As we count our days, weeks, and months, we are reminded that in every moment we have the potential to recreate ourselves and the world around us.
In the book of Bereishit (Genesis), the first book of the 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., we read “there was evening and there was morning, [the] first day.” Each act of creation was counted in its own time. Rabbi AbrahamAbraham is the first patriarch and the father of the Jewish people. He is the husband of Sarah and the father of Isaac and Ishmael. God's covenant - that we will be a great people and inherit the land of Israel - begins with Abraham and is marked by his circumcision, the first in Jewish history. His Hebrew name is Avraham. Joshua Heschel teaches that creation did not happen only once. Rather, creation is a constant process; every moment in time can be viewed as an act of creation. This understanding of creation invites us to participate in its unfolding process. Marking time with awareness and intention is one way to do that. And when we do this, we connect with Bereishit’s primal acts of creation. New things, experiences and ideas are created through recognition—what we notice and recognize are then created.
Paying attention to time is at the heart of Jewish living; sanctifying time is how we make each moment holy. The Jewish calendar encourages us to create meaning by counting time:
- Each week we count six days before arriving at the seventh and holiest day, ShabbatShabbat is the Sabbath day, the Day of Rest, and is observed from Friday night through Saturday night. Is set aside from the rest of the week both in honor of the fact that God rested on the seventh day after creating the world. On Shabbat, many Jews observe prohibitions from various activities designated as work. Shabbat is traditionally observed with festive meals, wine, challah, prayers, the reading and studying of Torah, conjugal relations, family time, and time with friends..
- We count the days of each month, noticing how the moon waxes and wanes from the new moon to full moon. We count down the days until we again rejoice with the psalms of HallelLit. “Praise” The Hallel prayers are additional prayers taken from Psalms 113-118 and are traditionally recited on the Jewish holidays of Passover, Shavuot, Sukkot, Rosh Chodesh, and Hanukah. as we celebrate Rosh ChodeshThe new moon, which marks the beginning of the Jewish month. According to tradition, because women did not participate in the sin of the golden calf, they were given the holiday of Rosh Chodesh. It is customary for women not to work on Rosh Chodesh..
- And currently we are in the period of 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., in which we count the seven weeks between PassoverPassover is a major Jewish holiday that commemorates the Jewish people's liberation from slavery and Exodus from Egypt. Its Hebrew name is Pesakh. Its name derives from the tenth plague, in which God "passed over" the homes of the Jewish firstborn, slaying only the Egyptian firstborn. Passover is celebrated for a week, and many diaspora Jews celebrate for eight days. The holiday begins at home at a seder meal and ritual the first (and sometimes second) night. Jews tell the story of the Exodus using a text called the haggadah, and eat specific food (matzah, maror, haroset, etc). after ShavuotShavuot is the holiday fifty days after Passover and commemorates when the Israelite liberation from Egypt culminates with the giving of the Torah. Traditionally, Jews study in an all-night study session, eat dairy products (one interpretation is that the Torah is like milk to us), and read both the Ten Commandments and the Book of Ruth.. As we move from redemption to revelation we recall the creation of the Israelite community as they moved from slavery to freedom. We also have the opportunity to notice these same qualities within our own lives; letting go of that which enslaves us and making space for the creation of new openings and points of connection.
As we count our days, weeks, and months, we are reminded that creation is a continual process. Creation is happening all around us, and every moment can lead us to acts of (re)creating ourselves and the world around us.
