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Omer counters blend space and time,
past and present
Photos Provided
Sarah Ogince
Tobi Kahn grasps an asymmetric
block of wood in both hands. He turns
the piece, a fluid combination of angles
and curves painted a rich metallic
pewter, to reveal the base: a perfect
rectangle, soft gold and marked with
a hand-written number eight. Behind
him, 48 similar blocks sit in a wooden
grid suspended from the wall. “I didn’t
want each individual piece to look the
same because every day is a different
day,” he says.

Very much a work of 21st-century
art, Kahn’s sculpture is also part of a
tradition that stretches back centuries.

The Torah commands the Israelites
to count 49 days each year—from
the second day of Passover until the
holiday of Shavuot (which begins this
year at sundown on Thursday, May
25, and lasts through the evening of
Saturday, May 27). Originally a celebra-
tion of the grain harvest in ancient
Israel, the seven weeks of Sephirat
HaOmer have absorbed additional
shades of meaning over millennia of
Jewish history.

And they have inspired generations
of Jewish artists.

Omer counters have been a staple
item of Judaica since at least the
18th century. “We see so much artis-
tic creativity: paper cuts, books—
handwritten and printed—parchment
scrolls in calendar boxes,” says Abigail
Rapoport, curator of Judaica at the
Jewish Museum in New York, which
has a large collection of Omer count-
ers, including Kahn’s. The richness
and detail in the counters reflect the
meditative aspect of the practice, she
notes. “The makers of these calen-
dars are thinking about ingenious
methods for counting the Omer and
then converging it with a work of art.”
Though the Torah describes it
purely as a harvest ritual (omer is the
measurement of the barley offering
“Saphyr,” Counting the Omer. Art by Tobi Kahn.

brought at the start of the count),
in the Diaspora, Sephirat HaOmer
quickly took on spiritual significance.

The fifth-century text Leviticus Rabbah
describes the Israelites counting 49
days in the desert after the Exodus
from Egypt in anticipation of receiving
the Torah. In the 16th century, Rabbi
Isaac Luria and his disciples connected
the seven weeks to seven Kabbalistic
sephirot, attributes of Divine revela-
tion, and Sephirat HaOmer became
a period of self-reflection and refine-
ment in preparation for receiving the
Torah anew on Shavuot.

But Omer counters also reveal the
contemporary experiences of the
communities that produce them. A
parchment counter from the 18th century
in the Netherlands depicts the numbers
intertwined with tulips—not long after
the region’s “tulip mania”—and colorful
birds. Portuguese script next to the
From “I Am Still Alive,” Omer 2011. Art by
Jacqueline Nicholls.

numbers hints that the counter was
made by descendants of refugees
fleeing that country’s inquisition.

A counter produced in early
20th-century Rochester, N.Y., shows a
darker aspect of Sephirat HaOmer: The
Talmud relates that 24,000 students
of the Tannaitic sage Rabbi Akiva
perished in a plague during this time,
and many Jews observe it as a period
of mourning. The intricate papercut
counter doubles as a memorial plaque
that includes hundreds of names of
eceased congregants.

Kahn has been fascinated by
Sephirat HaOmer since childhood
(his birthday falls during the count),
but never saw an Omer counter that
inspired him. In 2002, he produced his
sculpture, “Saphyr,” which allows the
user to count by removing or adding
one piece each day. The 49 unique
pieces are an expression of his own
relationship with tradition.

“I believe in diversity in Judaism,”
he says. “I like that there are many
types of Jews. I like that each person
looks more interesting because of the
person next to them.”
‘Engage with the place I am in’
As counting apps and electronic
reminders have made traditional
counters obsolete, Jewish artists
have taken a different approach to
Sephirat HaOmer. In 2011, British artist
Jacqueline Nicholls began creating a
drawing on each of the 49 days, each
year focusing on a different theme.

“It’s really slowing down that ritual
of counting the day, realizing that
the process of time is slow and
steady,” she says. “But also, by doing
it as a drawing practice, it allows me
to grow.” ■
−JNS JEWISHEXPONENT.COM
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