So the questions presented were concerning: The counting of the Omer? And is Shabbat at night?
Take the last first. A day, any day, starts at dark and ends at dark. First there was darkness and then there was light. Paraphrased. Okay the real text.
“Genesis 1:3 And God said: ‘Let there be light.’ And there was light. {So dark first, then Light.}
4 And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness.
5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day. ”
So there you have it, the process of a day. Next item, counting the Omer.
The problem which causes mis-understandings comes from the Pesach Sacrifice and interpretations from sources other than The Writings of Moses(Written Torah). The instructions start here:
“Exodus 12:2 ‘This month shall be unto you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you.
3 Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying: In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to their fathers’ houses, a lamb for a household; . . .
6 and ye shall keep it unto the fourteenth day of the same month; and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at dusk.” בין הערבים
This last is part of the mis-understanding. In that (בים) means among of between. The second part is (הערבים) breaks down to From left to right, the Hey means ‘The’ the last two letters Yud Mem(means plural) and the Alpeh Rash Bet that can easily be read as Arab or with the plural letters it becomes “Arabs”, except is also means, night fall or evening. So I take the meaning to be Between the Day and the Night or at dusk, or even easier between the 14 end and the 15 day start(dark of night).
“7 And they shall take of the blood, and put it on the two side-posts and on the lintel, upon the houses wherein they shall eat it.
8 And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; with bitter herbs they shall eat it.(Started while still on the 14th day before the 15th day starts, Pesach, you start eating with Matza, the sacrifice.)
9 Eat not of it raw, nor sodden at all with water, but roast with fire; its head with its legs and with the inwards thereof.
10 And ye shall let nothing of it remain until the morning; but that which remaineth of it until the morning ye shall burn with fire.
11 And thus shall ye eat it: with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste–it is the LORD’S passover.”
So we see that, a holy day starts on the 15th(Feast of Matzo) a Shabbat dat of no work. All of this is only a problem if, you are told you cannot have a fire on Shabbat instead of You May Not Start(Kindle) a fire. The fire is already burning. If you have done your preparations, there is more wood readily at hand to feed the fire. You are not allowed to go out to get more wood. In this case you are not even to leave the HOUSE. All of this is important, in that you must burn any remains before daylight, with fire. Preparation, planning and intention are required to make this festival successful.
The count of the Omer.
Let us lay it out, starting with:
“Exodus 12:16 And in the first day there shall be to you a holy convocation, and in the seventh day a holy convocation; no manner of work shall be done in them, save that which every man must eat, that only may be done by you.
17 And ye shall observe the feast of unleavened bread; for in this selfsame day have I brought your hosts out of the land of Egypt; therefore shall ye observe this day throughout your generations by an ordinance for ever.
18 In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at even, ye shall eat unleavened bread, until the one and twentieth day of the month at even.
19 Seven days shall there be no leaven found in your houses; for whosoever eateth that which is leavened, that soul shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he be a sojourner, or one that is born in the land.
20 Ye shall eat nothing leavened; in all your habitations shall ye eat unleavened bread.'”
So Pesach is started at the end of the 14th day, which is before dark. At dark starts the 15th day. The 15th day begins the Feast of Unleavened Bread for Seven Days, and the first day of the Feast of Matza is a Shabbat(a day of complete rest) and the seventh day of the Feast is a Shabbat(a day of complete rest), regardless of when the regular weekly Shabbat is, which is also a day of complete rest.
All of this is done so we will know, when the Feast of Harvest, that is the first-fruits of thy labours starts
Now to Leviticus 23:3 Six days shall work be done; but on the seventh day is a sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation(מקעא-קדש); ye shall do no manner of work; it is a sabbath unto the LORD in all your dwellings. {Standard definition of Shabbat}
“Leviticus 23:4 These are the appointed seasons of the LORD, even holy convocations, which ye shall proclaim in their appointed season.” (this tells how we will know when the next Feast is to be.)
Passover(Pesach) “Leviticus 23:5 In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at dusk, is the LORD’S passover.”(Pesach)
Unleavened Bread(Matzah) “Leviticus 23:6 And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread unto the LORD; seven days ye shall eat unleavened bread.
7 In the first day ye shall have a holy convocation; ye shall do no manner of servile work.”(a Shabbat type observance)
How to know:
“Leviticus 23:10 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them: When ye are come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring the sheaf of the first-fruits of your harvest unto the priest.
11 And he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, to be accepted for you; on the morrow after the sabbath the priest shall wave it.”
So, this starts on the Sixteenth of the First Month.
Verse three identifies the weekly seventh day as: A Holy Convocation(מקעא-קדש)
Verse 7 identifies a Holy Convocation (מִקְרָא-קֹדֶשׁ), a non-work day for the 15th day of the First Month, so no work is allowed.
The first day that the Omer(sheaf offering is possible) is the 16th day or the day after the Holy Convocation(מקעא-קדש). Counting a full seven weeks from that day, plus ONE. This is the Feast of the First-Fruits. **Unless there is a regular Shabbat should occur on the 16th of the month, so the 17th will be the first day.
This is one of the three travel feast, that every male is commanded to present himself before the LORD at the Place HE placed HIS NAME(Temple Built by King Solomon), or until then at the Mishkan. This is not about when we got the Torah. which is what so many have declared took place on 50th day. According to Exodus 19.1 we arrived at the Wilderness Sinai an minimum of 73 days, and still not yet to Mountain Horeb.
(This is part of the Covenant from Mt. Horeb. “Exodus 23:14 Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto Me in the year.
15 The feast of unleavened bread shalt thou keep; seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, as I commanded thee, at the time appointed in the month Abib–for in it thou camest out from Egypt; and none shall appear before Me empty;
16 and the feast of harvest, the first-fruits of thy labours, which thou sowest in the field; and the feast of ingathering, at the end of the year, when thou gatherest in thy labours out of the field.
17 Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before the Lord GOD.
18 Thou shalt not offer the blood of My sacrifice with leavened bread; neither shall the fat of My feast remain all night until the morning.”) {Points of interest to call attention to: twice it is presented “Three times”, On the witness of two or more shall you know a matter. And, please note that All Offerings with blood must have Unleavened Bread, and the fat of the feast must not remain all night!}
Don’t have a Tanakh, try this Tanakh.
Last thought: The ONE who said “Let There Be Light” and it was so, could at anytime, with none the wiser or being able to speak against say “Lights Out” and the Universe will cease to be. There must be some reason HE keeps the lights on and continues to give us a chance to live, to choose and to find our Father.
Are you looking?
My prayer is that The LORD grant you eyes that see, ears that hear and an understanding heart, then you return unto HIM soon!(Isaiah 6: 9 And He said: ‘Go, and tell this people: hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. 10 Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they, seeing with their eyes, and hearing with their ears, and understanding with their heart, return, and be healed.’)
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Chag Matzot Sameach
Yaakov 20180404