How to Count the Omer

What Do You Mean,

“Counting the Omer”?

“Count off seven full weeks. Count off fifty days” (Lev.23:15, NIV).

“Count off seven weeks . . . Then celebrate the Feast of Weeks”

(Deut.16:9-10). What is the significance of this commandment of

God? Does it have real meaning for us today? How should true

Christians view this command? How is it relevant to our lives?

Here is new understanding which will help you to become a true

OVERCOMER and to qualify to enter God’s Kingdom as one of

His “first-fruits” at the coming of the Messiah!

William F. Dankenbring

“You shall then COUNT seven complete weeks after the day following the Passover holiday when you brought the Omer as a wave offering” (Lev.23:15).

Notice that there are actually TWO commands in counting the Omer! First, we are commanded to “count off” the weeks, week by week. Then we are commanded to count off the DAYS, till we come to fifty – the fiftieth day being Pentecost!

“Sefirat Ha’Omer” – counting the Omer – refers to the forty-nine days from the second day of the Passover festival, and recounts the journey of the Israelites from Egypt, through the desert wastes, to the revelation of God at Mount Sinai, when the Commandments of God were set forth from heaven, and God made a Covenant with His people Israel, and “married” His bride – a “marriage covenant” (Jer.3:14).

This step-by-step journey through the wilderness was a time of trial and testing. God revealed to His people the Sabbath day (Exo.16), and satisfied their hunger with manna from heaven. When they complained of thirst, He caused water to spring forth. When the Amalekites attacked, He intervened for them and helped them fight off the vicious hordes (known as the Hyksos in Egyptian history).

Each day the Israelites – the people of God – were commanded to count the Omer, as they experienced their journey from captivity (Egypt) to freedom (Sinai).

Leaving Egypt

When Israel left Egypt, they left behind hundreds of years during which they had become contaminated by Egyptian influence, idolatry, and had developed the mentality of slaves, as they were oppressed and driven by harsh taskmasters. They had sunk to new spiritual lows. But at their extremity of suffering, God sent Moses to bring them out of their bondage and suffering, and to lead them to freedom and sovereignty.

They left Egypt on the day of Passover, Nisan 15, after the night when the first born of Egypt were all put to death supernaturally (Exodus 12:29).

Says Avraham Yaakov Finkel in The Essence of the Holy Days,

“When the Israelites were in Egypt, they sank to the depth of the

forty-ninth Gate of Impurity. God wanted to extract Israel from the

forty-nine gates in stages, by illuminating on each day between

Passover and Shavuot the Gate of Holiness that is the counterpart

of its opposite Gate of Impurity. This tikkum, correction or restor-

ation, comes to life each year in the counting of the Omer, on the

forty-nine days between Passover – the day of the Exodus – and

Shavuot – the day of the Giving of the Torah” (p.165, quoting

Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto).

Another Jewish rabbi, Samson Raphael Hirsch, offers another profound insight into the counting of the Omer. Writes Avraham Finkel:

“He notes the seven-day periods in the laws of uncleanness and purity

as periods during which the individual strives to bring uncleanness to a

close in order to enter a state of purity on the eighth day.

“Thus, a sevenfold counting of seven-day periods, that is, a counting

of forty-nine days, would symbolize the complete elimination of unclean-

ness, namely, of bondage, to our senses. The fiftieth day [Pentecost or

Shavuot] would mark our final entry into purity, that is, into the realm

of moral freedom. The Omer count thus symbolizes the idea that we

can acquire moral freedom only through sevenfold intensive work on

ourselves” (p.166).

How does this apply to God’s people, today?

A Life of Overcoming and Growing to Spiritual Maturity

Today, this daily count is associated with the experience of a toddler (the newly born “child of God”, as it were) exploring and gaining understanding of his life’s new environment (the wilderness) and the protective nature of his parent (God) who nurtures him, and provides structures and rules to safeguard him from evil.

This journey through the wilderness is a TYPE of the Christian life of overcoming – from baptism and leaving sin behind (Egypt), marching and struggling through the spiritual wilderness (this evil world, and our human nature), until we reach the Kingdom of God – typified by Mount Zion.

As we go through our Christian lives, we meet obstacles, encounter problems, face trials and difficulties. All these are reflected in the “counting of the Omer,” a task which identifies with our progress in “overcoming” our sins, faults, and human nature, putting sin out of our lives, and developing the holy attributes of God, from the moment of conversion and baptism, until that final time when we are changed into spirit beings, the sons of the Father, and inherit the promises of the New Covenant, at the coming of the Messiah!

