June 21, 2025

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The Hidden Doubled Number of Lag B’Omer

The holiday of Lag B’Omer is this Friday. Lag B’Omer literally translates as the 33rd day of the Omer. The number 3 is doubled in 33. Do you know there is another doubled number in Lag B’Omer? Here’s how to find it:

There is more to the Omer count than just saying a number. Each day and week is associated with one of the Sefirot. The Sefirot refer to the ways Hashem runs the world. Here is a list with basic translations:

  1. Chesed / Kindness
  2. Gevurah / Strength
  3. Tiferet / Beauty
  4. Netzach / Eternity
  5. Hod / Glory
  6. Yesod / Foundation
  7. Malchut / Kingship

You can calculate the current Omer count if you know the Sefira of the day and the Sefira of the week. The formula is:

Omer Count = (Sefira of the Day) + 7 X (Sefira of the Week)—7

We need to subtract 7 because the first week is not counted until it is complete.

We use the following Hebrew phrase to describe a Sefira day and week combination:

(Sefira of the Day) Sheh B’ (Sefira of the Week)

Here is an example:

Tiferet Sheh B’Gevura. That’s Sefira day 3 with Sefira week 2. When we use the formula we get 3 + 7 X 2—7 = 3 + 14—7 = 10. That corresponds to the 10th day of the Omer.

There are special days in the Omer count. They happen when the Sefira of the day and the Sefira of the week are the same. The first day of the Omer is an example: Chesed Sheh B’Chesed. That’s 1 and 1. The formula gives: 1 + 7 X 1—7 = 1. Another is the last day of the Omer count: Malchut Sheh B’Malchut. That’s 7 and 7. The formula is 7 + 7 X 7—7 = 7 + 49—7 = 49.

Can you calculate the others? Do you see a number that stands out?

Solution:

The other Omer counts are:

Gevurah Sheh B’Gevurah: 9

Tiferet Sheh B’Tiferet: 17

Netzach Sheh B’Netzach: 25

Hod Sheh B’Hod: 33

Yesod Sheh B’Yesod: 41

(Can you figure out why these numbers increase by 8 each time?)

Hod Sheh B’Hod stands out because it corresponds to the Omer count of Lag B’Omer. I heard there are Kabbalistic reasons to explain the connection. Sorry, I’m just a math teacher so I don’t know. I just noticed the pattern and wanted to share it with you. Shabbat Shalom.


Ari Blinder is a math educator living in Highland Park, NJ. He is the owner of Math for the Masses, an innovative tutoring and consulting company. Please visit www.math4masses.com for fun activities and helpful worksheets. Ari can be reached at ari.m4m@gmail.com. Never think you are “not a math person.” You are very much one already, but no one has shown you how.

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