AREA MAN STILL COUNTING WITH BRACHA

Last night was 355

Maariv ends at the ten o'clock minyan and Levi Erlanger remains at his shtender. He begins the L'shem Yichud with the same fervor that he did close to one year ago. Bad weather and change of seasons have not deterred Erlanger. He is determined. Levi Erlanger is still counting sefirah with a bracha.

His friends urge him to stop and "just wait for next year" but Erlanger sees no reason to give up the quest to count the whole thing with a bracha. He is now shuckling intensly "Hayom Yom chamish vchamishim vsholosh maya yamim shehem shtayim esrei chodesh shlosha shavuos vyom echad baomer....laomer......baomer......whatever" he prays, oblivious to the fact that shavuos has come and gone. Erlanger is so driven by perfection that to him it is unfathomable that so many people no longer count with a bracha. "I mean it’s clearly a mitzva d'araysa to count sefira, the fact that so many people take this mitzva lightly is a disgrace to counting as a whole" he told us in an exclusive interview.

Erlanger tells us that he hasn't shaved in respect to the sefira mourning period (or was it laziness?). He says his bosses at Goldman's Fish Emporium, where he works as a fish delivery man, are very accepting of his traditions. Levi has not attended any weddings during his sefira (no word on if he ever received any invites) and does not listen to any music.

He is especially proud of finishing this year because of the double Adars. "Oh Yeah, absolutely" he replies when asked if it’s been rough. "There's definitely a sacrifice that comes along with being committed to the Omer.....It's a state of mind"

Erlanger's parents tell us that counting has always been a past time of Levi's even from an early-age. “He would count all the time” said Uncle Obvious. Some of his other accomplishments include World Record Hide and Seek Counter (when "it") and special consultant to the Office of the Federal Protest Crowd Estimator's Office "That's Two (2) Offices in that sentence" remarked Erlanger as he rode off on his Goldman's Fish Emporium pushcart.