Exploration 90 – Counting the Omer – Counting to Pentecost

15 And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven sabbaths shall be complete:
16 Even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the Lord.

Leviticus 23:15-16 King James Version

The sheaf of the wave offering comprised a dry measure of barley called an omer. Along with the Passover this counting is a remembrance of the Exodus and the time it took the Israelites to reach Mount Sinai to receive the Torah.

The morrow after the sabbath begins on Saturday evening and extends to Sunday evening. That is the time of the wave sheaf offering. That first day of the week is counted as Day One. The next day is counted as Day Two. This counting continues until we reach the forty-ninth day which is the seventh sabbath. The fiftieth day is Shavuot an appointed time of YeHoVaH (מוֹעֲדֵ֣י יְהוָ֔ה) on the biblical calendar. Since the wave sheaf offering does not always align with Easter, Shavuot can become obscured with the focus on Pentecost (fifty days after Easter) in the solar, liturgical calendar most of us use today.

In both Shavuot and Pentecost there is a receiving from YeHoVaH. At Shavuot the Israelites received the Torah, the instruction, at Mount Sinai. At Pentecost the early Messianic believers received the Holy Spirit during the appointed time of Shavuot in Jerusalem. Before Yeshua’s fulfillment of the Passover as the perfect sacrifice and His fulfillment of Unleavened Bread as the first fruits, wave sheaf offering after His Resurrection, Shavuot was a remembrance of that past event of receiving the Torah and a rehearsal for receiving the Holy Spirit.

Now that Shavuot has also been fulfilled it remains an appointed time for remembrance of both events. Keeping these appointed times reminds us where we are in the story of redemption, a story that had been laid out before us in advance and reinforced through the yearly appointed times of the biblical calendar.

The difference between cyclic pagan calendars and this forward directed biblical calendar is the story of redemption from the Exodus to Yeshua’s Resurrection to the coming of His Messianic Kingdom. That story is not something that can be derived from human experimentation and reasoning nor from New Age nature sentimentality.

As I see it, this story comes only through biblical revelation which makes the biblical calendar unique. However, if you think there is some other competing world narrative worth considering, let me know in the comments.

3 To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:
4 And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me.
5 For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.

Acts 1:3-5 King James Version

Weekly Parashah Readings
Parashah: Acharei Mot, 29 Nissan, 5782 – April 30, 2022
Torah: Leviticus 16:1-18:30
Haftarah: Ezekiel 22:1-19
Brit Chadashah: Hebrews 9:11-28
Resources: Chabad, Hebrew4Christians, Weekly Torah Readings, Calendar

Meadow

Author: Frank Hubeny

I enjoy walking, poetry and short prose as well as taking pictures with my phone.

18 thoughts on “Exploration 90 – Counting the Omer – Counting to Pentecost”

  1. The timing explains the duration of the Fast of the Apostle’s in the Orthodox Church. (Copied) The fast of the Holy Apostles starts on the second Monday after Pentecost. The duration of this fast varies, depending on the date of Pascha (Easter). The rule is that the Fast starts on the second Monday after Pentecost and ends on June 29, on the feast of Saints Peter and Paul.

    Today is Pascha. Christ is Risen.

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    1. Christ is Risen!

      That period of time for the fast of the Apostles reminds me that I need to pay attention also to the liturgical calendar of the Orthodox Church.

      There are variations within the biblical calendar as well. Rabbinic Judaism has one version and the agricultural calendar that Michael Rood promotes (The Chronological Gospels) points to another. For example, today is First Fruits (Pascha) by Rood’s biblical calendar while that happened (as Easter) last Sunday in the Roman calendar and as First Fruits this year in the Rabbinic calendar.

      I hear it gets even more complicated than that. I’ve just begun going down this rabbit hole.

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      1. I’ve almost always lived in a family that celebrates both Roman and Orthodox holidays. While I follow the Roman calendar, I think the Orthodox is closer to correct on Easter. Easter should not come until after Passover is over. At least that was the back and forth I heard between my parents.

