Omer 2017 Day 20: Compassion

Omer Introduction | Day 19 | Day 21

Day 20: Yesod in Tiferet, Connection in Compassion

Compassion by Lucinda Williams

Have compassion for everyone you meet
Even if they don't want it
What seems conceit is always a sign
...
You do not know
What wars are going on
Down there where the spirit meets the bone

People need compassion in difficult times. Williams reminds us that, while you may expect gratitude for showing compassion to someone who is grieving or dealing with the impact of a horrible event, you might not get it. You may instead receive a cold response or seeming rejection of your sympathy, but part of having compassion is giving it without the need for reciprocation. We can't know what a person is struggling with that may keep them from "properly" responding to our comforting remarks, but that doesn't mean that our compassion goes unnoticed or that that connection won't be a source of strength for the person later when they are better able to process it.

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Omer 2017 Day 19: Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive

Omer Introduction | Day 18 | Day 20

Day 19: Hod in Tiferet, Glory in Balance

Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive by Bing Crosby and The Andrews Sisters

You've got to spread joy up to the maximum
Bring gloom down to the minimum
Have faith or pandemonium
Liable to walk upon the scene

You can't stop gloom and chaos, but you can minimize their effects by balancing them with joy and optimism. Name something positive that happened today and something you are looking forward to tomorrow.

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Omer 2017 Day 18: Big Yellow Taxi

Omer Introduction | Day 17 | Day 19

Day 18: Netzach in Tiferet, Endurance in Beauty

Big Yellow Taxi by Joni Mitchell

Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got til its gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot

"I wrote 'Big Yellow Taxi' on my first trip to Hawaii. I took a taxi to the hotel and when I woke up the next morning, I threw back the curtains and saw these beautiful green mountains in the distance. Then, I looked down and there was a parking lot as far as the eye could see, and it broke my heart . . . this blight on paradise." -Joni Mitchell on her inspiration for Big Yellow Taxi

On Tu B'Shevat, I wrote about Heschel's suggestion that the earth is not Mother Earth, but our sister, a sibling to humanity, both of us created by God. Today, Mitchell reminds us that we should not take nature's beauty for granted. The beauty around us will not endure without some help to maintain and protect it.

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Omer 2017 Day 17: Try

Omer Introduction | Day 16 | Day 18

Day 17: Tiferet in Tiferet, Beauty in Beauty

Try by Colbie Caillat

Take your make-up off
Let your hair down
Take a breath
Look into the mirror, at yourself
Don't you like you?
'Cause I like you

Caillat's Try is an anthem to our inner beauty, questioning the value our society places on outer beauty at the expense of who we really are. Don't hide yourself under makeup, she says; let your inner beauty shine and it will be reflected out to the world.

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Omer 2017 Day 16: Reflection

Omer Introduction | Day 15 | Day 17

Day 16: Gevurah in Tiferet, Strength in Beauty

Reflection by Christina Aguilera

Who is that girl I see
Staring straight back at me?
When will my reflection show
Who I am inside?

Mirrors show us our outward appearances, but there is so much more to beauty than looks. Our actions reflect our inner beauty and strength.

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Omer 2017 Day 15: What A Wonderful World

Omer Introduction | Day 14 | Day 16

Day 15: Chesed in Tiferet, Loving-kindness in Beauty

What A Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong

The colors of the rainbow so pretty in the sky
Are also on the faces of people going by
I see friends shaking hands saying "how do you do?"
They're really saying "I love you"

Louis Armstrong sees beauty not just in rainbows, but in the kindness that people show each other with a smile or a handshake. Today is a day to act out beauty and to find beauty not just in our natural surroundings, but in the kindness of friends and strangers who make each day brighter with just a smile.

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Omer 2017 Day 14: We Weren't Born to Follow

Omer Introduction | Day 13 | Day 15

Day 14: Malchut in Gevurah, Leadership in Justice

We Weren't Born to Follow by Bon Jovi

We weren't born to follow
You gotta stand up for what you believe

When we see injustice, it is our responsibility to stand against it and speak up for what is right.

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Omer 2017 Day 13: Forever Young

Omer Introduction | Day 12 | Day 14

Day 13: Yesod in Gevurah, Foundation in Strength

Forever Young by Bob Dylan

May you have a strong foundation when the winds of changes shift

Things change whether we want them to or not. The world changes, people change, perceptions change. Change can be scary, but it doesn't have to be. The whole goal of counting the Omer is to achieve some personal growth, to change for the better, but we don't have to change everything about who we are. Today, think about your strengths, the foundational characteristics of who you are that you want to hold onto and that will help you through the changes that you will face in your life.

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Omer 2017 Day 12: The Way I Talk

Omer Introduction | Day 11 | Day 13

Day 12: Hod in Gevurah, Glory/Humility in Strength

The Way I Talk by Morgan Wallen

Got some words you've never heard
'Less you come from down yonder
The Man upstairs gets it
So I ain't tryna fix it
No I can't hide it
I don't fight it, I just roll with it

Sometimes, the way we talk, how we look, or where we come from are sources of strength; we show off our roots with pride and find comfort in the familiarity of an accent or a place.

