The Development of Sefirat HaOmer, by Rav Yitzchak Etshalom

The Mitzva of "Sefirat ha'Omer" does not appear in Tannaitic literature and only seems to emerge at the end of the Amoraic era (4th generation). Indeed, it isn't at all clear why the command to "reckon" 7 weeks to arrive at Shavuot would have to be done out loud. Based on the research of Prof. David Henshke, we share his observations about the unusual statement of אמימר in מנחות - that he would only count "days" and not weeks, based on the reasoning that זכר למקדש הוא. By assessing the difference between the two passages concerning ספירת העמר - one in ויקרא and the other in דברים - we note that they serve different functions and, therein, may lie the understanding of both the אמימר practice as well as the development of verbalized counting.

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