This is a first-of-its-kind application that allows users to count the omer according to the biblical timing and in accordance with the Karaite Jewish tradition.
This app is revolutionary on many fronts. First and foremost, it includes recordings of all 50 days of the counting of the Omer. The recordings were performed by Rotem Cohen, a Karaite Hazan in Israel. So you can Listen & Learn how to count the Omer for each day.
Second, the app serves as an alarm, playing the days omer count automatically at a time you designate. In order to activate the reminder setting, you simply need to enter the date of your Passover Seder and the time you would like to be reminded to count each day. (The app does not play on the First and Seventh Days of Hag HaMatzot, on Shabbatot or on Shavuot.) If you would like to display the text of the omer, without hearing the recording, you simply need to turn the sound off.
For those unaware, there was a historical debate amongst various Jewish communities as to when is Shavuot. The Torah does not give us a date for Shavuot. Rather, we are instructed to count the 50 days leading up to Shavuot, with the 50th day being Shavuot. The day the Jews start counting these 50 days is the day the Torah commands us to bring an omer ("sheaf") offering. Thus this 50-day time period is often called the "Omer" or the "Counting of the Omer."
The Torah tells us to start counting on the "morrow of the Sabbath." Accordingly, Karaites start counting the 50 day period on the Sunday that falls out during the Feast of Unleavened Bread (commonly referred to as Passover). (See Leviticus 23:15-21; Joshua 5:11.) Because Karaites always start counting for Shavuot on a Sunday, the 50th day will also be a Sunday. The Torah commands us to count on the "morrow" - so that Karaite tradition is to count in the morning (or at least during daytime hours). For this reason, we have (rather arbitrarily) limited the time-frame during which you set a reminder to count the omer - to between 5 a.m. and 3:59 p.m.
The Rabbanites, in contrast, start counting counting the Omer on the second night of Passover. For example, if the Passover Seder is a Sunday night. Rabbanites will start counting the omer on Monday night; Karaites will start counting a week later on Sunday morning.
Because almost all Jews everywhere follow the Rabbinic calendar - even Jews who are relatively secular - all other omer counters follow the Rabbinic tradition.
This is the first omer counter to follow the biblical (Karaite) timing, with the Karaite formula for counting. Some Karaite texts have a slightly different formulation.
The Karaite Jews of America is proud to bring the first Karaite specific app to the market; and we hope that it is the first of many. Help us work out the kinks and give us ideas for new apps at the link at the top of this description.
We hope to make all our apps available for free; to support this work, please make a donation in any amount on our web-site: http://www.karaites.org/support-our-work.html
Finally, this app was inspired by our wildly successful UpForTheCount campaign, and as a tribute to that campaign, we left the campaigns logo on the images for the count for each day.