And from the day on which you bring [the omer], the sheaf of the elevation offering- the day after the Sabbath-you shall count off seven weeks. They must be complete: you must count until the day after the seventh week-fifty days; then you shall bring an offering of new grain to the Lord. Leviticus 23:15-16, NJPS

Our prayers through the 49 days of the omer will cover both inward and outward tikkun, that is, renewal of our own walk with God, and renewal within our families, congregations, the worldwide Messianic Jewish community, and the whole House of Israel. We pray together each evening beginning on the second night of Passover, Tuesday, April 3.  Here's how to count the omer:

1. Recite the blessing,

Baruch atah Adonai Elohenu melech ha-olam, asher kid'shanu b'mitzvotav v'tzivanu al sefirat ha-Omer.

Blessed are You O Lord our God, King of the universe, Who has sanctified us by His commandments and commanded us concerning the count of the Omer.

2. Recite the count of the omer, saying:

"Today is the third day of the omer."

Week 1 April 3-9 (alternate April 7-13): T'shuvah: Return to God and His Ways.

Pray for personal t'shuvah, then for t'shuvah within our families and congregations, the Messianic Jewish community, and the wider Jewish community. 

Scripture for Day 3 (evening of Thursday, April 5th):

"Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God; Your Spirit is good. Lead me in the land of uprightness." (Ps. 143:10)

Commentary:

During this week's theme of Teshuvah, of Repentance, our heart's cry must be to do the will of God. Often we desire to do God's will, but fall short. We usually start off doing really well, and end up on the side of the road in a ditch. How is that? The Apostle Shaul wrote something similar in Romans, where he states, "I don't understand my own behavior - I don't do what I want to do; instead, I do the very thing I hate!" (Rom. 7:15). 

That is why we need God's Spirit, and for God to teach us His will, just as it states in today's verse from Psalm 143. We must be constantly led on God's path of righteousness for our lives. For when we submit ourselves to God, and to His commandments, we will find ourselves less and less alongside the road in a ditch.

In the Siddur, the Jewish Prayer Book, we pray daily: 

Strengthen our desire to do good deeds; teach us humility, that we may serve You. May we find grace, love and compassion in Your sight and in the sight of all who look upon us, this day and every day. Grant us a full measure of lovingkindness. Blessed are You , O LORD, who bestows lovingkindness upon His people Israel (Birchot HaShachar).

As we continue through the Counting of the Omer, and the 50 days of prayer, let us seek out God's will for our lives. Let us do His will, as if it is our will. For indeed, His Spirit is good, and may He continue to guide us in all uprightness.

Joshua Brumbach 

Scripture for Day 2 (evening of Wednesday, April 4th):

Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness in the morning, For in You do I trust; cause me to know the way in which I should walk, For I lift up my soul to You. (Ps. 143:8)

Commentary:

We count the Omer in anticipation of the festival of weeks, Shavuot, anniversary of the giving of Torah at Mount Sinai, and of the outpouring of the Spirit upon Yeshua's disciples after His resurrection.

Shavuot is the festival of revelation, but we start the daily countdown toward it knowing we are not ready for God to show up. Our initial theme, therefore, is T'shuvah, return to God and His ways. The psalmist captures two steps we take in returning to Him, each with a passive and an active aspect. May we turn long enough from our own pursuits to take these steps during the 49 days ahead.

First, "Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness in the morning," passive; "For in You do I trust," active. Lovingkindness is "Hesed" in Hebrew meaning faithfulness, loyalty, unfailing kindness. The word is clear enough, but how do we hear it? Perhaps the Psalm is speaking of meditation upon God's Word, which is best done "in the morning." As we trust in God, our reading of Scripture enables us to truly hear the faithful love of God expressed within it.

Next, "Cause me to know the way in which I should walk," passive; "For I lift up my soul to You," active. T'shuvah means returning to God's ways, but we don't even know what those are unless He reveals them. As we lift up our soul, offering ourselves to Him in worship and self-surrender, we receive our directions.

May these two simple steps set us on a journey back to the God of Israel, in our personal lives, in our communities, and throughout the whole House of Israel!

Russ Resnik

Scripture for Day 1 (evening of Tuesday, April 3rd):

Search me, O God, and know my heart:  try me, and know my thoughts: See if  there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. (Ps. 139:23-24)

Commentary:

Jewish tradition views the days of counting the Omer-called sefirat ha-omer-as a time of spiritual preparation leading up to Shavuot, seven weeks after Passover, when the Torah was first given at Mount Sinai.

Passover and the departure from Egypt that it celebrates are not complete until Israel arrives at Sinai, the mount of revelation, where God gives them the Torah. By counting the days from Passover to Shavuot each year, we signify that we too want to see God and receive His Word, and that we are somehow incomplete until we do. But as soon as we begin to count the days in anticipation of the time of encounter, we realize how ill-prepared we are. We have given our hearts to selfish pursuits and opened our minds to impure and cynical thoughts. Our counting of the omer, then, must begin with t'shuvah, a return to God.

The psalmist teaches us that even our return to God depends on God's mercy. God must search us within, and try our thoughts and our ways. He must lead us in the way that is pleasing to Him, because we will never find it on our own. "All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned every one to his own way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all" (Isaiah 53:6). May we respond to God's work of restoration-Tikkun Olam-through Messiah Yeshua, within ourselves, our families, and our community as a whole!

Russ Resnik