Message From The Rabbi:
Countdown to Revelation
by
Senior Rabbi, Alan Green (00-Present)
Published in the Shaarey Zedek Shofar in
May 2007
The
Pesach Seder is probably the most widely celebrated of
all Jewish rituals, even more widespread in its observance than the
High Holy Days. The
Seder is certainly a peak Jewish experience. But what
about the inevitable valley that follows? What happens after the
Seder meals are complete?
The masters of our
tradition were fully cognizant of this peak/valley phenomenon.
Therefore, thousands of years ago, the counting of the
Omer began on the second night of
Pesach, during which seven weeks of days were counted in
anticipation of the next peak — the holiday of
Shavuot — the Festival of Weeks.
The counting of the
Omer and
Shavuot itself underwent a complete transformation after
the destruction of the Second Temple. Originally, the counting of
the
Omer and
Shavuot were agricultural observances. A sheaf of barley
would be waved before the altar on Day One of the counting of the
Omer as thanksgiving for the barley harvest that began at
just that time.
Then on Day 50, the
day of
Shavuot, two wheat loaves would be waved before the altar
in a similar act of thanksgiving for the beginning of the wheat
harvest. Also, people would journey from every corner of the land to
offer
BIKKURIM, “first fruits,” of the seven kinds of foods for
which Israel is specifically praised in the Torah: wheat, barley,
grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives, and dates. This is why
Shavuot is also known as
CHAG HA-BIKKURIM — the Festival of First Fruits.
All of this came to
an abrupt end with the destruction of the Second Temple in the year
70 CE. Fortunately, by this time the rabbis already had begun to
recast
Shavuot as the Festival of Revelation —
Z’MAN MATAN TORATEINU — commemorating God’s gift of the
Torah to Israel at Mount Sinai. The counting of the
Omer was similarly transformed from a tense seven-week
wait for the wheat harvest to a spiritual journey from slavery to
freedom.
One
Omer tradition tells us that during their centuries of
enslavement, the people of Israel had dropped to the 49th
degree of degradation. Had they descended even one more degree, they
would never have been able to be free. As it was, with each day of
liberation, the Israelites shook off another degree of degradation
until, on Day 49, they emerged from behind their final veil of
darkness. Now, Israel was prepared to receive the Torah at Mount
Sinai.
Something of this
tradition persists in the spiritual system some contemporary Jews
use when they count the
Omer. In this system, each of the lower seven
Sefirot — the Kabbalistic attributes of God — are matched
with the seven weeks of the
Omer counting. Therefore, Week One is the week of
Chesed — Loving-kindness. Week Two is the week of
Gevurah — Justice and Discipline. Week Three is
Tiferet — Harmony and Compassion. Week Four is
Netzach — Endurance. Week Five is
Hod — Humility. Week Six is
Yesod — Bonding. And finally, Week Seven is
Malchut —– Sovereignty or Leadership.
These seven weeks
are further subdivided into seven days, each of which is also
matched with one of the seven
Sefirot. Therefore, Day One of each week is the day of
Chesed, Day Two is
Gevurah, Day Three is
Tiferet, and so on. The result is a grid in which each
day of the
Omer represents the intersection of the qualities of two
Sefirot.
Take, for example,
Week One — the week of
Chesed (Loving-kindness). Day One of Week One would
represent
Chesed of
Chesed; Day Two of Week One,
Gevurah (Justice and Discipline) of
Chesed; Day Three,
Tiferet (Harmony and Compassion) of
Chesed; Day Four,
Netzach (Endurance) of
Chesed; Day Five,
Hod (Humility) of
Chesed; Day Six,
Yesod (Bonding) of
Chesed; and Day Seven,
Malchut (Sovereignty) of
Chesed.
How do these
Sefirot intersections play out as spiritual practice?
Here is what Rabbi Simon Jacobson has to say about the Day One /
Week One intersection in the counting of the
Omer (Chesed
of
Chesed):
“Love is the single
most powerful and necessary component in life. It is both giving and
receiving. Love allows us to reach above and beyond ourselves, to
experience another person, and to allow that person to experience
us. It is the tool by which we learn to experience the highest
reality — God. Examine the love aspect of your love.
“Ask yourself: What
is my capacity to love another person? Do I have problems with
giving? Am I stingy or selfish? Is it difficult for me to let
someone else into my life? Am I afraid of my vulnerability, of
opening up, and getting hurt?
“Exercise for the
day: Find a new way to express your love to a dear one.”
The complete
Daily Omer Meditation is available on-line at
www.aish.com/spirituality/growth/Daily_Omer_Meditation.asp This
is a simple, practical guide for those who wish to use the
Omer period for their own spiritual ascent — to become
more conscious, and to shred the veils of darkness that may plague
our own lives.
Here is wishing
everyone an enlightening, enlivening Festival of Revelation. May you
find your true place in the Torah of Life.
Chag Sameach. |