Putting on the New Self

As we go through life, we encounter problems, bad habits, and trials which we need to overcome and “work through.” We come upon “old habits” which must be rooted out and changed. As the apostle Paul wrote, “Now this I affirm and insist on in the Lord: you must no longer live as the Gentiles live, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of their ignorance and hardness of heart. They have lost all sensitivity and have abandoned themselves to licentiousness, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. That is not the way you learned Christ!” (Eph.4:17-20, NRSV).

Paul goes on, explaining, “You were taught to put away your former way of life, your old self, corrupt and deluded by its lusts, and to be RENEWED in the spirit of your MINDS, and to clothe yourself with the NEW SELF, CREATED ACCORDING TO THE LIKENESS OF GOD in true righteousness and holiness” (Eph.4:22-24).

Paul wrote to the Colossians in like manner, saying, “So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. . . Put to death, therefore, whatever in you that is earthly: fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed (which is idolatry). On account of these the wrath of God is coming on those who are disobedient. These are the ways you also once followed, when you were living that life. But now you must get rid of all such things – anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive language from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have stripped off the old self with its practices and have clothed yourselves with the NEW SELF, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator” (Col.3:1-10).

Paul sums up this process of overcoming the sinful pulls of the flesh, and inculcating the very righteous character of God, saying, “As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Col.3:12-17).

We find out that life has its ups and downs, like a roller coaster. As we fight and struggle against our human nature, and the downward pulls of the flesh, we find it is a painful process. Nevertheless, we endure to the end, we keep on keeping on, till that final day when victory shall be ours, and our triumph shall be complete. Counting the Omer pictures our life’s experiences and the process of overcoming and purifying ourselves from the contamination and sins of the flesh, until we reach that final day of Pentecost, which pictures the great day of the coming of the Messiah – the day when Revelation is complete, and the Plan of God is finished, and there is “time no more” and the Messiah Himself appears from heaven to inaugurate the Messianic Age, taking us to Himself as His spiritual Bride (Rev.19:7).

The Spiritual Struggle

The Christian life is a life of spiritual struggle. We must learn to keep our eyes on the goal. The apostle Paul knew this.

Paul understood that we must endure to the end – that we must be FAITHFUL till our dying day, or till Christ returns (whichever comes first!). Paul wrote, of his own spiritual battle: “Do you not know that in a race the runners all compete, but only one receives the prize? RUN in such a way that you may WIN it. Athletes exercise self-control in all things; they do it to receive a perishable wreathe, but we an imperishable one. So I do not run aimlessly, nor do I box as though beating the air; but I punish my body and enslave it, so that after proclaiming to others I myself should not be disqualified” (I Cor.9:24-27, NRSV).

Notice this in the Amplified Parallel Bible: “Do you not know that in a race all the runners compete, but [only] one receives the prize? So RUN [your race] so that you may lay hold [of the prize] and make it yours. . .

“Therefore I do not run uncertainly (without definite aim). I do not box like one beating the air and striking without an adversary. But [like a boxer] I buffet my body [handle it roughly, discipline it by hardships] and subdue it, for fear that after proclaiming to others the Gospel and things pertaining to it, I MYSELF SHOULD BECOME UNFIT [not stand the test, be unapproved and rejected as a counterfeit].”

Seven Weeks of Concentrated “Overcoming”

It is a remarkable fact that there are “seven weeks” that we count the Omer. These provide us seven optimal weeks to work on ourselves – seven weeks of concentrated, distilled “overcoming.”

Paul also wrote about this battle in the second letter to the Corinthians. He declared, “For though we walk (live) in the flesh, we are not carrying on our warfare according to the flesh and using mere human weapons. For the weapons of our WARFARE are not physical [weapons of flesh and blood], but they are mighty before God for the overthrow and destruction of strongholds, [inasmuch as we] refute arguments and theories and reasonings and every proud and lofty thing that sets itself up against the [true] knowledge of God; and we lead every thought and purpose away captive into the OBEDIENCE of Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One), being in readiness to punish every [insubordinate for his] disobedience, when your own submission and OBEDIENCE [as a church] are fully secure and complete” (II Cor.10:3-6).

Reaching Toward the GOAL

Notice! We are not yet “fully secure and complete.”

