Omer Counter by Tobi Kahn

The interval between the holidays of Passover and Shavuot, between the commemoration of the Exodus from Egypt and the giving of the law at Mount Sinai, is marked by the ceremonially counting of omer. Special calendars are used to count off the seven weeks of the omer.

Painter and sculptor Tobi Kahn has created an evocative version of the omer calendar. Saphyr is intended to encourage viewers to engage with Jewish traditions and invest them with personal meaning. The pegs were conceived as miniature houses, each with a unique shape. One can count each day by removing a single peg corresponding to the relevant day and placing it on top, or by removing all the pegs and inserting them back in one day at a time. The interior of the compartments that hold the pegs is painted gold to symbolize the spiritual journy embodied in the interval between Passover and Shavuot.

In the collection of The Jewish Museum. More info here.