#Sefirat Haomer

[anonymousdandelion]

Hey, Jumblr. Since we are in the middle of Sefirat HaOmer, a period for mourning and reflecting on the damage caused by baseless hatred, I thought perhaps now would be a fun time for a thread to practice the opposite: based love.

So: Reblog to share something you appreciate about a part of the Jewish community that you don't identify with.

(And/or share something you appreciate about your own Jewish community! That's awesome too!)

Because at the end of the day, we are one people — with our own strengths and good qualities that we bring to the table, as individuals and as communities. And a little extra Ahavat Yisrael never hurt anyone.

[magnetothemagnificent]

Anyway it's absolutely heartbreaking that this kind of venomous language is being spouted from one Jew to another, especially now. We are currently in the middle of counting the 49 days until Shavuot. For most of that time, up until Lag BaOmer (33rd day of counting), we are in mourning.

Why? Because of the devastating plague that struck Rabbi Akiva's students. Why were they struck with a plague? As punishment for their baseless hatred and antagonization of other Jews.

They turned meaningless squabbles about how Judaism must be practiced into hardened hatred of each other, just because they disagreed on matters of Jewish law.

Rabbi Akiva said "Love your fellow as yourself, that is greatest basis of the Torah".

Now, more than ever we need to stress unity within all of Judaism and love for all Jews no matter what. We cannot turn disagreements into outright war. Our strength is in our unity, and we all suffer when we hold such strong hatred for each other.

[dovymcjewpunk]

I got two weeks in this year, but in my defense, I was planning a wedding.

[infiniteglitterfall]

Oh crap I forgot about counting the omer! I was even gonna post about it ahead of time but I did notttt

Well, iirc, it does not matter halachically. Just jump in where you are. This app has the bracha, and then you say "today is day X" or "today is X weeks X days" or both, depending upon your preference.

What I like about it is that it also talks about the meaning of each day, and then it asks the WORST MOST INCISIVE FUCKING QUESTIONS?@? FOR YOU TO JOURNAL OR THINK ABOUT??? Like I am not even kidding when I say it just absolutely DRAGS me multiple times each year.

Seriously, let's tap on "Journal" and see what prompts it gives me right now. There are apparently 9 today, I can't remember if that's true every day or what. But the very second one is, "Do others take advantage of my giving nature?" Oof?

Then here's a puzzler: "Do I take into account the capacity of my partner to receive love before I give it?" I am aroacely applying these to everyone I love, in my mind, and it is tripping me out to think nonjudgmentally about the ramifications of, like...

I'm picturing love as being like a pitcher of water I pour, and frankly I don't care how small a cup you chose off that shelf! You are getting ALL MY LOVE and we're just gonna acknowledge that I'm pouring water all over your shoes! I don't have time for MEASURING this shit!

Or I don't like you and you can have just a little bit of water. Because I'm not a dick.

It's 2 am, make sense of these thoughts if you can.

[transition-with-the-torah]

For Sivan 5784, I included a goal relating to brainstorming knitting ideas for next year's Sefirat HaOmer.

I suppose it helps that I had the most wheat-like stitches from initially looking into ideas for the Seven Species. (Barley would probably use the same stiches in a brown/dark brown color instead of yellow/gold/light brown possibilities for wheat. A lot of the rest are circles or perhaps ovals, and I didn't make much progress on differentiation before running out of steam.)

Possible ideas:

Pick seven types of wheat-like stitches, one for each week of Sefirat HaOmer. Knit a certain amount of repeats per day, and the result could perhaps be a lap blanket.

Choose one wheat-like stitch and alternate between two colors (one color per day). Perhaps use both colors on Lag B'Omer? (Or otherwise do something different for that day.)

Knit numbers with a wheat-like stitch in between. Depending on the size of the numbers and if there's one or more rows, this could range from a long scarf to a wall hanging to a blanket.

Something smaller like a pot holder or place mat that could perhaps have one row of progress a day. (Perhaps consider one of the lace wheat-like stitches?)

