An opportunity for spiritual self-improvement is available during the period between Passover and Shavuot (Pentecost). At this time, Jews around the world count the Omer, the measure of barley that is harvested in the spring and was brought to the Holy Temples as an offering on the second of Passover. The 49 days of counting, which began on the evening of the second day of Passover, continues until the day before the holiday of Shavuot (Pentecost), when the Torah was given to the Jewish People.
The Torah (Lev. 12:15) commands, “You shall count for yourselves – from the day after the Shabbat, from the day when you bring the Omer of the waving – seven Shabbats, they shall be complete.” The phrase the “day after Shabbat” is interpreted as meaning the day after the first day of Passover, which is a Sabbath in the sense that specific acts of work are prohibited.