Machshava:

Sefirat HaOmer 

Mishna:

Menachot 

Parsha:

Emor,  Re'eh 

Description

The fiercest intra-Jewish dispute in the first half of the first century CE was over control of the calendar. The flashpoint of this disagreement revolved around two words in Vayyikra 23, where the Omer was to be offered ממחרת השבת. Whereas our tradition dictates that the "שבת" in question is the first day of פסח, regardless of which day of the week on which it falls, the sectarians held that "שבת" meant "Shabbat" and, therefore, argued that the Omer ought to be offered on a Sunday and, seven weeks later, Shavuot be celebrated on a Sunday. We explore the range of rabbinic arguments in favor of the traditional interpretation, from the Talmudic era through the Rishonim and one recent one - along with a new proposal.