View source for Omer offering

{{short description|Jewish Temple offering performed on Passover}}
[[File:PikiWiki Israel 6074 At grain harvest of the Omer.JPG|upright=1.4|right|thumb|Harvest before the [[counting of the omer]], in 1950.]]
{{Kehuna and Kohanim}}

The '''omer offering''' (''korban omer''), or the '''sheaf offering''', was an [[Sacrifice|offering]] (''[[korban]]'') made by the [[Jewish priests]] in the [[Temple in Jerusalem]]. The offering consisted of one [[Omer (unit)|omer]] of freshly harvested grain, and was waved in the Temple.<ref>{{Bibleverse|Leviticus|23:9-14|HE}}.</ref> It was offered on [[Passover]], and signaled the beginning of the 49-day [[counting of the Omer]] (which concluded with the [[Shavuot]] holiday), as well as permission to consume ''[[chadash]]'' (grains from the ''new'' harvest). 

The omer offering was one example of a '''wave offering''' ([[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]: ''tenufah'' {{Script/Hebrew|תנופה}}), which was waved in the Temple.<ref>
{{Cite web |title=MikraotGedolot – AlHaTorah.org |url=https://mg.alhatorah.org/Concordance/8573 |access-date=2024-02-27 |website=mg.alhatorah.org |language=he}}</ref>

==Omer offering==
{{quotation|Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 10 “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When you enter the land which I am going to give to you and reap its harvest, then you shall bring in the sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest to the priest. 11 He shall wave the sheaf before the Lord for you to be accepted; on the day after the sabbath the priest shall wave it.|Leviticus 23:9 [[New American Standard Bible|NASB]]}}

The offering containing an ''[[Omer (unit)|omer]]''-measure of [[barley]], described as ''reishit ketzirchem'' ("the beginning of your harvest").<ref>The word ''reishit'' means "beginning"; the usual word for "first-fruits" (''bikkurim'') is not used in this passage.</ref> [[Josephus]] describes the processing of the offering as follows:
<blockquote>After parching and crushing the little sheaf of ears and purifying the barley for grinding, they bring to the altar an [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/issaron issaron] for God, and, having flung a handful thereof on the altar, they leave the rest for the use of the priests. Thereafter all are permitted, publicly or individually, to begin harvest.<ref>Josephus, Antiquities 3.250–251, in Josephus IV Jewish Antiquities Books I–IV, Loeb Classical Library, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1930, pp. 437–439.</ref></blockquote>

The leftover of the ''[[korban]]'' are kept by the ''[[kohen]]'' and was listed as one of the [[twenty-four priestly gifts]].<ref>Michael Katz (Rabbi), Gershon Schwartz, Searching for Meaning in Midrash: Lessons for Everyday Living – Page 162 – 2002 "Twenty-four priestly gifts were presented to the Kohanim—twelve in the Temple and twelve throughout the borders. ...the remnants of the log of oil of the leper, and the remnants of the omer, the two loaves of bread."</ref>

The offering was made on "the morrow after the day of rest". This phrase was variously interpreted (see [[Counting of the Omer]]): According to rabbinic tradition, the omer offering was offered on the second day of [[Passover]], the 16th day of Nisan. According to [[Karaite Judaism]], it was offered on the Sunday occurring within Passover.
 
The omer offering was discontinued following the destruction of the [[Second Temple]].<ref>Kerry M. Olitzky, Marc Lee Raphael, An Encyclopedia of American Synagogue Ritual – Page 112. 2000 "Once the omer offering was discontinued following the destruction of the Temple, the rabbis invited the community to count (lis-por; sefirah) the 49 days."</ref>

==Counting of the Omer==
{{Main|Counting of the Omer}}
Along with the offering of the omer offering, the [[counting of the Omer]] begins. This is a count of 49 days beginning with the omer offering, and concluding with the holiday of [[Shavuot]] (which is the 50th day).

For rabbinic Jews, the count is performed at night. For example, the first day of the omer is counted on the second night of Passover (which precedes the second day, as Jewish days begin in the evening).

==Other wave offerings==
Various other offerings are also described as being waved as part of their ritual. After the ritual, the wave-offering then became the property of the priests.

The noun ''tenufah'' (waving) is formed from the verb ''nuf'' in the same way as ''terumah'', the [[heave offering]], is formed from ''rum'' "heave." In the [[Septuagint]], ''tenufah'' was translated ''aphorisma'' (ἀφόρισμα).<ref>{{Cite web |title=ἀφόρισμα |url=https://lust_el_en.en-academic.com/1548/%E1%BC%80%CF%86%CF%8C%CF%81%CE%B9%CF%83%CE%BC%CE%B1 |access-date=2024-02-27 |website=Academic Dictionaries and Encyclopedias |language=en}}</ref>

Both ''tenufah'' and ''terumah'' are often mentioned together.<ref>{{Bibleverse|Exodus|29:27|HE}}, {{Bibleverse|Leviticus|10:14|HE}}, etc.</ref> Both being given to the priests as [[Twenty-four priestly gifts|kohanic gifts]].

The [[Levite]]s themselves were also offered to God by [[Aaron]] as a wave offering.<ref>{{Bibleverse|Numbers|8:11, 13|HE}}.</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
* {{Eastons|wstitle=Offerings}}

{{The twenty-four kohanic gifts}}

[[Category:Jewish sacrificial law]]