Background
It is a mitzvah to count the Omer — the days between the second day of Passover and Shavuʿot. This commandment is explicit in the Torah (Leviticus 23:15–16):
וּסְפַרְתֶּם לָכֶם מִמָּחֳרַת הַשַּׁבָּת, מִיּוֹם הֲבִיאֲכֶם אֶת עֹמֶר הַתְּנוּפָה — שֶׁבַע שַׁבָּתוֹת תְּמִימֹת תִּהְיֶינָה. עַד מִמָּחֳרַת הַשַּׁבָּת הַשְּׁבִיעִת תִּסְפְּרוּ חֲמִשִּׁים יוֹם...
“You shall then count seven complete weeks... until the day after the seventh week, when there will be a total of fifty days...”
— The Living Torah, Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan, trans. (Moznayim, 1981)
Important Notes
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Since the verse mentions counting days as well as counting weeks, we do both — for example:
“Today is the 8th day of the Omer, which is one week and one day.”
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As with all Jewish days, the day begins at sunset; the day follows the night.
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We count at night, any time after sunset (preferably after the stars emerge) until sunrise in the morning. One who has not counted before sunrise may still count during the day (the count of the previous night), but without the blessing.
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In many circumstances we are permitted to pray the evening prayer toward evening, even before sunset. Even so, one should wait to count the Omer until it is definitely after nightfall.
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The prevalent custom is that someone who forgot to count for an entire 24-hour period continues counting, but without saying the blessing.
Consult
Rabbi Hillel
for guidance if this happened.
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Once the sun sets, one should be careful not to accidentally count before saying the blessing. Thus, if a friend asks, “What night is it?” one should respond, “Last night we counted X.” If one has accidentally counted in conversation, one should still count again, but omit the blessing that night. If it is after the sixth night and one mentioned only the days, but not the weeks, one may still say the blessing.
