The idea of counting each day represents spiritual preparation and anticipation for the giving of the Torah which was given by God on Mount Sinai at the beginning of the month of Sivan, around the same time as the holiday of Shavuot.

What does the Hebrew word Omer mean?

1 : an ancient Hebrew unit of dry capacity equal to ¹/₁₀ ephah. 2a often capitalized : the sheaf of barley traditionally offered in Jewish Temple worship on the second day of the Passover.

What is the reason for Shavuot?

Shavuot (Feast of Weeks) commemorates the revelation of the Torah on Mt. Sinai to the Jewish people, and occurs on the 50th day after the 49 days of counting the Omer. Shavuot is one of the three biblically based pilgrimage holidays known as the shalosh regalim. It is associated with the grain harvest in the Torah.

What is the celebration of Shavuot?

festival marking the wheat harvest, Shavuot commemorates the revelation of the Torah... Celebration of Shavuot occurs on the 50th day, or seven weeks, after the sheaf offering of the harvest celebrated during Passover. The holiday is therefore also called Pentecost from the Greek pentēkostē (“50th”).

Why do we wear white on Shavuot?

It isn't entirely clear why people dress in white on Shavuot or eat dairy. One theory is that once the laws were given on Mount Sinai, the people could no longer eat meat until they began preparing it according to the new laws they'd just received.

Counting the Omer: The Basics of the Jewish Ritual

31 related questions found

How long did the barley and wheat harvest last?

"Till the end of the barley-harvest and the wheat-harvest": the Midrash notes a period of 3 months from the beginning of the barley harvest, to the end of the wheat harvest, though it could be sooner; thus from the Passover to Pentecost were seven weeks, which was the difference between the beginning of one harvest, ...

What religion is Rosh Hashanah?

Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, is one of Judaism's holiest days. Meaning “head of the year” or “first of the year,” the festival begins on the first day of Tishrei, the seventh month of the Hebrew calendar, which falls during September or October.

Is work permitted on Shavuot?

According to Jewish custom, no work is permitted on Shavuot. The custom does allow for cooking, baking, transferring fire and carrying objects or equipment. ... Observers of the faith may take an annual holiday during this time of the year to refrain from work on Shavuot.

Are there Amalekites today?

In addition, the Amalekites, as a physical nation, have been extinct since the time of Hezekiah's reign, according to the Hebrew Bible. A few authorities have ruled that the command never included killing Amalekites.

What did Amalek do?

In the Book of Exodus, the Amalekites attacked the Children of Israel on their journey to the land of Israel. For this sin, God damned the Amalekites, commanding the Jews to wage a holy war to exterminate them. This is perhaps the most widely ignored command in the Bible.

Where is the land of the Amalekites?

Amalekite, member of an ancient nomadic tribe, or collection of tribes, described in the Old Testament as relentless enemies of Israel, even though they were closely related to Ephraim, one of the 12 tribes of Israel. The district over which they ranged was south of Judah and probably extended into northern Arabia.

What does the word Amalekite mean?

: a member of an ancient nomadic people living south of Canaan.

Who are the Canaanites today?

Summary: The people who lived in the area known as the Southern Levant -- which is now recognized as Israel, the Palestinian Authority, Jordan, Lebanon, and parts of Syria -- during the Bronze Age (circa 3500-1150 BCE) are referred to in ancient biblical texts as the Canaanites.

What can you not do during Passover?

The Passover dietary rules restrict the use of grains that can ferment and become leavened. These grains are wheat, barley, spelt, oats and rye. During Passover, people can only eat unleavened grains. Wheat flour is permitted only if it is baked into Matzah (unleavened bread).

What does gut Yontif mean?

To wish somebody a happy Passover in Yiddish, you would say “gut yontif,” which translates to “good holiday.” Yiddish, one of the most well-know Jewish languages outside of Hebrew, was spoken by Ashkenazi (or Eastern European) Jews.

Is Shavuot one or two days?

One of the biblically ordained Three Pilgrimage Festivals, Shavuot is traditionally celebrated in Israel for one day, where it is a public holiday, and for two days in the diaspora.

Is Rosh Hashanah in the Bible?

The term rosh hashanah appears once in the Bible (Ezekiel 40:1), where it has a different meaning: either generally the time of the "beginning of the year", or possibly a reference to Yom Kippur, or to the month of Nisan.

Is Rosh Hashanah happy?

Because Rosh Hashanah celebrates the Jewish New Year, the most common greeting is "Happy New Year." The equivalent in Hebrew is "Shanah tovah," (pronounced shah-NAH toe-VAH) which literally means "good year."

What does it mean if food is kosher?

Kosher food is any food or beverage that Jewish dietary laws allow a person to eat. It isn't a style of cooking. Keeping kosher is much more complex than that. Rules are the foundation of kosher food. Rooted in history and religion, each law is specific about what types of food you can and can't eat.

How is barley harvested?

There are two common methods to harvesting barley: Straight-cutting and swathing. Straight-Cutting: This is the preferred method to harvest malting barley because it is a one pass system. ... Without drying capabilities, it is not recommended that grain be harvested at this moisture content.

Is barley a cereal grain?

Barley is a cereal grain that people can use in bread, beverages, stews, and other dishes. As a whole grain, barley provides fiber, vitamins, and minerals.

What is harvest season in the Bible?

You see, the symbolic meaning of harvest in Scripture encompasses two main areas: God's provision for us and God's blessing for others. While we celebrate a harvest season just once a year, we experience the spirit of harvest all the time. ... The money we earn belongs to the Lord of the harvest.

Where did the kenites come from?

Identity. According to the critical interpretation of the Biblical data, the Kenites were a clan settled on the southern border of Judah, originally more advanced in arts than the Hebrews, and from whom the latter learned much. They supposedly migrated from southern Asia.

Are Canaanites Israelites?

Canaan, area variously defined in historical and biblical literature, but always centred on Palestine. Its original pre-Israelite inhabitants were called Canaanites. The names Canaan and Canaanite occur in cuneiform, Egyptian, and Phoenician writings from about the 15th century bce as well as in the Old Testament.