A kabala-based understanding of sphirat haomer has increasing appeal to many contemporary Jews, especially Millennials and younger folk. Dan’s very excellent 2nd Day lesson–which I conveniently watched on live stream in the comfort of the Weber Estate–as an example. Boomers and older generations of American Jews seem to understand counting the Omer as yet another chore, (albeit a mitzvah), to cross off the list as we were brought up to think of it as a vestigial remnant and remembrance of an ancient and far away agricultural practice that later became spiritualized.
As a Certified Non-Mystic/Rationalist, I understand Sephirat HaOmer historically as a remembrance of the inchoate period between the Exodus and Sinai and plan to teach about its parallels in Christianity (period between Easter and Pentecost) and Islam (Muhammad’s efforts to knit together his early followers).