Rather, as Paul himself wrote to the Philippians, again quoting the Amplified Parallel Bible, “[For my determined purpose is] that I may know Him [that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and clearly], and that I may in that same say come to know the power outflowing from His resurrection [which it exerts over believers], and that I may so share His sufferings as to be continually TRANSFORMED [in spirit into His likeness even] to His death, [in the hope] that IF POSSIBLE I may attain to the [personal and moral] RESURRECTION . . . Not that I have now attained [this ideal], or have already been made perfect, but I PRESS ON TO LAY HOLD OF (GRASP) and make my own, that for which Christ Jesus (the Messiah) has laid hold of me and made me His own.” (Phil.3:10-12).

Notice Paul’s attitude! He did not believe or claim to already have salvation, but sought to progressively GROW up into the likeness of Christ, so that “IF POSSIBLE” he may attain to the resurrection of the righteous dead, or salvation!

Paul goes on, saying, “I do not consider, brethren, that I have captured and made it my own [yet]; but one thing I do [it is my one aspiration]: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I PRESS ON TOWARD THE GOAL TO WIN the [supreme and heavenly] prize to which God in Christ Jesus is calling us upward.” So, Paul declares, “So let those [of us] who are spiritually mature and full-grown have this mind and these convictions; and if in any respect you have a different attitude of mind, God will make that clear to you also” (verses 13-15).

Once we begin the Christian life, there is a lot of overcoming to do – straining forward to make sure that we will enter the Kingdom of God and attain to salvation! We must “PRESS ON,” we must “STRAIN FORWARD,” and make sure that we win the ultimate prize!

A Deliberate Spiritual Process

The apostle Peter also declared that we must escape the moral decay and rottenness of human nature and become partakers of “the divine nature” (II Pet.1:4). He wrote, “For this very reason, adding your diligence [to the divine promises], employ every effort in exercising your faith to develop virtue (excellence, resolution, Christian energy), and in [exercising] virtue [develop] knowledge (intelligence), and in [exercising] knowledge [develop] self-control, and in [exercising] self-control [develop] steadfastness (patience, endurance), and in [exercising] steadfastness [develop] godliness (piety), and in [exercising] piety [develop] brotherly affection, and in [exercising] brotherly affection [develop] Christian love. For as these qualities are yours and increasingly abound in you, they will keep [you] from being idle or unfruitful unto the [full personal] knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One)” (verses 5-8).

“Overcoming” human nature, the pulls of the flesh, the temptations of the world, and the seduction of Satan, involves a “whole lifetime” of work, diligent effort, growth, and steadfast endurance, to the very end – till either death comes, or the Messiah Himself returns!

Peter summarizes the situation, saying, “For whoever lacks these qualities is blind, [spiritually] short-sighted, seeing only what is near to him, and has become oblivious [to the fact] that he was cleansed from his old sins. Because of this, brethren, be all the more solicitous and eager to MAKE SURE (to ratify, to strengthen, to make steadfast) YOUR CALLING AND ELECTION, for IF YOU DO THIS, you will never stumble or fall. Thus there will be richly and abundantly provided for you entry into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ” (verses 9-11).

Therefore, as the apostle Paul also reminds us, we must constantly, diligently “work out” our own salvation. He declared to the church in Philippi, “Therefore, my dear ones, as you have always obeyed [my suggestions], so now, not only [with enthusiasm you would show] in my presence but much more because I am absent, WORK OUT (cultivate, carry out to the goal, and fully complete) YOUR OWN SALVATION with reverence and awe and trembling (self-distrust, with serious caution, tenderness of conscience, watchfulness against temptation, timidly shrinking from whatever might offend God and discredit the name of Christ)” (Phil.2:12).

This is clearly a life-long process of overcoming, fighting the pulls of the flesh, and striving to become like Christ in every way!

“Seven Weeks”

Our “counting the omer” is like a microcosm of the life of God’s people. It is like a spiritual “template” or “pattern” which shows us the WAY of OVERCOMING! What we do and how we do during the counting of the omer will very likely be reflected in how we live our lives and overcome during the rest of the year! If we don’t take it seriously, then very likely we won’t take the spiritual struggle we have against the flesh very seriously the rest of the year, either!