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          1. I believe it’s also complicated by use of the Julian calendar’s date of the equinox and then when the first full moon occurs after that. I think it puts it after Passover but I’m not sure that drives the calculation. There are many explanations, and some differ slightly.

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            1. Michael Rood’s method (which may be the oldest) doesn’t use the vernal equinox. After twelve lunar months (from spotted crescent in the evening to spotted crescent in the evening after 29 days) if the barley isn’t ripe enough to harvest for first fruits, then another lunar month as a leap month.

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      2. “Before Yeshua’s fulfillment of the Passover as the perfect sacrifice.” Luv the humor of your words Frank. The brutal torture and cruel execution of a criminal compares to offering a sacrificial animal that has only 3 legs. LOL

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          1. Parshat צו, chapter Three — 16th day of the Omer k’vanna to remove avodah zarah from within both the land and the hearts of the Cohen nation —  ו: יז – כג.  

            Contrast the specific, the anointing of the House of Aaron as the dedicated Moshiach of the nation of Cohonim against the perverse attempts by both Xtianity and Islam.   Both perversions of Torah faith preach an absurd belief that a particular, hitherto completely foreign and alien set-theory\mystery religion/ has some mystic Universal application and does not limited the scope of the brit faith to acceptance of the revelation of the Torah @ Sinai @ Horev.   The latter teaches a wisdom how to purify the specific oath sworn land and the specific People who inherit the oath sworn land from tumah.  While the former preaches a Good News faith that proclaims a messiah has saved all Man-kind (specifically Man who never accepted the revelation of the Torah @ Sinai @ Horev) from Sin.

            Torah common law, as a legal system, learns from precedent Torah commandments.  The study of the k’vanna of any given Torah commandment based upon other precedent Torah commandments learns by means of either a פרט\כלל or a כלל//פרט logic method of making comparisons.  Specifically learning the k’vanna of a Torah commandment by comparing that Torah commandment to other Torah commandments, these precedents they either constrict (רמז) or they expand (סוד) how a scholar understands the k’vanna intend of the target Torah commandment.  The opening word of the Torah בראשית teaches a רמז, it contains words within words.  These concepts contained within the word בראשית, they restrict, by way of their specifics, the general k’vanna of the word בראשית.

            The תרגום אונקלוס, for example, writes: בקדמין ברא ה’ ית שמיא וית ארעא.  While the תרגום יונתן בן עוזיאל writes: בראשית מן אוולא ברא ה’ ית שמיא וית ארעא.  This older Aramaic translation bases itself upon the רמז contained within the word בראשית of ב’  ראשית/two beginnings/.  Still a third תרגום the ירושלמי, it writes:  בראשית בחוכמא ברא ה’ ית שמיא וית ארעא.  (In the beginning) in Wisdom created HaShem the heavens and the earth.  The ירושלמי therein validates the רמז words ברית אש, ראש בית also contained within the word בראשית which in their own right restrict the interpretation of intent of the host word בראשית.  A word that hosts other words, compares itself to the womb of a pregnant woman; something like the metaphor “Mother Earth”.

            Aramaic, a very similar language to Hebrew.  The translators had full awareness of the original Hebrew language.  Contrast the bible and koran written by hostile aliens who have a foreign hostile agenda which seeks to foist a Universal faith over the sworn oath to cause the chosen Cohen seed of Avraham to eternally inherit the oath sworn lands through the generations of his chosen Cohen children, promised never to go extinct as a family.   

            Jews have suffered tremendous g’lut unjust damages from Goyim, but our people has never gone extinct.   This fact has forced the theologians who promote the alien\foreign Universal religions to propose replacement theology to justify and validate their foreign alien religious propaganda, which reject the sworn oath by HaShem to cause the chosen Cohen seed of Avraham to inherit the lands of Judea Israel.  Many Protestant churches promote the narishkeit of referring to the Balestinian stateless Arab refugee populations, who currently temporarily reside within the borders of Judea Israel, as the native inhabitants of the land; despite the fact that these stateless Arab refugee populations — their tongue cannot pronounce the European letter P.

