Week 7: Malchut (Majesty, Immanence)
As we conclude Counting the OmerFrom the second day of Passover until Shavuot, Jews count seven weeks – seven times seven days – to commemorate the period between the Exodus from Egypt and the Revelation at Sinai. When the Temple stood, a certain measure (omer) of barley was offered on the altar each day; today, we merely count out the days., each day’s quality intersects with Malchut, inviting us to contemplate various dimensions of majesty or immanence. We invited writers to reflect on each daily theme as part of Ritualwell’s annual Omer Fundraising Campaign. You may download a full PDF for this week at the bottom of this page. As you gather inspiration for your Omer journey, please take a moment to support Ritualwell so we can continue to offer you free, meaningful content all year long. Thank you!
Hag Sameakh!
Hila Ratzabi
Managing Editor, Ritualwell
Artwork: Omer 2018
D’vorah Horn
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Day 43: HesedLit. Kindness It is said in Pirkei Avot (Ethics of the Fathers) that the world stands on three things: Torah (learning), Avodah (worship), and Gemilut Hasidim (acts of kindness). of Malchut
Is it better to be loved or feared?
Do leaders fear the day they’re loved by all?
Loving leaders alone will prevail
Give us the courage to lead fearlessly
Love audaciously
Humble our hearts with empathy and awe
—Madeleine Fortney
Day 44: Gevurah of Malchut
We are all majestic beings here on this precious planet for but a brief moment. May we commit to remembering each other’s holiness, living from love, and standing up for our sacred Mother Earth.
—Yael Rosenbloom
Day 45: Tiferet of Malchut
Imagine one
whose heart is woven with threads of kindness
whose steady light is a beacon of compassion.
Imagine how her lamp pierces the intrepid dark.
Mother of exiled souls.
Madre of the lost and silenced.
Imagine her tenderness and her strength.
Imagine hope.
—Amy Gottlieb
Day 46: Netzach of Malchut
The work that we do is practicing being brave so that if we are ever really called to be brave, we will be ready.
—Rabbi Elliott Tepperman
Day 47: Hod of Malchut
Sometimes I think women should take the slip of paper that says “I am but dust and ashes” out of our pockets and burn it until it becomes dust and ashes. Then we can move through the world with our hands resting in the other pocket, knowing that “for my sake the world was created.”
—Rachel Druck
Day 48: Yesod of Malchut
As the Omer counting approaches completion, we remind ourselves to listen our heart, honor the voice of our soul, and recognize that we are all on this journey together, doing the best we can. We cannot force others to do the work, but we can see their wholeness and listen to their story. Cultivating our own inner peace and supporting others in doing the same is perhaps the best we can do to bring a greater peace to this troubled world.
—Rabbi Haviva Ner-David
Day 49: Malchut of Malchut
My Nona taking a moment to appreciate the tray of burekas she spent the morning baking or my mother gazing at the sour cream chocolate cake she baked from a secret family recipe: completion, perfection, the ShekhinaThe feminine name of God, expounded upon in the rabbinic era and then by the Kabbalists in extensive literature on the feminine attributes of the divine. shining through all our worldly efforts. Before biting in to the salty burek or the sweet chocolate, like Nona and my mother did, take a moment to breathe in this joy of completion. Now celebrate what will be revealed, the salty burek, the sweet cake, the divine TorahThe Five Books of Moses, and the foundation of all of Jewish life and lore. The Torah is considered the heart and soul of the Jewish people, and study of the Torah is a high mitzvah. The Torah itself a scroll that is hand lettered on parchment, elaborately dressed and decorated, and stored in a decorative ark. It is chanted aloud on Mondays, Thursdays, and Shabbat, according to a yearly cycle. Sometimes "Torah" is used as a colloquial term for Jewish learning and narrative in general.!
—Resa Alboher