We are commanded to “count the weeks.” The Hebrew word for “weeks” is shavua (see Deut.16:9). But in Leviticus 23:15, God inspired Moses to write, “you shall count off seven weeks; they shall be complete” (NRSV). Here, for “weeks,” God inspired Moses to use the word shabbatot which is usually translated as “Sabbaths.” Why the change – the difference in wording? Evidently, God intends us to LEARN a LESSON from this! The word shabbat in Hebrew literally means “rest, interruption, cessation” – “intermission” (see Strong’s Concordance, #7673 and 7676). Gesenius Hebrew Lexicon defines the word further: “l) to rest, to keep as a day of rest . . . The primary idea appears to be that of to sit down, to sit still. . . 2) to cease, to desist, to leave off . . . 3) to celebrate the Sabbath . . .” It also sometimes means “week,” as the word does in the Syriac and Greek (compare Matthew 28:1 and Deut.16:9).

Therefore, the basic meaning of this word is a cessation from labor, a rest, an intermission, an interruption, a ceasing from something.

It is also the name for the seventh day of the week, and the name of each of the annual holy days -- all of which are “days of REST,” and therefore qualify as shabbatot. But as we are to “count the Omer,” then, when we come to seven days of counting, we come to a shabbat, that is, a “cessation from labor,” an “intermission.” This tells us that after each seven-day period we have completed that “week” of counting – that week of “overcoming.” In essence, at the end of each seven days, we have a special day of “rest,” of “integration,” “an intermission,” when we “leave off” that week’s counting and begin the next week’s counting. When we “fulfill” each week, we then go on to the next week.

Why are there “seven” such periods in the Omer count – seven “weeks”? What does the number “seven” refer to in this relationship? “Seven,” of course, is the number of COMPLETION, of PERFECTION! It is God’s number -- the number of complete perfection and fulfillment. The Omer count is a period of 7 7s – seven weeks of seven days each – or a total of 49 days (7 x 7) – which essentially refers to ultimate completion or ultimate perfection! La crème de la crème!

Seven is also the number of divine attributes which summarize the holy, righteous character of God – attributes we should be working on to integrate into our own character! The seven weeks of counting the Omer, therefore, can be viewed as “seven stages” of developing the seven characteristics of God into our lives and minds, hearts, and beings – working on one particular characteristic or attribute each week!

The Word “Safar”

In Leviticus 23:13, the Hebrew word for “count” is “safar.” There are several different meanings for “safar.” Although safar can mean to count up the total in order to arrive at a sum, it can also just as easily and accurately mean to inscribe by making a mark, to enumerate, or to celebrate. Says Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance, “to score with a mark as a tally or record.”

How should we do this “counting”?

The intended meaning of safar in Leviticus 23:15 is “to ritually inscribe by celebrating, i.e., to inscribe to ritual celebration.” Jewish author and historian Chaim Raphael, in Festival Days: A History of Jewish Celebrations (c.1990, Grove Weidenfeld: New York), informs us that:

“In the Jewish practice, an Omer (sheaf) of the new barley was offered

to the Temple every day after Passover to be ‘waved’ ceremonially by

the priest. The Omer began to be counted daily from the second day

of Passover for seven weeks, at which point the festival of Shavuot

(‘weeks’) was celebrated. ‘Counting the Omer’ until the seven weeks

were concluded became a recognizable stretch of Jewish life with its

own traditions . . .” (p.69).

This same author adds:

“The seven-week period from Passover to Shavuot had a ritual in which

a sheaf of grain from the new harvest was offered to the priest every day.

Every offering was COUNTED OFF DAILY until the forty-ninth day,

after which Shavuot was celebrated” (p.71).

It should be clear that “counting the omer” was performed EVERY YEAR, as a special aspect of the Passover celebration, beginning the day after Passover. This was the very day that the spring harvest of barley BEGAN, and continued for forty nine days, until Pentecost, when the spring harvest was completed!

The “omer offering” every day for 49 days during the spring harvest is a TYPE of the “firstfruits” of God’s creation – true converted people of God, from the time of the patriarchs down to true Christians of our day, today. The “omer” was the FIRST FRUITS! Likewise, “we ourselves [are those] who have the first fruits of the Spirit” (Romans 8:23). James calls Christians “a kind of first fruits of his creatures” (James 1:18). John in Revelation speaks of those who “have been redeemed from humankind as FIRST FRUITS for God and the Lamb” (Rev.14:4).

The Messiah Himself was the original “first fruit”, by resurrection from the dead (I Cor.15:20). True saints of God during this age will join Him as the rest of the “first fruits” when He returns.

