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Now translated into 49 Jewish languages: the Jewish spring ritual of counting the Omer
(JTA) — There are 49 days between the second night of Passover and the holiday of Shavuot, but who’s counting?
Jews the world over, in fact, and in languages familiar and obscure.
The daily counting of the Omer is an old ritual being given new life this season by the Jewish Language Project at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. On each day of the seven-week period, the research group will post a version of the counting in a different vernacular Jewish language, from Ladino and Yiddish to less familiar languages like Judeo-Georgian and Judeo-Persian.
The multilingual Omer counter is a way to draw attention to Jewish linguistic diversity, revive interest in fading languages and celebrate the far-flung nature of the Jewish Diaspora.
“Because of migration, nationalist language policies, and genocide, a large percentage of the languages in our Omer counter are currently endangered,” write Sarah Bunin Benor, founding director of the Jewish Language Project, and Eden Moyal, its curator. Benor is a vice provost at HUC-JIR, and Moyal is a linguistics and anthropology major at UCLA.
The Omer (or “sheaf” in Hebrew) was a harvest offering made at the Temple in Jerusalem in ancient times between the two holidays; the daily counting during home and synagogue prayers outlived the Temple as a symbol of the thematic links between Passover and Shavuot.
Although the counting is usually recited in Hebrew, the Jewish Language Project’s Omer counter translates the formula into the vernacular, often a Judaized version of the local language. To nail down how different communities might have referred to the counting, Benor and Moyal consulted historical documents, scholars and native speakers — a process of historical detective work when it came to extinct languages, such as Judeo-Provençal and Judeo-Catalan.
In Judeo-Italian, for example, the 20th day of the Omer will be welcomed with, “Oggi e er ventesimo giorno der Ngomer.”
The Jewish Language Project is dedicated to preserving languages whose fate is tied to the Jewish communities who spoke them. “For example, Judeo-Esfahani, Judeo-Kermani, and Lishan Didan are spoken primarily by elderly Jews who moved from Iran to Israel and the United States and [have] not passed their languages on to their children,” write Benor and Moyal. “Including these languages here helps to raise awareness about them while there’s still time to learn from native speakers.”
The counts will be posted daily on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and archived on the Jewish Language Project’s website.
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The post Now translated into 49 Jewish languages: the Jewish spring ritual of counting the Omer appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Egypt Accuses Israel of Daily Ceasefire Violations
Egypt’s Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty attends a joint press conference with Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa in Cairo, Egypt March 1, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany
i24 News – At the Doha Forum, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty called for the expedited deployment of an international stabilization force (ISF) in the Gaza Strip.
He argued that without such a presence on the ground, Israel is able to “violate the ceasefire every day,” while placing similar responsibility on Hamas.
Abdelatty urged that the ISF be positioned along the “Yellow Line,” the boundary established after Israel’s October 10 withdrawal that divides Gaza between Israeli-held territory and areas controlled by Hamas.
According to him, this proposal is gaining support among countries that might contribute troops, especially since many reluctant to deploy deep inside western Gaza’s “red zone.”
He emphasized that Egypt envisions a peacekeeping mission, not a peace-enforcement operation. Abdelatty suggested disarmament of Hamas could only be realistic if it occurred voluntarily, which he described as unlikely under current conditions.
During the forum, US Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack stirred controversy by asserting that “Israel can claim it’s a democracy but in this region, what’s worked the best, whether you like it or you don’t like it, is a benevolent monarchy.”
Critics interpreted the remark as a challenge to democratic governance models in the Middle East and a tacit endorsement of authoritarian-style rule. Finally, Abdelatty also addressed the status of the Rafah crossing, closed since May 2024. He accused Israel of imposing unacceptable terms by allowing only one–way passage, enabling Palestinians to exit but not return. Egypt, he said, rejects any plan that reduces Rafah to “a gateway for displacement or expulsion.” Only medical evacuations should be permitted, and those evacuated must be allowed to return once treated.
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Report: Iran Abandoned Assad Two Days Before the Fall of His Regime
Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad attends the Arab League summit, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, May 19, 2023. Photo: Saudi Press Agency/Handout via REUTERS
i24 News – A Syrian military officer who had coordinated with Iran’s Revolutionary Guards told AFP on Sunday that “Tehran abandoned Bashar al-Assad two days before the collapse of his regime.”
“We knew the situation was serious, but not at this level,” the officer said.
According to the report, following the fall of Aleppo to rebel forces, Iran halted its military involvement in Syria and evacuated approximately 4,000 fighters from the area.
The remarks follow an announcement by the United Nations on Friday stating that more than 1.2 million Syrian citizens have returned to the country over the past year, following the end of Assad’s rule.
Bashar al-Assad served as Syria’s president from 2000 until December 8, 2024, when he reportedly departed Damascus shortly before opposition forces entered and seized control of the capital. He later sought refuge in Russia. Assad has been widely accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity in connection with the civil war that began in 2011, during which large numbers of civilians were killed or injured, including through the Syrian army’s use of chemical weapons.
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South Africa Revokes Visa-Free Access for Palestinians After Controversial Gaza Flight
Anti-Israel protesters march through the streets of the township of Lenasia in Johannesburg, South Africa, Oct. 6, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Ihsaan Haffejee
i24 News – South Africa has canceled its long-standing visa exemption for Palestinian passport holders following an investigation into a charter flight that brought 153 Gazans into Johannesburg without valid documentation.
Authorities say the operation was likely exploited by actors connected to Israeli “voluntary migration” initiatives.
Interior Minister Leon Schreiber told reporters that national security agencies determined there had been “deliberate and ongoing abuse” of the 90-day visa waiver.
The passengers, who arrived via Kenya, were neither tourists nor holders of tickets purchased independently. Investigators said the trip had been arranged by intermediaries who appeared ready to “abandon” the travelers upon arrival.
Authorities are also examining a similar case from October. Schreiber emphasized that revoking the exemption is “the most effective way to prevent the repetition of such flights” while ensuring that legitimate Palestinian travelers can visit South Africa safely. He added, “South Africa will not be complicit in any scheme aimed at exploiting or displacing Palestinians from Gaza.”
The decision follows widespread controversy over the charter flight, which reportedly held passengers onboard for 12 hours in difficult conditions before they were allowed entry. Some officials have pointed fingers at Israel for its role in the operation.
South African media reports identified the organization Al-Majd, linked to Israeli-Estonian national Tomer Yanar Lind, as the orchestrator of the transfer. The passengers were said to have traveled from Rafah to Israel’s Ramon Airport before flying via Kenya on a charter operated by the Romanian airline Flyyo. Many reportedly paid around $2,000 for the journey.
Little is publicly known about Al-Majd. Its website, registered only in February, contains information considered unreliable, and the organization’s claims of providing humanitarian assistance in East Jerusalem have not been independently verified.