sefirathaomer

Akdamut

Akdamut Milin ihkn uset (Introduction
to the Words) ? This Aramaic piyyut
(mystic liturgical poem) of ninety
verses is chanted responsively in the
Ashkenazi synagogue ritual on the
first day of Shavuot (aka Feast of
Weeks or Pentecost) prior to the
Torah reading.

"And you shall count for yourselves from the
day after the Sabbath, from the day that
you brought the sheaf of the wave offering:
seven Sabbaths shall be completed. Count
fifty days to the day after the seventh
Sabbath, then you shall offer a new grain
offering to the LORD.?" (Vayikra 23:15-16)

Passover (and the Days of Unleavened Bread), and
Shavuot are tied together by a common thread
known as Sifret HaOmer (See-fret Hah Ohmer) or
counting the Omer. Omer is Hebrew for "sheaf".
Jewish tradition teaches that Shavuot is actually
the conclusion or culmination of the Passover season.
Passover is the celebration of redemption and
freedom from slavery.
Shavuot is the celebration of the giving or
revelation of the Torah to children of Israel as a
nation. (This is the day that we celebrate.)
Sifret HaOmer is the time period between the
journey of the children of Israel from the Reed Sea
to Mount Sinai. It is also the time period between
Passover and the giving of the Rauch HaKodesh.
(Acts 2)
The day of the Wave Sheaf Offering or wave of
the Omer, is not a commanded assembly. Though it
was an important event in ancient Israel. No
harvesting could take place until this ceremony had
been completed.

Composed by Rabbi Meir ben Yitzchak
of Worms, Germany and Orleans,
France in the 11th century, Akdamut
is a poetic journey from Heaven's
Courts through Creation and the
history of Redemption and the Coming
of the Messiah through Israel. It
extols G-d's love for the Jewish
people and their love for Him and His
Torah, and their hope for the
completion of His Redemption. Rabbi
Meir signed his name in an additional
acrostic plus this prayer for himself:
"May he grow strong in Torah and in
good deeds, Amen; Be strong and of
good courage!"

The fact that we are commanded to specifically
count the fifty days of Sifret HaOmer means
that each of these days has special significance.
Jewish thought is that it is not a countdown; but
rather a countup to the next and significant
festival, Pentecost or Shavuot.