to count the days from Passover to Shavu'ot. This period is known as the Counting of the Omer. An omer is a unit of measure. On the second day of Passover, in the days of the Temple, an omer of barley was cut down and brought to the Temple as an offering. This grain offering was referred to as the Omer.
Every night, from the second night of Passover to the night before Shavu'ot, we recite a blessing and state the count of the omer in both weeks and days. So on the 16th day, you would say "Today is sixteen days, which is two weeks and two days of the Omer." The Orthodox Union has a chart that provides the transliterated Hebrew and English text of the counting day-by-day. Or if you'd prefer an amusing (yet still accurate!) Simpsons-themed discussion of the Omer along with an Omer calendar, check out The Homer Calendar.

I even had a Girl Scouts "Campfire Badge" which required me to learn all sorts of campfire constructions shapes and rules.  In those days we roasted marshmallows on sticks in the fire.  Kashrut wasn't part of my life, so I could eat and roast the best marshmallows.

local medurah

But now I guess ever since I was in charge of a family and laundry, I just think of the smell.  I trained my kids to go straight to the bathroom after a campfire, strip and shower, lots of soap and rinse well.  And don't forget to shampoo.

For some crazy reason, I can never remember why there is such a custom. I have heard and read it many times, but... smoke gets in my brain....

Helpful, Free Sefira Counting Reminders

One of the most challenging mitzvot for many of us is remembering to count sefira.  No doubt that some of you have no idea of what I'm referring to.  The Jewish Calendar is very crucial to the observance of Judaism, and our holidays are related to each other.  That's why Passover is supposed to be month after Purim, so even if we're in a Jewish Leap Year, with an extra month of Adar, we celebrate Purim in the second Adar and not the first.

The holidays of Passover and Shavuot are even more connected.  They are just over seven weeks apart.  The Omer is a count of forty-nine 49, seven weeks, 7 X 7 = 49.  We begin counting on the second night of Passover.

The count goes for 49 days. The 50th night begins the holiday of Shavuos; Shavuos means "weeks," referring to these 7 weeks of counting. Shavuos is the day G-d gave the Torah, and thus the entire counting period becomes one of continuous elevation and preparation - from the status of an Egyptian slave to one ready to receive the Torah.
The mitzvah is to count both days and weeks. Therefore, on the eighth day, we say, "today is eight days, which are one week and one day in the omer." The Omer may be counted in any language, as long as it is understood by the counter.The Jewish days begin at sundown, and we wait until full dark to count the Omer.

For the first few decades, and yes I do mean decades, after I had become Torah observant (in the mid-1960's) I never managed to remember to count more than a few days.  My evenings are busy, and I could never get it into my nightly routine.  That also meant that I was negligent in educating my children to remember.  It didn't matter how many cute reminders we'd hang on the walls, who could remember?  Certainly not I.

Finally, only eleven years ago I counted the full Omer for the first time.  Our son-in-law, who was then working for a cellphone company signed us up for free cellphone reminders.  The only remaining challenges were Shabbat and the last day of Passover, when the phone is kept off.  Even today, those are my most difficult nights to remember to count.

Since then I've also signed up for email reminders, considering that besides Shabbat and Jewish Holidays I check my mail every day.  And for the years I don't get cellphone reminders from a "service," I've set my phone up for reminders all by myself.  Use your "appointment book" for a daily sefira reminder.

If you have any other useful and workable and free hints, please comment, thanks.

• Free cell phone reminder from Tefillos.com
• Free emails from torah.org.il