The Blessings for Counting of the OMER
The commandment
Vayikra/Lev 23:15-16 ‘And from the morrow after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering, you shall count for yourselves: seven completed Sabbaths.
‘Until the morrow after the seventh Sabbath (seventh Sabbath can also mean “seventh week” in this case– Please read:– Tim Hegg’s article concerning the “Counting of the Omer” concerning the matter) you count fifty days, then you shall bring a new grain offering to יהוה.
In the Jewish tradition, forty nine days are carefully counted between the second day of Unleavened Bread and Shavuot (called Pentecost in Greek and “Feast of Weeks” is the English translation for Shavuot). This period of time of counting the omer is called Sefirat HaOmer (“counting the sheaves”). Every day during this time from the beginning of the 16th of Aviv (this is the interpretation that we at BeitEl are following), a special blessing is recited with naming exactly the count of the day and then week and day until the 49th day is reached. On the fiftieth count it will be Shavuot.
No Small Consequence (FFOZ-excerpt). Some spiritual insight concerning the 49 days (7 weeks)
The counting of the days of the Omer is a Scriptural commandment incumbent upon every believer. Traditionally, the period of the Omer count is to be a time of spiritual introspection as the counters prepare themselves for Shavuot. Because it begins during Pesach/Passover and concludes at Shavuot/feast of weeks, the counting of the Omer remembers the journey from Egypt to Mount Sinai.
The Messianic implications of the Omer and the subsequent countdown are great. We cannot help but notice that the appointed day for harvesting the barley omer coincides with the resurrection of Messiah. In a remarkable display of Elohim's sovereign planning, the Torah set aside the resurrection as a day of first fruits 1,400 years before its occurrence.
The symbolism is strong. Just as the first omer of barley was brought as a first fruits of the whole harvest, so too Messiah's resurrection was a first fruits of the resurrection of the dead to its immortal esteemed body. This is the imagery Paul invokes with the words, "Messiah has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep."[2] Just as the first fruits of the barley made all the rest of the harvest kosher for harvest, so too the resurrection of Messiah makes the resurrection of the dead possible. (End quote)
Counting the Days of Messiah
Because of the resurrection and the connection to Shavuot, the counting of the Omer is an important mitzvah (command) for believers.
According to Jewish tradition, the counting is done in the following prescribed manner. After the evening prayers each day, the counter recites a blessing:
Baruch at-tah YHVH elo-heinu melech ha’o-lam
Asher kiddeshanu bemitsvotav ve-tsi-va-nu ‘al se-fi-rat ha-omer
Blessed are you oh YHVH our Elohim, King of the universe
Who set us apart by his commandments and commanded us about
the counting of the omer
Then declare the count of the omer in both the day and the week. For example: On the first day (that will be after the sun has set on the evening of the 15th of Aviv when the 16th of Aviv starts.
This year it corresponds with the evening of the 7th of April 2012) we say
“Haiyom yom echad ba’omer” (today is one day of the omer),
on the second day we say “Haiyom yom sheni ba’omer” (today is two days of the omer),
but on the seventh day we say “Haiyom shivah, shehem shavuah ecahd ba’omer”
This year it corresponds with the evening of the 7th of April 2012) we say
“Haiyom yom echad ba’omer” (today is one day of the omer),
on the second day we say “Haiyom yom sheni ba’omer” (today is two days of the omer),
but on the seventh day we say “Haiyom shivah, shehem shavuah ecahd ba’omer”
(today is seven days which are one week of the omer).
On the eighth day we say
“Haiyom shemonah yahim, shehem shavuah echad v’yom echad ba’omer”
(today is eight days, which is one week and one day of the omer.)
This continue day by day until we reach the 49th day when we say
“Haiyom tishah v’arba’im yom, shehen shivah shavu’ot ba’omer”
(Today is forty nine days, which are the seven weeks of omer)
[For you who are not too familiar with Hebrew, you can omit the Hebrew of course.]
After the blessing is recited and the count has been declared, it is customary to say this short prayer:
HaTachman hu Yachazir Lanu
Avodat Beit HaMikdash Li’mekome
Bimhayra be’yameinu.
Amein;
“O compassionate One! May He return for us”
“the Service of the temple to its place”
speedily and in our time. Amein;
The person counting follows his formal declaration of the omer day with a recitation of Tehillim/Psalm 67 and a few short petitions for spiritual cleansing and renewal.
Tradition prescribes the recitation of Tehillim/ Psalm 67 because it is composed of exactly 49 Hebrew words which correspond to the 49 days of the omer count. The Psalm is seasonally appropriate because of its harvest motif. It is spiritually appropriate because it speaks clearly of Elohim's salvation (Yahshua) being made known over all the earth.
The Counting of the Omer creates a countdown to Shavuot, the time of giving of the Torah and the time of the giving of the Set Apart Spirit. As such, it guides us on a spiritual journey of preparation. It is a journey that is begun with Pesach/Passover, the symbol of our Salvation in Yahshua, and completed at Shavuot (Pentecost in Greek), the symbol of our completion through the Spirit. The distance of days between the two events should be a time of spiritual reflection, growth, purification and preparation.
The Master's resurrection makes the counting of the Omer a season of special significance and joy. For His disciples, it is a time to remember the resurrected Yahshua. All of His post-resurrection appearances fell within the days of the Omer count.
Here is the scenario as it could have been described by a taught one (disciple) of Yahshua: During the start of the countdown of the Omer and further, the next events took place: Yahshua rose, He appeared to Miriyam and to two of our number while they traveled to Emmaus, and also to Peter. He appeared in our midst, among the Twelve. He appeared to us again, and Thomas was with us. During the counting He appeared to 500 of our number and then to Ya’akov/James. During the counting He appeared to seven of our number while they fished on the sea. During His post-resurrection appearances during the count of the Omer, He was still with us for 40 days and nights, then He led us out to a hill near Bethany, and we saw Him ascend to heaven. Before He ascended, He commanded us not to leave Yerushalayim, but to wait there for the promise of the Father.
We waited and counted the days. Forty-one, forty-two, forty-three, forty-four, forty-five, forty-six, forty-seven, forty-eight, forty-nine days of the Omer...and when the day of Shavuot was fully come we were all together in one place.
May we express the resurrected of the Master Yahshua/Yeshua within us by being obedient in following our Master in all things.