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When does the mourning period of the Omer start and end?

by Rabbi Naftali Silberberg

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The Omer is a period of mourning; 24,000 students of Rabbi Akiba (1st-2nd Century sage and one of the greatest Jewish leaders of all time) passed away during the Omer period.

There are altogether only 33 days of mourning, but there are several opinions regarding when these 33 days are:

1. From Pesach until, but not including, Lag b'Omer.

2. From Pesach until the morning after Lag b'Omer.

3. From Rosh Chodesh Iyar through the 2nd day of Sivan, excluding Lag b'Omer.

The Omer is a period of mourning; 24,000 students of Rabbi Akiba (1st-2nd Century sage and one of the greatest Jewish leaders of all time) passed away during the Omer period

4. From the 2nd day of Iyar until Shavuot, excluding Lag b'Omer.

Everyone is obligated to follow the custom of his community in this matter. If one's community does not have an established custom, one can choose whichever opinion he/she fancies.

Certain communities, including Chabad, observe the Omer mourning period from Passover through the 2nd of Sivan (except for Lag b'Omer), in order to be in accordance with all the abovementioned opinions. This custom is also in concurrence with Kabbalah.

[This year, 2008, the second day of Passover will be Monday, April 21st. The first day of Rosh Chodesh Iyar will be Monday, May 5th. The second of Iyar will be two days later, on Wednesday. Lag b'Omer will be Friday, May 23rd . The second of Sivan will be Thursday, June 5th.]

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COMMENTS

24000 Students

Posted by: Matt on May 01, 2006

A teacher in the yeshiva that a friend of mine goes to said that 24000 pairs of students (normally, the established way to study Talmud is in pairs). This would make it 48000 students.

Is there any credence to this, or could he perhaps have mistranslated? (I dont speak Hebrew, so I cannot verify for myself)

Editor's Comment

According to the Talmud (Yevamot 62b), 12,000 pairs of students perished.

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Holidays » Lag B'Omer

Passover

A Biblically mandated early-spring festival celebrating the Jewish exodus from Egypt in the year 1312 BCE.

Chabad

Chabad, an acronym for Wisdom, Knowledge, and Understanding, is the name of a Chassidic Group founded in the 1770s. Two of the most fundamental teachings of Chabad are the intellectual pursuit of understanding the divine and the willingness to help every Jew who has a spiritual or material need.

Kabbalah

Jewish mysticism. The word Kaballah means "reception," for we cannot physically perceive the Divine, we merely study the mystical truths which were transmitted to us by G-d Himself through His righteous servants.

Rosh Chodesh

The "Head of the Month," Rosh Chodesh is observed the first day of every Jewish month. If the previous month had 30 days, then the last day of the previous month is also observed; hence a two-day Rosh Chodesh. Rosh Chodesh is a semi-holiday, marked by Torah-reading and special prayers.

Shavuot

Early summer festival marking the day when the Jews received the Torah at Mount Sinai in the year 2448 (1312 BCE).

Omer

Starting from the second day of Passover, we count forty-nine days. The fiftieth day is the holiday of Shavuot. This is called the “Counting of the Omer” because on the second day of Passover the barley “Omer” offering was offered in the Holy Temple, and we count forty-nine days from this offering. [Literally, "Omer" is a certain weight measure; the required amount of barley for this sacrifice.]

Iyar

The second month on the Jewish calendar, normally corresponding to April-May. The 18th of this month is the holiday of Lag b'Omer.

Sivan

The third month on the Jewish calendar, normally corresponding to May-June. This month features the holiday of Shavuot.

Pesach

Passover. A Biblically mandated early-spring festival celebrating the Jewish exodus from Egypt in the year 1312 BCE.