            This Presbyterian church mandated modern day perversion, it serves as a פרט precedent which interprets the כלל intent of the church bible translations which Universally pervert the k’vanna of the Written Torah, throughout the entire history of the church abomination; whose Genesis story limits the opening words of the Torah to: In the beginning אלהים\Gods/(mistranslated as God) created the heavens and the earth. 

            Contrast the תרגום אונקלוס which translates אלהים unto HaShem.  As do the other two Aramaic translations.  The church bible translations expunge the Name of HaShem all together from their bibles.  This פרט constriction precedent says a lot about the k’vanna of the Goyim translators of their bibles. 

            כלל all the translations have an ax to grind.   All Torah and biblical scholars – Jewish and uncircumcised Philistines – expressed a pre-existing agenda.  The Aramaic translators did not want to validate other Gods, despite the 2nd Sinai commandment otherwise.  Whereas the church translators desired to promote their Trinity mystery theology of Monotheism.  

            According to the Yerushalmi Talmud, over 247 prophets expressed their spirituality by dedicating their energies to write the Shemone Esrei standing tefillah.  Rav Nemuraskii taught me a simple kabbalah: just as the Amoraim scholars strove to understand the language of the Mishna, post sealing of the Talmud scholars should strive to understand the k’vanna of the Siddur.  Therefore my sh’itta of learning affixes the blessing:
            אתה חונן לאדם דעת ומלמד לאנוש בינה.  חננו מאתך חכמה בינה ודעת.  ברוך אתה ה’ חונן הדעת
            to Parshat בראשית.  Whereas Parshat צו, this Torah shabbot reading affixes to the blessing:
            את צמח דוד עבדך מהרה תצמיח, וקרנו תרום בישועתך, כי לישועתך קוינו כל היום.  ברוך אתה ה’, מצמיח קרן ישועה

            Not only does the Torah serve as a רמז constriction of k’vanna to all the 13 Middle Blessings within the Shemone Esrei, but so too does all the mussar contained within the NaCH and Talmud.  All three classic codifications exist and function as Jewish common law.  Common law establishes Case-law through courtroom rulings.  The language of tefillah: להתפלל a reflexive verb – to judge.

            Swearing a Torah oath defines the k’vanna of all korbanot dedicated to HaShem upon the altar on Mount Zion.  This k’vanna כלל, especially following the destruction of the Temple, wherein tefillah replaced korbanot, the Shemone Esrei blessings contain all the רמז mussar commanded by NaCH and Talmudic Aggaddah.  Mussar serves to define the k’vanna of all Talmudic Halachot.   

            Affixing, רמז, Halachot unto a specific blessing, כלל, within the Shemone Esrei learns from the precedents: בראשית:  ברית אש, ראש בית, ב’  ראשית.   Hence the Talmud teaches when the Cohonim of the House of Aaron dedicated to HaShem korbanot, that Levi would read מעשה בראשית in the beit knesset.  Herein defines the k’vanna and expansive power of positive time oriented commandments from the Torah.

            With this introduction to the 3rd פרק of Parshat צו, let’s learn.  Parshat צו builds upon the previous Parshah.  תורת החטאת atones for tumah.  The פרט of the Cohen serves to define the k’vanna of this service known as avodat HaShem כלל, to cleanse the oath sworn land from tumah caused by injustice.   

            Murder and bloodshed defile the tohorah of the land, as well as the brit nation who rules those dedicated holy lands.   After the Romans expelled the Jews from Judea, no Goy nation ever ruled the holy lands as a separate Independent nation, having its own Capital and currency.  Goyim has no oath brit faith alliance to rule the land with righteous lateral common law courtroom justice, as does the chosen Cohen nation.

