Sefirat HaOmer 162 articles

For the Kabbalistically inclined, the following enchanting Shabbat “zemer,” festive song, is shown below. It was composed by Shimon ibn Lavi, who had fled as a child from the Spanish Inquisition,...

Before the Cave Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai was a student of Rabbi Akiva, who was the spiritual leader of the Bar Kochba Revolt against Rome in 135 CE, which began in...

"Hayom" IS the day!

What is it about Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai that attracts Jews from all backgrounds? Why is there an emphasis on bonfires on Lag B’Omer? Why is glory (hod) connected to Lag...

Rav Soloveitchik discusses the 5 main issues surrounding sefirat ha’omer including whether it’s a mitzvah to count weeks or days and when to count. For part 1 click here.

Rav Soloveitchik discusses the five main issues surrounding sefirat ha’omer including whether it’s a mitzvah to count weeks or days and when to count. For part 2 click here

The following is the text of the RAMBAM with regard to the harvesting of the “Omer:” “On the Second Day of Passover,...

Walk on the sands of an hourglass shattered. Bare feet blistered, bleeding as they drag on those little grains of a scorched earth. It is so cold, then so hot: cold...

On Mount Sinai… Many metaphors hitchhike along the road that is Life on the hoarse-driven carriage that is the oft-used vocal cords of Language. Heaven and Earth, besides for being what...

Back when I was growing up in Cleveland Ohio, Lag B’omer was a great excuse for a school trip. While I’m somewhat embarrassed to admit it, the countdown to Lag B’omer...