But other times, we try to hide the things that make us different out of shame or a desire to fit in. For the first two years after I left Chicago, I clung to "pop" despite laughs and quizzical stares from my Southern and East Coast friends, but nowadays if you come to my house, I will offer you a soda.

The Way I Talk recognizes this dichotomy. Wallen admits that "some people make fun of" his accent and the Southern phrases he uses, but he chooses to embrace his speech as a part of himself and his heritage that has value.

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Omer 2017 Day 11: Rocky Theme

Omer Introduction | Day 10 | Day 12

Day 11: Netzach in Gevurah, Endurance in Strength

Gonna Fly Now (Rocky Theme) by Bill Conti

When I lived in Philadelphia, I lived down the street from the Italian Market and worked just a few blocks from the Philadelphia Museum of Art. On my lunch break, if I was willing to brave the traffic on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, I could eat lunch on the steps of the museum. Inevitably, a group of tourists would arrive, snap a photo with the Rocky statue, and then race up the steps humming the Rocky Theme. I never saw anyone make it all the way up the 72 steps to the top; usually they would stop short, raise their arms above their heads, and do the little Rocky dance on whatever step they had managed to reach, but it never failed to entertain.

The lesson? You need both endurance and strength to run up all those steps and to face your toughest challenges in life.

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Omer 2017 Day 10: Superman

Omer Introduction | Day 9 | Day 11

Day 10: Tiferet in Gevurah, Compassion in Strength/Justice

Superman (It's Not Easy) by Five for Fighting

I'm more than a bird
I'm more than a plane
More than some pretty face beside a train
It's not easy to be me

"Faster than a speeding bullet! More powerful than a locomotive! Able to leap tall buildings at a single bound!" Nearly indestructible and determined to uphold truth and justice, Superman might as well be the embodiment of gevurah. But even the strongest of us need compassion.

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Omer 2017 Day 9: Live Like A Warrior

Omer Introduction | Day 8 | Day 10

Day 9: Gevurah in Gevurah, Bravery in Bravery

Live Like A Warrior by Matisyahu

You wanna be brave
Don't be afraid

If you have been letting fear hold you back from doing something you really want to do, today is the day to throw caution to the wind. Put on a brave face and get it done.

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Omer 2017 Day 8: After the Tornado

Omer Introduction | Day 7 | Day 9

Day 8: Chesed in Gevurah, Kindness in Justice

After the Tornado by Jim's Big Ego

Bad things happen
to the kindest people
God and the Devil
are kind of hard to tell apart

All faiths struggle to reconcile the idea of an all-powerful God with an unjust world. We see it in the Book of Job, in Harold Kushner's When Bad Things Happen to Good People, and countless sermons given by clergy in the wake of tragedies.

This song struggles with the devastating aftermath of a tornado, which has torn through a town and shaken the faith of the singer, who notes that "everything is wrong." When bad things happen, it is natural to look for a reason, but we know that sometimes there is no reason. Today, let's focus not on why bad things happen, seeking justice or meaning in a natural disaster or tragedy, but look for the kindness and love displayed by people afterward. We coordinate relief efforts, volunteer, donate - these outpourings of kindness attempt to right what has gone wrong and bring a sense of justice, strength, and resilience to an otherwise unjust situation.

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Omer 2017 Day 7: Stubborn Love

Omer Introduction | Day 6 | Day 8

Day 7: Malchut in Chesed, Leadership in Loving-Kindness

Stubborn Love by The Lumineers

The opposite of love's a need for it.

You might think that the opposite of "love" is "hate," but The Lumineers make a compelling argument that the opposite of love is actually just needing to be loved. Elie Wiesel put it another way: "The opposite of love is not hate; the opposite of love is indifference."

On the second day of Rosh Hashanah this year, my rabbi, Rabbi David Kalender, invoked Wiesel's words in a plea to combat loneliness. His d'var was a moving call for everyone to become leaders, to step up to help those most in need of community and love by helping to make a shiva minyan, visiting the sick, or acting as shomerim (the people who sit with a dead body before burial). Today, I am reminded of that important call to action. How can I do more? How can I provide loving-kindness for those who need it most?

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Omer 2017 Day 6: All You Need is Love

Omer Introduction | Day 5 | Day 7

Day 6: Yesod in Chesed, Foundation in Love

All You Need is Love by The Beatles

There's nothing you can do that can't be done
Nothing you can sing that can't be sung
Nothing you can say but you can learn how to play the game
It's easy
...
All you need is love

Love is the foundation of everything. As long as you have love, you will have the support to learn and do anything you want in life.

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Omer 2017 Day 5: Love is a Many-Splendored Thing

Omer Introduction | Day 4 | Day 6

Day 5: Hod in Chesed, Splendor in Love

Love is a Many-Splendored Thing by Frank Sinatra

Love is a many splendored thing
It's the April rose that only grows in the early Spring
Love is nature's way of giving a reason to be living

It can be easy to take love for granted, but it is important to recognize just how rare and special those relationships are.