Pick a log cabin style blanket and seven colors (maybe one per Seven Species). Depending on the size of the blanket and the pattern, daily progress could be a rectangle/color within a block or a certain amount of progress per block. (Might be a lot of knitting each day compared to other ideas.)

For trying out a bunch of someone else's recommended stitch patterns, something like the 52 Square Pickup knit-a-long will let you choose a block per day (with a few spares).

I don't really have a solid plan for what I might want to knit during next year's Sefirat HaOmer, but I appreciate a little brainstorming when some people are already talking about Xmas. (Making Xmas gifts, Advent dyeing/spinning/unboxing yarn, just a lotta Xmas.)

[isaiah118]

Month of IYAR

Month of Transition, Healing, Testing & First Fruit Harvest

Part 1 - Transition

Revelations 22:12: “And behold, I am coming soon, and My reward is with Me, to give to each according to his work.”

(April /May)                  April 22/1 Iyar to May 20th/29 Iyar

Babylonian Name                Iyar – meaning “The Beauty of blooming flowers” “light”

Hebrew Acronym                Ani Hashem Rophecha meaning “I AM the Lord your Healer”

Hebrew Name                      Ziv – meaning “Splendor” “Radiance”

Month of the Year               2nd month of Spiritual Year – 8th month of Physical/Civil Year

Theme of the Month            Month of Transition, Healing, Testing and First Fruit Harvest

Season                                    Spring/Aviv   Season of Deliverance

Key Appointed Times

Iyar 1                              Rosh Kodesh Iyar – Head of the month of Iyar

Iyar 14                                    Pesach Shemi – Second Passover

Nissan 16 – Sivan 6             Sefirat HaOmer/Counting the Omer

Important Note:                   Iyar 25 – Yeshua’s Ascension – 40th day of The Omer Count

Color / Gemstone        Royal Blue / Amethyst

Tribe of Israel                Issachar – meaning “Adonai Brings Reward”

Hebrew Letter              VAV / Value 6 – Nail, Tent Peg, To Connect, Secure

Action / Body Part      Introspection / Right Kidney

Constellation                Taurus / “Ruling Ox”

Characteristics and Scriptures to Meditate On

Iyar is a connecting month / Abide in Him                      John 15

The month that Yeshua walked the earth after His resurrection  John 20

Month to receive revelation and understand secrets                                       Matthew 13:11

Meditate on God’s Names revealed in Scripture                                             Exodus 15-17

Time to understand that healing IS part of your salvation                              Romans 8:11

By His stripes you & I were and are healed                                                    Isaiah 53:5 & 1 Peter 2:24

Partake of His Best food – His Word and His Spirit                                                         Psalms 78:19

This was the month Israel moved from Egypt into ‘Midbar’                          Exodus 15-18

Accept and receive God’s counsel from His Word   Psalms 119:99 & Proverbs 15:22

Take upon the secrets of HIS light and cast your cares on Him   Matthew 11:28

The Name “Iyar” is of Babylonian origin. The older Biblical or Canaanite name is “Ziv” as it is related in 1 Kings 6:1; “in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month Ziv, (the second month), that he began to build the house of the LORD.” (KJV2000). This is the month of ‘Shining or Blossoming.’ Iyar always has 29 days.

Iyar is related to the Hebrew word for light, “ohr.” Midrash explains that it was named for the manna which began to fall during Iyar, a month after the Jews left Egypt. The manna was given with divine radiance.

The Akkadian equivalent of Iyar, Ayyāru, means flower.

Iyar is the eighth month of the civil year and the second month of the ecclesiastical or spiritual year in the Jewish calendar. Iyar is between Passover and Shavuot (Pentecost). The Hebrew symbol represented by this month is ‘VAV’ meaning ‘linking’ or ‘connection, to connect.’ This is the month to establish a deeper link or connection with God in order to establish or determine the course of the year.

Iyar - A Crucial Month

A month of healing.

It was in Iyar that God first revealed Himself as Healer.

A month to understand God’s secrets.

