Mazal tov to Drew Barrymore and Will Kopelman! They’ve made their wedding date (June 2) public.

[i]E! Online[/i] suggests the rushed wedding date is because she’s pregnant (they refer to the upcoming wedding as [url=http://www.eonline.com/news/drew_barrymore_wedding_date_location_of/311429]”bumptastic”[/url]), but I have  a different theory.

Traditionally, the time between Passover and Shavuot is a period of semi-mourning. The period is known as the Omer. But what’s an “Omer”? It was a unit of measurement used for counting barley sheaves brought as an offering to the Temple in ancient Israel. The 49 days from Passover to Shavuot were each marked with a sacrifice of barley; today we count the days (“counting the Omer”) instead.

The rabbis of the 2nd century saw the period of counting the Omer as a “semi-mourning” period. As a result, some Jews refrain from having weddings or parties, dancing, listening to music or getting haircuts — all of which are customarily avoided during [url=/life_cycle/death_and_mourning/Guide_to_Death_and_Mourning_for_Interfaith_Families.shtml]shiva[/url] (first week of [url=/life_cycle/death_and_mourning/Guide_to_Death_and_Mourning_for_Interfaith_Families.shtml]mourning[/url]) — during the Omer.

There’s one escape from these restrictions: a minor holiday called Lag BaOmer (or “Lag b’Omer”) that falls on May 10 this year, 33 days after the start of Passover. The name literally translates to “33rd (day) of the Omer.” On Lag BaOmer, the restrictions are lifted for the day. (Check out [url=/blog/iff/statistics/lag-bomer-how-to-video/]how one Californian handles the restrictions in this humorous video[/url].)

But back to Drew and Will.

[i]E! Online[/i] reports that the wedding will be small and intimate, taking place at Drew’s home (er, “estate”). And, “keeping in line with the traditional values of Kopelman’s close-knit family, his family rabbi is expected to conduct the service.”

Since we’re currently counting the Omer, and since Will’s family (and, presumably, rabbi) are “traditional,” maybe they’re not wanting to be married during the Omer. Which would mean the first chance to be wed would be May 10, a Thursday. Most Americans choose to marry on the weekend so that family and friends can travel to and from the event. Not so easy to do in the middle of the work week. So the next option would be waiting until a weekend after Shavuot. Shavuot starts the evening of May 26 and ends the night of May 27 (for some communities, including many Reform congregations) or the night of May 28 (for the rest of the Jewish communities). The next weekend after that? Yup, June 2.

You heard it here first: Drew Barrymore and her fiancé, Will Kopelman, are following the laws of the Omer.