Omer Calendar of Biblical Women by Jill Hammer

Cover design by Utkan Dora Öncül and Siona Benjamin

An exploratory, mystical, and feminist companion for the traditional Jewish practice of counting the Omer.

The Omer Calendar of Biblical Women is a meditative guidebook for counting the Omer, the forty-nine days between Passover and Shavuot. According to the kabbalah, each of these forty-nine days embodies a unique combination of divine attributes, or sefirot. In this calendar, each sefirah is paired with the story of a woman from the Bible who embodies the unique spiritual dimension associated with the day. Illuminated by vibrant midrashic illustrations—both classical and contemporary—the Omer Calendar of Biblical Women provides a beautiful companion for the ritual of counting the Omer, and an essential addition to any library of Jewish feminist literature.

About the Author

Rabbi Jill Hammer, PhD, is an author, scholar, ritualist, poet, midrashist, and dreamworker. Rabbi Hammer’s books include Undertorah: An Earth-Based Kabbalah of Dreams; Return to the Place: The Magic, Meditation, and Mystery of Sefer Yetzirah; The Hebrew Priestess: Ancient and New Visions of Jewish Women’s Spiritual Leadership (with Taya Shere); Siddur haKohanot: A Hebrew Priestess Prayerbook; The Jewish Book of Days: A Companion for All Seasons; Sisters at Sinai: New Tales of Biblical Women; and The Book of Earth and Other Mysteries. She is the cofounder of the Kohenet movement and the Director of Learning and Ritual at Beit Kohenet, a learning and ritual space for recovering, reclaiming, and recreating Jewish spirit wisdom on the margins. Rabbi Hammer is the Director of Spiritual Education at the Academy for Jewish Religion, a pluralistic rabbinical and cantorial seminary. She and her family live in Manhattan.

Acclaim for the Omer Calendar of Biblical Women

“The vivid, moving sketches in Rabbi Jill Hammer's Omer Calendar of Biblical Women both reflect and expand Jewish tradition. Her portraits bring to life the esoteric conjunctions of divine attributes traditionally associated with each day of the Omer, offering essential models of compassion and justice we can follow in our own lives.”
—Joy Ladin, author of Shekhinah Speaks

“Deeply researched, beautifully written, and splendidly illustrated, Jill Hammer’s Omer Calendar of Biblical Women blends Jewish tradition with Jewish mysticism, ancient history with timeless spirituality, the ideals of love and justice with an urgent awareness of the kinds of wisdom we need today. Here is an amazing group portrait of forty-nine memorable women—one for each day of the Omer. Out of the past and into our present, Rabbi Hammer brings these characters to us, delivering a book to meditate with, a book that will inspire readers of all ages.”
—Alicia Ostriker, author of The Nakedness of the Fathers: Biblical Visions and Revisions

“A uniquely beautiful, accessible, and inspiring approach to observing the Omer as a Jewish learning and spiritual practice. Jill Hammer’s scholarship regarding the women of the Bible combines powerfully with her astonishing ability to bring us new wisdom. An ideal present to bring to your Passover seder host.”
—Rabbi Goldie Milgram, author of Mitzvah Cards: One Mitzvah Leads to Another

“With her Omer Calendar of Biblical Women, Rabbi Jill Hammer has gifted us a journey through the Divine Feminine within each of us, as revealed through the stories of forty-nine female figures from the myths of our people. No matter what gender or faith you identify with, this slender volume will guide you through a deep practice—enabling you to explore the full breadth of your humanity, to see the divinity that suffuses and surrounds you always. The Omer Calendar of Biblical Women is an important addition to the sacred literature of inner discovery.” 
—Mark Horn, author of Tarot and the Gates of Light: A Kabbalistic Path to Liberation

“Jill Hammer uses her exceptional knowledge of biblical women and her deep understanding of the kabbalistic Omer journey to bring us this beautiful calendar. It is an amazing tool for both the novice and those already counting the days between Passover and Shavuot. The Omer Calendar of Biblical Women is a great resource to learn traditional stories as a way to bring deeper meaning into our lives. Read, learn, and enjoy—while savoring each day!”
—Rabbi G. Rayzel Raphael, creator of the records Friday Night Revived and Bible Babes ‘a Beltin’

Book Details

101 Pages | Hardcover | 8 x 10 inches | ISBN: 9781961814127
Publication Date: August 20, 2024