Iyar is a month of transition. This was the month the Israelites journeyed from Egypt to Mount Sinai. For the Israelites this was more than just transitioning. This was a drastic geographical change. They had never been this way before. God was transitioning them into a new level. This was about establishing a relationship, a connection and a link with God. This was a transition from ‘Redemption’ (Passover) to the experience of God’s supernatural provision ‘Pentecost.’

The month of Iyyar falls between the great month of redemption (i.e.,Nisan) and the great month of revelation (Sivan), and is therefore primarily commemorated as a "month of passage" leading up to the awesome revelation given at Sinai (mattan Torah).

Later, the agricultural aspect of this "passage" was enshrined in terms of Sefirat HaOmer or the "counting the sheaves," when a sheaf of barley was waved before thealtar each day for 49 days before the arrival of the climactic holiday of Shavuot (Lev. 23:15-16).

Special Dates

Apr 25, 2023 – Memorial Day – יום הזיכרון (Yom Hazikaron)

Iyar 4 – Memorial Day in memory of the fallen soldiers of the Israel Defense forces and victims of Arab terrorism.

Apr 26, 2023 – Yom HaAtzmaut – יום העצמאות

Iyar 5 – Israel Independence Day marks the Declaration of Independence of the State of Israel in 1948.

May 9, 2023 – Lag Baomer – ל"ג בעומר

33rd day of counting the Omer.

May 5, 2023 – Pesach Sheni

Iyar 14 - Pesach Sheni, the second Pesach, is a mandated make-up day for those who could not bring   the paschal sacrifice at its appointed time.

May 19, 2023 – Jerusalem Day – יום ירושלים

Iyar 28 – Jerusalem Day celebrates the liberation of Jerusalem during the Six-Day War.

The Spring Month of Iyar is Associated with Issachar

Iyar falls in the spring season – Nissan - Mar/Apr, Iyar - Apr/May, Sivan - May/Jun – correspond to the three tribes of the camp of Judah – Judah, Issachar and Zebulun who were situated to the east of the Tabernacle in the wilderness. These three tribes were the first group to lead out onto the battlefield before the rest of the tribes of Israel.

Issachar comes from the Hebrew ‘Yissakar’ meaning ‘he will bring a reward.’ (See Genesis 30:18). The root word is ‘nasa’ meaning to lift, to advance arise, bring forth, carry away, lofty. The second root word means payment of contract, salary, fare, hire, price, reward and wages.

Revelations 22:12 reads; “And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.”

Issachar’s symbol is the donkey

Genesis 49:14-15; “Issachar is a strong donkey crouching down between two burdens: And he saw that rest was good, and the land that it was pleasant; and bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant unto forced labor.”

Issachar is an astronomical configuration here shown by the sun surrounded by stars. Issachar was to give Israel knowledge of the times (1-Chronicles 12:32). This is understood to mean astronomical reckonings. They were the burden bearers for both theirs and others. God gave them an inbuilt strength. The donkey is a beast of burden, the humble vehicle chosen by Yeshua to bring Himself into Jerusalem. Issachar was the carrier of the cross of Yeshua.

Zechariah 9:9 “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, your King comes unto you: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon a donkey, and upon a colt the foal of a donkey.”

The symbol of Issachar is the humble donkey. But also the sign of a sun shining at noon day surrounded by four stars to the left that shine out of a dark night and four to the right that are darkened because of the brightness of the day. This is a picture of outer space with the heavenly bodies in plain view. This is a significant symbol for Issachar, whose name is derived from the root-word ‘nasa,’ which means "to lift up, high, lofty, etc."

In the month of Nissan – God wants to reconfirm your Covenant with Him/Passover

In the month of Iyar – God desires to reveal the secrets of His Covenant

In the month of Sivan - God wants to bring you into a whole new level of Pentecost.

