Counting of the Omer
The fifty day period between the Feast of Pesach(Passover) and the Feast of Shavuot(Feast of Weeks) is known as Sephirat HaOmer, the counting of the Omer. On the second day of Pesach, the Omer offering from the new barley crop was brought into the Temple in Jerusalem. It began a period of counting of the Omer and preparation for Shavuot, the anniversary of the giving of the Torah and the yearly celebration of re-accepting the Torah upon ourselves. There is actually a mitzva (a command) to count each specific day which is done at the completion of Arbit, the evening service.
For your convenience, below is the link for the blessings of Sefirat Ha-Omer and also keeping track of counting the Omer :
http://www.yucs.org/~dwallach/jewish/omer.pdf
Hello everyone,
Once again the month of Nissan is here with the festival of Pesach. Along with this we have longer daylight hours and anticipation of the coming of the warm weather.
The month is quite exciting, somewhat tiring with the cleaning, purchasing and preparations, which dominate our lives for almost the whole month.
On the spiritual aspect of this month, the Shabbath before Pesach (March 31) is called the “Shabbath Hagadol” (Great Shabbath) which prepares us to receive and appreciate its presence and blessing. Also in this month we do not recite the penitential prayers (תפילת תחנון), eulogies (הספדים) are curtailed and donations and charities to the needy are maximised.
Pesach is first and foremost among the festivals in the Jewish calendar. The Talmud refers to Pesach as the Rosh HaShana (Head of the year) of the festivals.
This year Pesach starts on Friday, April 6 (14 Nissan) at sunset and ends on Saturday, April 14 (22 Nissan) after sunset (outside Israel).
The following table shows the time schedule for the 8 days of Passover (all times Eastern Daylight Saving Time):
Hello All,
This year Tu Bishvat falls on Wednesday Feb.8,2012, but the feast starts on Tuesday Feb.7 after sunset.
“Tu” is derived from טו which is 15 - in the month of Shvat.
The Month of Elul, Selihoth, Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur
By Yefet Isaac
We are fast approaching the month of Elul. In the next few paragraphs, I would like to give some insights on the month of Elul, Selihoth and the High Holidays.
Rosh Hodesh Elul is on August 20-21 and as per the Sephardic custom, the Bene-Israel community begin the first Selihoth prayers on Sunday August 23 and onwards until Yom Kippur. Men and women rise before the break of dawn and go to the synagogue. There, the special prayers are recited with tears and anguish, as the days of the high holidays, Rosh Hashana and Yom Hakippurim draw near.
Read the rest of the entry
Hello Everyone,
Tu B’Shvat is fast approaching. This year it falls on Monday Feb.9, but the feast starts on Sunday Feb.8 after sunset.
“Tu” is derived from טו which is 15 - in the month of Shvat.
Read the rest of this entry
Hello Folks,
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