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The Jewish people's
redemption from Egypt teaches us how to achieve inner
freedom in our lives. After leaving Egypt the people had to
traverse the desert for 49 days until they were ready to
reach the purpose of their Exodus - receiving the Torah at
Mount Sinai. This 49-day process is the key to true freedom.
Enslavement is a habit that needs to be broken and
transformed over an extended period of time – a time that is
refining and healing.
With the mitzvah of
counting the forty-nine days known as Sefirat Ha’Omer, the
Torah invites us on a journey into the human psyche, into
the soul. There are seven basic emotions that make up the
spectrum of human experience. At the root of all forms of
enslavement, is a distortion of these emotions. Each of the
seven weeks between
Passover and
Shavuot is dedicated to examining and refining one of
them.
The seven emotional
attributes are:
1. Chesed – Lovingkindness;
2. Gevurah - Justice and
discipline;
3. Tiferet – Harmony,
compassion;
4. Netzach – Endurance;
5. Hod – Humility;
6. Yesod – Bonding;
7. Malchut – Sovereignty,
leadership.
The seven weeks, which
represent these emotional attributes, further divide into
seven days making up the 49 days of the counting. Since a
fully functional emotion is multidimensional, it includes
within itself a blend of all seven attributes. Thus, the
counting of the first week, which begins on the second night
of Pesach, as well as consisting of the actual counting
(“Today is day one of the Omer..”) would consist of the
following structure with suggested meditations:
Week one
– Chesed: Lovingkindness
Day 1 -
Chesed of Chesed: LovingKindness in Lovingkindness
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
Day 2 - Gevurah of
Chesed: Discipline in Lovingkindness
Healthy love must always include an element of
discipline and discernment; a degree of distance and respect
for another’s boundaries; an assessment of another’s
capacity to contain your love. Love must be tempered and
directed properly. Ask a parent who, in the name of love,
has spoiled a child; or someone who suffocates a spouse with
love and doesn't allow them any personal space.
Exercise for the day: Help someone on their terms not on
yours. Apply yourself to their specific needs even if it
takes effort
Day 3 - Tiferet of
Chesed: Compassion, Harmony in Lovingkindness
Harmony in love is one that blends both the chesed and
gevurah aspects of love. Harmonized love includes empathy
and compassion. Love is often given with the expectation of
receiving love in return. Compassionate love is given
freely; expects nothing in return – even when the other
doesn’t deserve love. Tiferet is giving also to those who
have hurt you.Exercise for the day: Offer a helping hand to
a stranger
Day 4 - Netzach of
Chesed: Endurance in Lovingkindness
Is my love enduring? Does it withstand challenges and
setbacks? Do I give and withhold love according to my moods
or is it constant regardless of the ups and downs of life?
Exercise for the day: Reassure a loved one of the
constancy of your love
Day 5 - Hod of Chesed:
Humility in Lovingkindness
You can often get locked in love and be unable to forgive
your beloved or to bend or compromise your position. Hod
introduces the aspect of humility in love; the ability to
rise above yourself and forgive or give in to the one you
love just for the sake of love even if you're convinced that
you're right. Arrogant love is not love.
Exercise for the day: Swallow your pride and reconcile
with a loved one with whom you have quarreled.
Day 6 - Yesod of Chesed:
Bonding in Lovingkindness
For love to be eternal it requires bonding. A sense of
togetherness which actualizes the love in a joint effort. An
intimate connection, kinship and attachment, benefiting both
parties. This bonding bears fruit; the fruit born out of a
healthy union.
Exercise for the day: Start building something
constructive together with a loved one
Day 7 - Malchut of
Chesed: Nobility in Lovingkindness
Mature love comes with - and brings - personal dignity.
An intimate feeling of nobility and regality. Knowing your
special place and contribution in this world. Any love that
is debilitating and breaks the human spirit is no love at
all. For love to be complete it must have the dimension of
personal sovereignty.
Exercise for the day: Highlight an aspect of your love
that has bolstered your spirit and enriched your life…and
celebrate
Week two will examine the
seven aspects of Gevurah, week three Tiferet and so on for
seven weeks. Upon conclusion of the forty-nine days we
arrive at the fiftieth day - Mattan Torah. After we have
achieved all we can accomplish through our own initiative,
traversing and refining every emotional corner of our
psyche, we then receive a gift ('mattan' in Hebrew)
from above. We receive that which we could not achieve with
our own limited faculties. We receive the gift of true
freedom - the ability to transcend our human limitations and
touch the divine.
This is an extract from
“A Spiritual Guide to Counting the Omer” by Rabbi Simon
Jacobson. This unique book is now available at our
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