May the Lord bless you and keep you; Shalom

[anonymousdandelion]

If you live in the US or Canada, you can sign up for text reminders here!

i hate to be the bearer of bad news

Jewish Memes Only

[zebratoys]

לְשֵׁם יִחוּד קוּדְשָׁא בְּרִיךְ הוּא וּשְׁכִינְתֵּיהּ, בִּדְחִילוּ וּרְחִימוּ, לְיַחֲד שֵׁם י"ה בו"ה בְּיִחוּדָא שְׁלִים בְּשֵׁם כָּל יִשְׂרָאֵל. הִנְנִי מוּכָן וּמְזֻמָּן לְקַיֵּם מִצְוַת עֲשֵׂה שֶׁל סְפִירַת הָעֹמֶר כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב בַּתּוֹרָה: וּסְפַרְתֶּם לָכֶם מִמָּחֳרַת הַשַּׁבָּת מִיּוֹם הֲבִיאֲכֶם אֶת עֹמֶר הַתְּנוּפָה שֶׁבַע שַׁבָּתוֹת תְּמִימֹת תִּהְיֶינָה: עַד מִמָּחֳרַת הַשַּׁבָּת הַשְּׁבִיעִת תִּסְפְּרוּ חֲמִשִּׁים יוֹם וְהִקְרַבְתֶּם מִנְחָה חֲדָשָׁה לַיְיָ: וִִיהִי נֹעַם יְיָ אֱלֹהֵינוּ עָלֵינוּ ומַעֲשֵׂה יָדֵינוּ כּוֹנְנָה עָלֵינוּ וּמַעֲשֵׂה יָדֵינוּ כּוֹנְנֵהוּ:

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָׁנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתָיו וְצִוָּנוּ עַל סְפִירַת הָעֹמֶר. הַיּוֹם יוֹם אֶחָד לָעֹֽמֶר

The Biblical Mitzvah of Sefirat HaOmer is a translation from the Hebrew words ְסְפִירַת הָעֹמֶר which means The Counting of the Omer. In this ancient ritual, we verbally count each of the forty-nine days between Yom Tov of Passover — The Day of Salvation that marks the beginning of Sefirat HaOmer to the holy day of Shavuot that celebrates The Receiving of the Torah. The commandment for counting the Omer is recorded within the Torah in Leviticus 23:15��16 and Deuteronomy 16:9-10 B r e a t h e  H o l i n e s s ♡ חַג פֶּסַח שָׂמֵחַ

[tartkiwifruit]

Tonight is Lag Ba'omer, a day we celebrate because on this day the plague that historically wiped out the 25,000 students of Rabbi Akiva finally stopped. I'd really like to get some of that plague-ending mojo tonight please.

[avabarton5]

This post is to honor those lost in the Meron Tragedy last year.

May they all rest in peace. May their souls have a Nechama

And may G-d answer all our prayers and bring the redemption soon

Happy Lag Ba’Omer to all

[whythisleila]

forgot to count the omer on shabbat :(

[anonymousdandelion]

*spends seven weeks counting up the days until Shavuot*

*is nevertheless shocked and baffled by the fact that it is somehow already about to be Shavuot*

[magnetothemagnificent]

Me, during the rest of the year: (has no desire to listen to music)

Me, during the Omer, when I literally can't listen to music: "I have the sudden urge to play piano and watch a musical"

[eb4]

happy lag baomer people!

[hanukkitty]

"it's day 41 of the omer"

yep!

"the omer is 49 days, the 50th day being shavuot"

yep!

"shavuot is next week"

what

[thegittelbug]

Why do I always feel the need to buy new clothes during sefirat haomer??

I think it's just the springtime... It's pretty and sunny and I'm finally emerging from my winter pseudo-hibernation and want to wear something nice.

I ask my husband every year what our minhag for sefira is (okay, we've been married for a year and a half, so I've asked him twice), and he hasn't been totally sure. And now I have learned that it's actually not totally uncommon (and halachically acceptable as long as you don't already have a specific custom) to vary which days you observe the mourning customs of sefira, as long as you don't change in the middle and still observe 33 total days or something of that nature. Opinion was attributed to Rav Moshe Feinstein. Huh. No wonder I was confused.