Sefirat haomer meaning8/28/2023 ![]() I remember lying in bed, as my kids say they now do, wondering what it is like to die, how it will be that the world will go on and on, for billions of years, without me? This can either paralyze us into a life of fear, or it can inspire us to a life of meaning. It is so wonderful to be a child, innocent and free of these mental burdens that can both invigorate and infuriate adults, as we all deal in our own ways with the concept of time and the counting of our days. And I try not to burden them with my own neuroses about time, my own struggles with understanding and living within the construct that yesterday will never happen again, that each day forward is a day closer to an end that is always fast approaching, but-please God-is hopefully far off in the future. They are still only 9 years old, so of course I reassure them that they have a long and beautiful life ahead of them. We have had some amazing discussions over this Pesach time, as they now like to sit and “talk like grown-ups,” as they put it-about time, life, memory, and understanding the differences between 100 years ago, like when their great-grandfather was born, 1000 years ago, and 3000 years ago, like when Moses lived. They understand the concept of being born, as they have cousins who have been born recently, and they understand that life ends, both from their obsession with Harry Potter, which has main characters dying, and from the fact that their dad is often out at night at a shiva minyan. And so on, through the pattern of seven qualities within qualities.My kids are getting older, and with their aging, they are starting to ask questions about time, length of life and death. Within each week, we give our reflection a different nuance each day. In practice: rising to do what we have been appointed by God to do. In practice: the moral commitment that is the foundation for human social life. In practice: pursing peace in every situation. In practice: discerning what is of enduring importance in life. In practice: acting without ulterior motives. In practice: the personal resolve to make necessary personal sacrifices without faltering. WEEK TWO: Gevurah - Strength of character. In practice: the ability to love others in a way that enables them to draw close to the Divine. The seven qualities are described using the language of the seven sefirot, seven qualities of God described in the Zohar (the “Big Book” of Jewish Mysticism). Each week, we should increase our capacity to express on that quality. SPIRITUAL REFLECTION: Kabbalistic and Hassidic teachers suggest that we read the Hebrew words “sefirat ha’omer,” the counting of the Omer, as “sefirot ha’omer,” the divine attributes that emanate into the world during the period of the Omer.įor each of the seven weeks, they teach, we should reflect on a particular personal quality. We make ourselves able to receive new meanings when we actively engage in reflective preparation. Today, we can still look forward to receiving the Torah as if it is new, by finding in it inspiration for new stages of ethical and spiritual growth. Because they were excited to move on to the new, they counted the days until they could receive the Torah. Giving shape to their new life as a nation was a second, even more significant, step. But we do still count! What meanings have recent teachers of Judaism given to the counting? Freedom from slavery was the first step for the Israelites. POST-TEMPLE OMER: At present, we do not fulfill the mitzvah of counting the Omer by bringing grain offerings. ![]() ![]() THE ORIGINAL INSTRUCTION: The Torah instructs us: “You shall count for yourself from the morrow of the Shabbat, from the day when you bring the Omer for the offering, seven complete Sabbaths there shall be, until the morrow of the seventh Shabbat, you shall count fifty days.” (Vayikra 23) Traditionally, the count begins the on second day of Passover, and culminates on the 50 th day with the Festival of Shavuot, a holiday celebrating the spring harvest and the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai.
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