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Omer 2017 Day 4: You Can't Hurry Love

Omer Introduction | Day 3 | Day 5

Day 4: Netzach in Chesed, Endurance in Love

You Can't Hurry Love by The Supremes

You can't hurry love
No, you just have to wait
She said to trust, give it time
No matter how long it takes

Love is worth the wait.

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Omer 2017 Day 3: Forever and Ever, Amen

Omer Introduction | Day 2 | Day 4

Day 3: Tiferet in Chesed, Beauty in Love

Forever and Ever, Amen by Randy Travis

They say time takes its toll on a body

Makes a young girl's brown hair turn gray

But, honey, I don't care, I ain't in love with your hair

And if it all fell out, well I'd love you anyway

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and Randy Travis reminds us that beauty rooted in love is eternal, withstanding the test of time.

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Omer 2017 Day 2: If I Had a Hammer

Omer Introduction | Day 1 | Day 3

Day 2: Gevurah in Chesed, Justice in Love

If I Had a Hammer by Pete Seeger

Well I got a hammer

And I got a bell

And I got a song to sing

All over this land

It's the hammer of Justice

It's the bell of Freedom

It's the song about Love between my brothers and my sisters

All over this land

When Pete Seeger died in 2014, one of my co-workers asked who he was and my jaw dropped, because, for me, Seeger and his music epitomized the struggle for justice that we still are still striving to achieve today. He was not content with justice for some or love only for his neighbors, but needed to hammer out justice for everyone and show love to people everywhere.

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Omer 2017 Day 1: One Love

Omer Introduction | Day 2

Day 1: Chesed in Chesed, Love in Love

One Love by Bob Marley

One love, one heart

Let's get together and feel alright

At the seders that we all just concluded, we were reminded yet again to "love the stranger as yourself, for you were strangers in Egypt." With this lesson fresh in our minds, we begin counting the Omer with love in love, an important opportunity to practice empathy. How can we relate better to others, understand their experiences, and welcome them into our communities? The Torah and Bob Marley suggest that our own experiences should inform our outreach to the stranger. Love is not finite, confined to our own families and communities; it is limitless and universal. So, let's get together and share our chesed.

As we were wrapping up and heading home from a fantastic first night seder with friends and family well after midnight on Monday night, someone was vandalizing our local Jewish Community Center and a nearby church. They spray painted slogans and symbols of hate that have shocked and saddened our community. This morning at services, instead of a traditional d'var Torah, our rabbi invited us to discuss the incident together as a congregation. How did it make us feel? How did we address it at our second night seders? On this holiday when we celebrate freedom from oppression and God's protection, how do we process the hatred directed at us?

Some expressed their disgust and the sinking feeling of seeing a swastika on our beloved community center. One woman suggested that the cowardly vandal is seeking attention and that moving on from the incident would deny the person the attention they crave. Another woman thought it was important to address the problem wanted to strike a balance between moving on quickly and condemning it in the strongest terms. Finally, we discussed the importance of supporting our community in times of trouble, recognizing that it was not just the JCC that was attacked and that the Haggadah's entreaty to "let all who are hungry come and eat" reminds us to extend our kindness to all who need it. Like chesed in chesed, this means not only standing up for our Jewish community, but our neighbors at the Little River United Church of Christ and anyone else in need.

Back to the Omer Introduction | Jump to Day 2

Omer 2017

Jump to Day 1

Counting the Omer is one of my favorite Jewish rituals. Beginning on the second night of Passover, we count 49 days, ending on the 50th day with the celebration of Shavuot, the holiday that celebrates our receiving the Torah at Sinai.

According to Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism), we don't just count the days. Each week and each day also have a corresponding sephira - an emotion or aspect of God - so that as we count, we also reflect on the intersection of the day's sephira with the sephira of the week. The seven sephirot are:

1. Chesed (חסד): love, kindness

2. Gevurah (גבורה): strength, power, justice, bravery

3. Tiferet (תפארת): beauty, balance, compassion

4. Netzach (נצח‎): eternity, endurance, victory

5. Hod (הוד): splendor, majesty, glory, humility

6. Yesod (יסוד): foundation, connection

7. Malchut (מלכות): leadership

The first day of each week is the day of chesed. The weeks go in the same order, so the second week is gevurah, making the eighth day of the Omer (day one of week two) loving-kindness in strength.

Counting the Omer in this way is meant to help us contemplate our inner selves and become better people over the course of the 49 days between Passover and Shavuot. Over the past few years, I've blogged my counting, including last year, when I paired each day of the Omer with a woman from the Tanakh.

Before I finished counting the Omer last year, I came up with a new idea for the coming year: counting the Omer with music. Music has a way of reaching into our souls and stirring emotions that can sometimes be difficult to articulate, so each day this year I will pair the sephirot with a song. The counting begins tomorrow night at the second night seder. Happy Passover!

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