Obj. ID: 35703
Jewish printed books  Sefirat Ha-'Omer, Rödelheim, 1879

This text was prepared by William Gross:

The custom of the Counting of the Omer, in Hebrew "Sefirat Ho-Omer", is 49 days long, lasting from the Holiday of Passover until the Holiday of Shavuot, the celebration of the giving of the Torah on Mt. Sinai. There is a short blessing that is to be recited on each day of the period. When these blessings were printed in a codex format, they were usually published in a small format so that they could be placed in a pocket or purse. This is one such edition from Germany, not as a part of a larger prayer book but as a separate volume.The earliest of such books from Germany were printed with illustrations as is this one. The illustrations printed here are directly copied from those of the early Sulzbach editions. starting some 60 years earlier. The images are both Biblical and contemporary in nature. The contemporary pictures include both a depiction of one of the customs of the 32nd day of the counting, the Holiday of Lag Baomer, the custom of getting a haircut and shave as these acts were not done for the first 32 days. There is also a delightful scene of children studying in a school. The Biblical scenes are of Moses parting the Red Sea and the bringing of first harvest offerings to the Temple in Jerusalem.