At Christ’s coming, He will MARRY the Church, the “firstfruits” (Rev.19:6-9), just as He married Israel when He came down to Mount Sinai on that first Pentecost, or Feast of Weeks (Exodus 19-20; 24:9-11). Thus the daily “counting of the omer” is a ritual which REFLECTS THE SPRING HARVEST OF TRUE CHRISTIANS and all the holy men and women of old who will be in the FIRST RESURRECTION, and who will MARRY Christ at His coming!

The vast, overwhelming majority of Christians do not even begin to realize or recognize this amazing, wonderful TRUTH!

How To “Count the Omer”

Every day, then, from Passover to Pentecost, we should “count the omer.”

How should we do this? The blessing in Hebrew goes like this:

“Barukh Attah, Adonai Eloheinu, Melek Ha Olam,

Asher Kidshanu b’Mitzvotav, Vitzivanu al Sefirat

Ha Omer.

“Ha Yom Echad L’Omer.”

In English:

“Blessed are You, O Lord our God, King of the Universe,

Who has separated us by Your commandments, and Who

has commanded us to count the Omer.

“Today is the first day of the Omer.”

When each day begins, after sunset, we should set aside a time in prayer when when WE COUNT THE OMER, as we pray to God, during the period between Passover and Pentecost. After reciting the customary blessing, we should continue, reciting each week and day of the Omer count as it comes. We should recite something like the following:

“Today is the ____ week of the Omer count, and the ____

day of the week, making _____ days in all. Therefore, there

are _____ days till the Feast of Pentecost [Shavuot].”

We give the number of the week first, as in “first,” “second,” “third,” “fourth,” “fifth,” “sixth,” and finally “seventh.” We then enumerate the day of the week, as in “first,” “second,” and so forth. Then we give the total number of days in the count to the

day we utter the prayer.

Some follow the count by reciting or reviewing Psalm 67, since it contains 7 verses and a total of 49 words (in Hebrew). Many also pray a prayer for the final Redemption of God’s people at this time, praying for the Messiah to come quickly, to restore the Temple speedily, to make it possible to reinstate the true Biblical observance of the Omer offering and counting at the Temple.

Since counting the Omer pictures overcoming sin and developing the righteous-ness and character of God in our lives, and becoming more and more Christ-like (see Gal.4:19), we should use these days to pray about overcoming and growing in God’s holiness and righteous character.

Each day it is helpful to pray that day especially about the characteristic of God which we are working on developing in our lives, pertinent to that day. For example, the Jews derive seven major characteristics of God which are mentioned in the Old Testament, which can be applied to the Omer count. These seven attributes are also characteristic of the “seven patriarchs” mentioned in the Scriptures – Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Aaron, Joseph, and David. The characteristics are:

Chesed Loving-kindness Abraham

Gevurah Strength, Power Isaac

Tiferet Harmony, Peace Jacob

Netzach Victory, Triumph Moses

Hod Glory, Majesty Aaron

Yesod Foundation Joseph

Malkut Sovereignty David

We can also use each day to work on one of the attributes of God’s Holy Spirit in our lives. Paul wrote to the brethren in Galatia, these plain and instructive words:

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness,

goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections

[or, “passions,” marginal reading] and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let

us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not be desirous of vain glory, pro-

voking one another, envying one another” (Galatians 5:22-26).

There are actually nine fruits of the Spirit listed here. But if we combine gentleness and meekness, which go together, and faith and self-control (temperance), then we have seven combinations of Divine Attributes. The apostle Paul lists them in Galatians 5:19-20.

1. Love

2. Joy

3. Peace

4. Patience (Long-suffering)

5. Gentleness, Goodness

6. Faith (Faithfulness)

7. Meekness, Self Control

Counting the Omer, for forty-nine days, till Pentecost, helps us to concentrate during this period and focus our minds on overcoming our sins and weaknesses and developing the attributes of God in our lives. This helps us to have a PLAN of overcoming! It is Biblically-based! And it will help you to be a true overcomer in your life!

To make the most of the Omer season, and the days of counting the Omer, it is vital to spend extra time in earnest, heartfelt prayer every day, to put your heart into your prayers for spiritual growth and overcoming. As Jeremiah wrote, “Arise, cry out in the night, at the beginning of the watches, pour out your heart like water before the presence of the LORD!” (Lamentations 2:19). Become the embodiment of prayer like David who wrote, “I am all prayer” (Psalm 109:4, Tanakh, marginal reading). The apostle James wrote, “The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective” (James 5:16, NRSV).

