Here is an interesting email that was forwarded to me:
This is Gedalia Max from Brooklyn NY, Dean of Yeshivas Hamatmonin, a home schooling yeshiva elementary and high school for boys and girls separate who can’t succeed in a regular yeshiva
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I want to mention that B”H I discovered an easy way how to remember the Sefiras HaOmer day by having a special number. For instance, the first day of sefira this year was April 9th and by subtracting 9 minus 1 the answer is 8 and therefore if we subtract the number 8 from the April date we will know the sefira for that day. For example, today is April 29th and if we subtract the number 8 we will have tonight’s sefira number.
If a person forgets to count sefira at night time and remembers the next day if he subtracts the number 9 from the April date he will know the day’s sefira. For instance, by subtracting 9 from tomorrow’s date of April 30th he will know the sefira number of the day.
On May 1st he will have to add the number 22 to the may date to know the Friday night sefira and the number 22 to all the May dates and for the daytime sefira if he forgot to count at night he adds the number 21 to the May day’s date. So, on Shabbos during the day of May 2nd he adds the number 21 to know the daytime sefiras haomer number
Therefore, if someone is sitting next to a gentile on the subway he can’t ask him what sefira it is but he can ask him what’s the English date and with the special number he can know what the sifera is. On the other hand if he’s sitting next to a chasidisha person on the subway he can’t ask him what the English date is but he can ask him what the sefira is and then he can use the special number to know what the English date is.
Also, I don’t just count sefira after mariv but also after shachres and mincha also (without a bracha of course) and other times also so then I don’t have to remember if I counted sefira the night before since I counted yesterdays sefira during the day.
Also since the chinuch says that one of the reasons that we count the
omer is because the Jewish people are to compared to a chossen who counts the days when he will be getting married and the Jewish people are also very excited and count the days when they will receive the Torah and be connected to the rebono shel olom and we know that the chossen doesn’t think just once a day about when he’s going to get married but many times during the day. So too, by our counting many times during the day we are fulfilling the mitzva with the proper devotion.
Thank you very much. Gedalia Max, Brooklyn NY, Yeshvas Hamatmonim