We count 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. for seven weeks, 49 days:
The loving kindness and benevolence of 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).;
The strength and holy limitations of Gevurah;
The spiritual balance and beauty of Tiferet;
The eternal endurance of Netzach;
The prayer and intellectualism of Hod;
The gateway of Yesod, collecting all of these sefirot(pl of sefirah) In Kabbalah, the 10 “attributes” – channels of Divine energy – via which God interacts with creation. and transmitting them to
Malchut, the end of the chain, our human world.
Malchut of Malchut – It is the culmination.
This is where we live, this is the here and now,
God’s name in Malkhut is Adonai Ha-Eretz, Lord of the Earth.
But in Malchut we are ALL the lords of this realm,
We are one in the One-ness.
These are our laws, our nations, our communities, our religions,
These are our choices, our mistakes, our kindnesses, our glory,
We are the rulers, here.
So here’s a prayer for this world of Malkhut and all of us Jews
Of all colors and kinds
In the last day of the Omer,
Making our choices,
Hanging out at the foot of Mount SinaiAccording to the Torah, God, in the presence of the Jewish people, gave Moses the Torah on Mount Sinai (Har Sinai).,
Deposited here by seven sefirot and 49 days of counting,
Waiting to receive 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.:
Baruch Ha-Mavdil,
Blessed is the One who Divides,
Giving us the illusions
Of time and space
Of 49 days and seven weeks
So that we may grow and learn
And take joy in the moment,
So that we may rest on 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.
And not go crazy,
So that we may, when it’s time, start dancing.
We give thanks for this seventh week of the Omer
And the metaphor and earthiness of Malchut,
Which gathers us up in culmination and community
And takes us to 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.,
To study the choices of RuthAn important female biblical character with her own book. The Book of Ruth, read on Shavuot, tells the story of Ruth’s devotion to her mother-in-law, Naomi, and their return to Israel. Ruth’s story is often read as the first story of conversion. Ruth is the grandmother of King David. and Naomi
And join with all those waiting
For the gifts of Mount Sinai.
Blessed Wholeness
And the joys of holy separation!
We are many and we are gloriously unique
But we are also one in the One.
Please, may we not divide ourselves against ourselves
So together, different and the same,
We may look upon God’s back.
So together, different and the same,
We may pray, study, create,
Commit acts of lovingkindness, heal the world, forgive and be forgiven,
And receive Torah.
And let us say,
Amen.
An earlier version of this poem appeared at http://kolotchayeinu.org/Anti_Racist_Omer-Counter.