Put your heart into your prayers, as you count the Omer!

Omer Count Calendar

The Seven Characteristics of God

Hebrew	Quality	Strong’s Number	Character
CHESED	Loving Kindness	2617	Abraham
GEVURAH	Strength Of Character, Fortitude	1369	Isaac
TIFERET	Beauty, Harmony	8597	Jacob
NETZACH	Victory, Eternity	5331	Moses
HOD (HADAR)	Splendour, Majesty Glory	1926	Aaron
YESOD (YASAD)	Foundation, Beginning	3246	Joseph
MALCHUT	Kingdom, Sovereignty	4438	David

In the book The Book of Our Heritage, volume 2, by Eliyahu Kitov, the section on “Nisan – Pesach and the Omer,” we read the following:

“Our sages, who delved into the deeper meanings of the Torah, meanings that are hidden from ordinary understanding, have associated this period of seven weeks with seven attributes which are personified by our great ancestors. These characteristics are essential to the continued existence of the world and help mankind to rise from its lowly state, as the days which elapsed from the time of the Exodus to the giving of the Torah, enabled the Children of Israel to rise from being makers of bricks and garments of straw for Pharaoh, to become a people specially chosen by God, a nation of cohanim, kings and princes, all devoted to His service . . .

“Avraham personifies the virtue of ‘Loving Kindness’. Through his selfless love of mankind, the whole world was brought nearer to God . . .

“Itzchak personifies ‘Strength Of Character’, and from him the world learned to fear God. His whole being was devoted to the service of God and to the fear of Him. In this he neither faltered nor flagged . . .

“Yaakov was the personification of ‘Glory’. All his actions, whether towards God or towards his parents, towards Esav or Lavan, whether they concern the struggle with the Angel, his treatment of his children or his attitude to Pharaoh; all were perfect . . .

“Moshe typifies ‘Eternity’, the eternity of the Torah. All earthly possessions, those we give to others and those we accept from them, are of transient value. The Torah alone is of permanent worth . . .

“Aharon’s special characteristic was ‘Splendour’ . He loved peace and pursued peace, he loved mankind and brought them near to the Torah. Anyone who saw the splendour and sanctity of Aharon, how he absorbed the teachings of his younger brother and, free from all envy, rejoiced over his greatness, could not help but be influenced by him and his teachings . . .

Yosef typifies that virtue which lies at the ‘Foundation’ of all morality. The righteousness of Yosef’s life was such that he rose to the greatest possible heights of sanctity . . .

“King David typifies ‘Sovereignty’. It was not David’s wisdom or strength that brought him to kingship, nor did he achieve it simply by inheritance. His kingdom was granted him by the King of Kings. God took him from the sheepfolds, from tending the flocks of lambs, to tend the flock of Israel. God chose him for this task for He knew that even were he to rise to the greatest heights, in his own eyes, he would always be a humble servant. David was of lowly origin, yet all the kings from east and west, came to do him homage. He taught the world that God is the Supreme King. He taught mankind to sing songs of praise to the Master of the Universe . . .

“Each of these seven qualities is closely intertwined with the others and all are inter-dependent. None exists in isolation…Each characteristic has a light of its own which it sheds on the others even while it absorbs their light…Our sages have designated the seven weeks of counting as an opportunity for correcting the various defects of character, by stressing these seven special qualities . . .

“When we count the forty-nine days of the Omer from the second night of the festival, it reminds us that each day marks a step away from the defilement of Egypt, and a step towards spiritual purity. At the end of this period the Israelites were worthy of receiving the Torah . . .” (The Book of Our Heritage, volume 2, by Eliyahu Kitov).

Now let’s put these days in their proper order, listing each major characteristic for each week, and each day of each week. This shows us graphically what characteristic we should be working on each week, and which combination of characteristics on each day of that week, until we complete the Omer count at the end of the 49 days.

For example, week 1 is “chesed” or “loving-kindness.” Day one of that week is also “chesed” (“loving-kindness”). Thus it represents “chesed” X “chesed” (“loving-kindess” multiplied), or the concentrated and emphasized quality of chesed and its wholeness. Day 2 of week one is “gevurah” (“strength”) as it relates to “chesed” (“loving-kindness”).

