Sefirat Ha-Omer ספירת העומר

Most commentators agree that sefirat ha-omer nowadays, when there is no bringing of the omer and no offering, is only rabbinic as a remembrance of what was in the Temple.

Ramban wrote that women are obligated in sefirat ho-omer. This is the essential [halacha], for we only exclude them from time-bound mitzvot and time does not determine sefirat ha-omer, rather the act of offering the omer does. Even though the omer depends on a specific time, the count only depends on the act of offering and time does not determine it.

It seems to me that in any case they [women] should not recite a beracha, for they certainly will err with one day and not know the law, and furthermore [a woman] does not understand what she counts. And with this [mitzva], one needs to be very careful to understand what he is saying, for otherwise he has not fulfilled his obligation…

In any case it seems apparently that the two concerns do not apply in our time, for our women are wise and all of them understand the sacred toungue [Hebrew] well. There is no concern that they will err with the count or with the words since they can read from the siddur and the like. Further, for in every home there are calendars and the like and so too in the Charedi papers the day of the count is written each day in its time. For this reason, our wives and daughters have practiced well to recite a beracha over the count and act correctly. Still, in any case, in my humble opinion a woman who knows that she likely will not complete the count correctly should not begin with the beracha, since there are later authorities who maintained that if one skips a day, the earlier berachot retroactively were said in vain…I thought about my opinion further and decided that a woman in this case should recite the beracha…But if it is clear to her that she will not complete the count, it is better that she not begin with a beracha, but even in this case one who is lenient has not lost anything…

Counting the Omer teaches us the concept of the ascending pattern, where one day builds upon the next. In effect, the whole point of the ritual is to collect days. By using a simple and short act of consiousness, we prevent our days from blurring into each other. We can make every day count... Each day of counting the Omer, from Pesach to Shavuot, we have the opportunity to add a new layer of refinement to our character. Counting the Omer is an elevating ripening process that culminates on Shavuot in our ability to receive the Torah and become complete. This time-period reflects the process of the building and flowering of the surrounding nature, here in Israel where we, like the fruits, are gradually ripening to become the perfect crop, ready to be picked on Shavuot as Hashem's holy bride…I believe that the feminine focus during the Omer season is to meditate on the daily Sefirah combinations and internalize their messages….

That which you asked why we don't betroth or get married between Pesach and Shavu'ot, whether it is a matter of prohibition or not. Know that it is not out of prohibition, but rather out of customs of mourning, for thus said our sages: 12000 pairs of students had Rabbi Akiva, and all of them died between Pesach and Shavu'ot because they did not conduct themselves [with honor] to each other. It is taught regarding this that they all died a difficult death of diphtheria and from that time onward early generations have the custom not to marry during these days.

The custom has spread not to get a haircut during the days of sefira,…and women are not included in this prohibition.

In the matter of haircut for a woman in the days of the omer count, behold even though it made sense to permit it since even in mourning after shiv'a within the sheloshim many early authorities permit it… since it's just a matter of custom, one should be lenient like those who permit it, but in any case it seems that the law is that it is fitting to be stringent if it [a haircut] is not terribly necessary.