Related Blog Posts on Counting of the Omer

The Confirmation Revolution: Then and Now

Rabbi Lance J. Sussman

Today's North American Reform synagogues have increasingly begun to rethink and attempt to reinvigorate the contemporary practice of bar and bat mitzvah, a practice that may transform Reform Judaism in general. In many ways, these conversations are reminiscent of the emergence of confirmation at the beginning of the 19th century, a significant part of a broad effort to re-envision Judaism's well known adolescent rites-de-passage in communities throughout central Europe. In time, confirmation, largely became associated with Reform Judaism.

How Social Media Helps Me Keep Track of Jewish Time

Jane E. Herman

When someone asked a friend of mine what his daughter enjoys most about living in Israel, he explained that she loves the way the country’s secular rhythms synch seamlessly with religious time in a way that doesn’t happen in North America. By way of example, he described Shabbat and holidays as characterized by closed shops, quiet streets, and low-key television programming.

And Fly: A Poem for Counting the Omer

Stacey Zisook Robinson, z"l

Count your things.
Add them up.
Amass a pile of More.

Grab and gather
in forty-nine steps,
the firsts
of your herd,
your horde
your heart.
Count them
in countless succession:

All your best -
Your hopes.
Your sins.
Fill your tent;
load the baskets and bags
wi

Sanctuary: A Poem for the End of Counting the Omer

Stacey Zisook Robinson, z"l

I counted out the measures
In cubits
and inches
and baskets of grain
And made a sanctuary
From a field of grass
And cornflowers,
And it was pleasing to behold,
And silent.

Beyond those borders,
Beyond the altars and their
Sacred, silent beauty,
Lay the wild