The last week of the count is “Malchut” (“Kingship”) and the seventh day of the last week is also “Malchut” (“Kingship”) – thus it is “malchut X malchut” (multiplied by it self) – kingship itself concentrated, emphasized and made whole. Thus we go from loving-kindness to kingship in 49 meaningful stages of spiritual growth!

WEEK 1 - “CHESED” - LOVING KINDNESS

DAY 1	DAY 2	DAY 3	DAY 4	DAY 5	DAY 6	DAY 7
CHESED	GEVURAH	TIFERET	NETZACH	HOD	YESOD	MALKUT
ABIB 16	ABIB 17	ABIB 18	ABIB 19	ABIB 20	ABIB 21	ABIB 22

WEEK 2 - “GEVURAH” - STRENGTH OF CHARACTER

DAY 8	DAY 9	DAY 10	DAY 11	DAY 12	DAY 13	DAY 14
CHESED	GEVURAH	TIFERET	NETZACH	HOD	YESOD	MALKUT
ABIB 23	ABIB 24	ABIB 25	ABIB 26	ABIB 27	ABIB 28	ABIB 29

WEEK 3 - “TIFERET” - BEAUTY, HARMONY

DAY 15	DAY 16	DAY 17	DAY 18	DAY 19	DAY 20	DAY 21
CHESED	GEVURAH	TIFERET	NETZACH	HOD	YESOD	MALKUT
IYAR 1	IYAR 2	IYAR 3	IYAR 4	IYAR 5	IYAR 6	IYAR 7

WEEK 4 - “NETZACH” - VICTORY, ETERNITY

DAY 22	DAY 23	DAY 24	DAY 25	DAY 26	DAY 27	DAY 28
CHESED	GEVURAH	TIFERET	NETZACH	HOD	YESOD	MALKUT
IYAR 8	IYAR 9	IYAR 10	IYAR 11	IYAR 12	IYAR 13	IYAR 14

WEEK 5 - “HOD” - SPLENDOR, MAJESTY, GLORY

DAY 29	DAY 30	DAY 31	DAY 32	DAY 33	DAY 34	DAY 35
CHESED	GEVURAH	TIFERET	NETZACH	HOD	YESOD	MALKUT
IYAR 15	IYAR 16	IYAR 17	IYAR 18	IYAR 19	IYAR 20	IYAR 21

WEEK 6 - “YESOD” - FOUNDATION, STRONG BEGINNING

DAY 36	DAY 37	DAY 38	DAY 39	DAY 40	DAY 41	DAY 42
CHESED	GEVURAH	TIFERET	NETZACH	HOD	YESOD	MALKUT
IYAR 22	IYAR 23	IYAR 24	IYAR 25	IYAR 26	IYAR 27	IYAR 28

WEEK 7 - “MALCHUT” - KINGSHIP, SOVEREIGNTY

DAY 43	DAY 44	DAY 45	DAY 46	DAY 47	DAY 48	DAY 49
CHESED	GEVURAH	TIFERET	NETZACH	HOD	YESOD	MALKUT
IYAR 29	IYAR 30	SIVAN 1	SIVAN 2	SIVAN 3	SIVAN 4	SIVAN 5

DAY 50 - PENTECOST - SHAVUOT –

FEAST OF FIRSTFRUITS

Works Of The Flesh To Overcome NIV	Fruit Of The Spirit To Live And Walk By - NIV
SEXUAL IMMORALITY IMPURITY AND DEBAUCHERY IDOLATRY AND WITCHCRAFT HATRED DISCORD JEALOUSY FITS OF RAGE SELFISH AMBITION DISSENSIONS FACTIONS AND ENVY DRUNKENNESS ORGIES AND THE LIKE Those Who Live Like This Will Not Inherit The Kingdom Of God	LOVE JOY PEACE PATIENCE KINDNESS GOODNESS FAITHFULNESS GENTLENESS SELF-CONTROL Against Such Things There Is No Law

“Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissentions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God” (Gal.5:19-21, NRSV).

“Do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived! Fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, male prostitutes, sodomites, thieves, the greedy, drunkards, revilers, robbers – none of these will inherit the kingdom of God” (I Corinthians 6:9-10).

“By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. There is no law against such things. And those who belong to Jesus Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, competing against one another, envying one another” (Gal.5:22-26).

Let us use this opportunity of “counting the Omer” and overcoming the flesh, to march forward, and push onward, toward the great goal of the Kingdom of God!