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Omer Counter. Louvaton Gallery. Israel. 2003

Count Our Blessings...

By the time you read this, we will be almost three weeks into the counting of the omer. From the second night of Pesach until Shavuot, we count the days that signify the time between the Exodus from Egypt and Revelation at Sinai. Sefirat ha-Omer, as it is called, reminds us of bringing a sheaf (omer) of newly harvested barley to the Temple as a pre-Pesach offering. During the omer period, each of the seven species - olives, pomegranates, figs, barley, wheat, grapes, dates - amidst the vagaries of weather and wind, have the potential to enter a significant growth period. Shavuot, at the end of sefirat ha-omer, celebrates God’s blessings upon the land and its harvests, and the success of that growth period. During the sefirah (the counting) of the omer (sheaf), the days are marked by reciting special psalms and marking off each day, on special omer charts, often artistically embellished. The omer period is considered a time of semi-mourning with several prohibitions in place: no cutting of hair or playing music, and no celebrating of weddings. However, on several days, Lag B’Omer, Rosh Hodesh and Yom Ha-Atzmaut, the restrictions are lifted. The semi-mourning period hearkens back to the days when the Israelites, because of the uncertainty of the harvest, so critical to their existence, were vulnerable... vulnerable, both physically and spiritually, as they prepared to receive the Torah at Sinai.

As we number the days, during sefirat ha-omer, let us take the opportunity to recall both the vulnerability and blessings in our lives. Amid the vagaries of wind and weather, we too have the potential to have a beautiful life.

The magnificent Omer Counter, pictured above, is in the collection of the Abraham and Natalie Percelay Museum of our own Temple Emanu-El. Created in Israel in 2003 by the Studio of Louvaton, it is made of sterling silver, painted parchment and maple wood. The top of the wooden box opens and reveals a scroll-like device which is manually turned daily. Each number is beautifully illuminated with different representations of the seven species, folk art images, and various psalms. In addition, the skillfully crafted matching wooden stand for the Omer Counter was created by Emanu-El member, Bob Pelcovits. The piece does not sit in the Museum or in a display case. Like so many of the items in the Museum’s collection, the Omer Counter is used, as the holiday or ritual demands. It is not an “artifact” but an actual “in use” ritual object, as are so many of the Museum’s collection. In addition, items in the museum are primary sources, used to teach students of all ages the history of the Jewish people. These objects, collected from locations throughout the world, and from time periods spanning centuries, live within the museum proper (in the foyer of the Alperin Meeting House) as well as in display cases, and on walls, scattered around the synagogue. They are valuable primary sources which enable the museum to be a viable educational arm of our synagogue.  

This Omer Counter “resides” in the Fishbein Chapel. Our magnificent Omer Counter was generously donated to the Museum by the Gorman Family, in loving memory of Eva and Sam Gorman.

--Ruth Page, Museum Director