3. כי לו נאה “To him praise is seemly.” A praise of God as the only Being worthy to be called King and Ruler.
4. אדיר הוא “He is mighty.” A praise of God, and an expression of hope that He will soon rebuild the Temple.
5. אחד מי יודע “One, who knows?” A popular song enumerating persons and objects in Jewish History and Tradition, as well as in Nature according to numbers up to thirteen, with the object of emphasising the Unity of God.
6. חד גדיא “One kid.” A popular song that illustrates the working of Divine Justice in the history of mankind.
Passover as an agricultural feast was kept “in the season of the month of ripeness” (למועד חדש האביב), [[389]]when the barley sown in the winter had become ripe. On the second day of Passover an offering was brought of “the beginning of the harvest;” it consisted of an omer[89] of barley (Lev. xxiii. 9 sqq.). Before this offering was presented it was not allowed to eat of the new corn (ibid. 14).
From the bringing of the Omer to “the harvest feast” the days are counted, viz., forty-nine days, and the fiftieth day is the feast of harvest (חג הקציר), or “the day of the first-fruit offering” (יום הבכורים).
The counting commences on the second evening. It is done either immediately after Maarib, or later on during the Seder-Service; it is preceded by the following blessing: ברוך … אשר קדשנו … על ספירת העומר “Blessed art thou … who hast sanctified us by thy commandments and hast commanded us … to count the days of the Omer.” The following is the way of counting: היום יום … לעומר “This day is the first day since the Omer.” From seven upward the number of weeks is likewise expressed,[90] היום יום … שהם … שבועות … לעומר “This day completes … that is … weeks … since the offering of the Omer.”
The celebration of Passover serves to inculcate into our hearts the first principle of our faith: the existence of God, the Supreme Being who rules the whole universe, in whose hand are the destinies of kings and peoples, whose power was recognised by the Egyptians when they were punished for their misdeeds, [[390]]and whose might was seen by the Israelites when He divided the Red Sea for them, and fulfilled the Divine promise made to the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.