            Any ‘living blood’, (which contains the nefesh)[Blood gathered from the wound pumped out of the body of the beast from its ‘living’ heart], this living blood serves to make atonement for the tumah within the land.  Herein defines the avodat HaShem of the Cohen Ha’Gadol on Yom Kippur.

            A slightly distant משנה תורה precedent: דברים יז: א.  The negative commandment which rejects any korban that has a physical blemish as a valid dedication to HaShem.  Another slightly distant משנה תורה precedent: יח: ג – ה.  HaShem chose the House of Aaron פרט as did HaShem choose the House of Israel כלל over all Goyim who rejected the revelation of the Torah @ Sinai @ Horev.   The פרט serves to define the k’vanna of the כלל, chosen Cohen nation.

            Another slightly distant precedent: כ:א – ט.  P’suk ב: states ונגש הכהן, the Talmud teaches the Cohen Moshiach dedicated to HaShem for war.  Compare these to an exact משנה תורה precedent: כא: כב – כב: ד.  A Man’s decaying body left for the bird and animals to eat defiles the land.  In like manner as burying the dead, so too restoring lost property to its owner, this mitzvah – it too sanctifies the tohorah of the oath sworn land. 

            This wisdom, of doing mitzvot to sanctify the tohorah of the land, only applies to the oath sworn inheritance land.  Hence the Talmud teaches that g’lut Jews cannot keep mitzvot; the tumah of g’lut lands learns from the halachic precedent of a man who goes to the mikvah while holding a dead rat in his hand.   The mikvah has no power to cleanse the tumah from that man.

            A slightly distant precedent learned from ישעיה, the mussar ג:א – יב.  Woe to the Jewish people when our leaders assimilate and pursue power and wealth and convert the nation to a defiled banana republic.  Another slightly distant precedent: ה: כד – ל.  Woe to our holy land when our people abandon the Torah obligation to guard the tohorah of both the land and its people living on the land.

            Another slightly distant precedent:  ח:א – ד.  A prophecy of doom against Damascus.  A land condemned for its cruelty and the oppression by which its rulers governed, and concentrated wealth and power into their greedy hands.  Another distant precedent:  י:כ – כג.  The prophecy of Divine justice which shall bring geulah unto a tiny remnant, like as happened 3 years after the Shoah.

            Still another distant precedent: יד:כד – כז.  The prophecy which condemns the Assyrian empire to destruction.  Again guilty of the exact same crimes as Damascus, oppression and injustice of the poor and weak.  Still another slightly distant precedent: יט: טז – יז.  A similar vision of doom to Egypt, for the exact same crimes against humanity.  This mussar, it applies across the board to the governments of all nations.

            Still another distant precedent: כ: א – כא: ה.  The p’suk כ:ו asks the vital question?   What action can stop the Divine decree of g’lut?  Still another slightly distant precedent: כג:א – יד.  Visions of destruction for great and powerful kingdoms.   Why?   Because Goyim ravish all within their power to rape.

            Now contrast these slightly distant precedents with a precise mussar precedent.  כט: ט – יד.  HaShem has sealed the books of the Prophets.  When even Jews ask a Torah sage to read it, he responds: “I can not for the Books remain sealed”.  When even Jews ask an am ha’aretz he admits that he lacks an education on how to learn by means of precedents.   G’lut Jews lose all knowledge and wisdom of how to learn and keep the commandments לשמה.

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  2. Counting the Omer mitzva Jews strive to remove avodah zarah from within our hearts and domains. Omer learns from the removal of חמץ before Pesach, that mitzva has the identical k’vanna.

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    1. The replacement theology of the Xtian bible and the Muslim koran — both replace the Spirit Name revealed in the 1st commandment of the Sinai revelation with word translations which pervert the Name Spirit into words. Human lips can not frame or pronounce Spirits. The 13 tohor middot spirits of the Name revealed in the opening commandment of Sinai which all Goyim reject to this very day.

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