Rabbi Ashira's Reflections
May 2024
Dear chevre,
With Purim and Pesach behind us, we have entered the wilderness. Sefirat haOmer, beginning on the second night of Pesach, is the forty-nine day period between Pesach and Shavuot when we count each day. In ancient times, this period was the beginning of the barley harvest. Jews would bring the first sheaves of barley to the holy Temple in Jerusalem to give thanks to God for the harvest. The word “omer” means sheaf. This practice originates in the book of Leviticus which instructs us:
You will count from the day after Shabbat, from the day when you bring the sheaf (omer) of the elevation offering, seven weeks. They must be complete. Until the day after Shabbat in the seventh week you will count fifty days. Then you will bring an offering of new grain to God.
Over time, the festival of Shavuot also became associated with the giving of Torah at Mount Sinai. As a result of this connection, the time period of the omer came to represent the journey from Egypt through the wilderness to Mount Sinai. It is easy to imagine the wilderness as some kind of vast empty desert. However, our tradition teaches that we actually received many gifts in the wilderness. One midrash (creative rabbinic interpretation) asserts that all the fine gifts that God gave to Israel were from the wilderness—the Torah, the Mishkan (Tabernacle), the Sanhedrin (ancient high court), the priesthood, prophecy, and more. Instead of a desolate wasteland, the wilderness was where our ancestors gained the knowledge and skills to become a new nation and to create a sacred society to live in the Promised Land.
As our Israelite ancestors traveled through the wilderness, they underwent a spiritual and emotional transformation. They entered the wilderness with a slave mentality and gradually shifted to a more liberated perspective. When we count the days of the omer, we reenact this communal shift and have the opportunity to engage in our own spiritual reflection and growth. If this idea of counting the omer is new to you or something you’ve not done previously, I invite you to try marking the days between Pesach and Shavuot this year as a way to tune in more closely to Jewish time, to give yourself the opportunity to really notice what each day brings, and to appreciate the gifts you receive during this time in a metaphorical wilderness.
Counting the omer requires very little actual time and can be done individually or with others. Traditionally, the new day is counted after sunset and begins with the following blessing:
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ מֶֽלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָֽׁנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתָיו, וְצִוָּֽנוּ עַל סְפִירַת הָעֹֽמֶר
Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melekh HaOlam, asher kid’shanu b’mitzvotav, v’tzivanu al sefirat ha-omer.
Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Sovereign of the Universe, who sanctifies us through sacred obligations (mitzvot) and commands us concerning the counting of the omer.
After reciting the blessing, one announces the appropriate day of the count. For example:
הַיּוֹם שְׁמוֹנָה יָמִים שֶׁהֵם שָׁבֽוּעַ אֶחָד וְיוֹם אֶחָד לָעֹֽמֶר.
Ha-yom sh’monah yamim sheh-heim shavu’a echad v’yom echad la-omer.
Today is eight days, which is one week and one day of the Omer.
In addition to the actual counting of the day, consider adding a mindfulness practice or learning something new. I have tried different approaches to this period each year—journaling, practicing Zentangle art, meditating, studying Torah, or reflecting on specific areas of personal growth. There are many omer counting tools and guides available on the internet. To offer one resource as a starting point, check out the many omer rituals, readings, and reflections at RitualWell (https://ritualwell.org/topic/counting-omer/). If you have a meaningful or interesting experience counting the omer this year, let me know! I love to hear about people’s spiritual journeys and relationships to Jewish traditions.
As we count and make our way through the wilderness to Shavuot and Mount Sinai, I want to mention two special events coming up this month. First, we will commemorate Yom HaSho’ah, Holocaust Remembrance Day, on Friday May 3 at 7:00 pm in our sanctuary. Sally Kaitz, the daughter of Holocaust survivors, will share her parents’ experiences and how they impacted her family. We also will be joined by members of the Greater Haverhill Clergy Association, and our Makheila will offer beautiful and thoughtful music to honor the memories of Holocaust victims and survivors. Two weeks later, on Friday May 17 at 7:00 pm in our sanctuary, we will celebrate Adam Hannula’s graduation from our religious school. Come offer Adam and his family blessings for what comes next and give them a hearty mazal tov on reaching this moment!
I look forward to seeing you at each of these special services or at any of our regular Saturday morning services followed by schmoozing and learning over kiddush.
Bivracha, With blessing,
Rabbi Ashira