Omer 2025 Day 5

 Day 4

Day 5: Nurture the Wow: Finding Spirituality in the Frustration, Boredom, Tears, Poop, Desperation, Wonder, and Radical Amazement of Parenting by Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg
Hod in Chesed, Humility/Glory in Loving-kindness

I read this book two years ago in my previous job as part of a Jewish parenting program that we hosted for parents of young children. Special thanks to Rabbi Viki Bedo for introducing us all to the book and leading the discussions. The author, Rabbi Ruttenberg, does an excellent job of lifting up the mundane aspects of parenting (and of life in general) and demonstrating how they can be imbued with spiritual significance. Every year I say that hod is the most difficult of the sefirot, because it requires us to understand the seeming opposites of glory and humility as one. And, honestly, if anything is going to teach you how to understand hod, it's parenting. Watching my kids grow up is a daily exercise in glory/humility in loving-kindness, and Rabbi Ruttenberg provides a framework for holding onto those moments as they pass by at rapid speed.

Omer 2025 Day 4

Day 3

Day 4: Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling
Netzach in Chesed, Endurance in Loving-kindness

The Harry Potter series essentially boils down to a story about the enduring power of love. Harry's parents' love remains as a protective force over him long after they have died, saving him time and time again from Voldemort. Harry's love for his friends, his godfather, and others keeps him from losing himself in difficult moments.

"To have been loved so deeply, even though the person who loved us is gone, will give us some protection forever." -Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

 

"You think the dead we loved ever truly leave us? You think that we don't recall them more clearly in times of great trouble?” -Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

 

"You're the one who is weak. You will never know love or friendship. And I feel sorry for you." -Harry Potter to Voldemort, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix 

    

"You are protected, in short, by your ability to love!" - Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Omer 2025 Day 3

 Day 2

Day 3: The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams
Tiferet in Chesed, Beauty in Loving-kindness

"Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."

This was one of my favorite books as a child. I came back to it again and again, finding warmth and comfort in the emotional connection between a boy and his toys. The velveteen rabbit begins its life as a beautiful toy, but love and constant play turn the rabbit into a worn, old thing. Still, the boy's love for the toy doesn't fade with its beauty. Those imperfections are signs of fun and love. Even when the rabbit becomes real, he stays near the boy and the boy recognizes something of the love in him, sensing familiarity.

Omer 2025 Day 2

 Day 1

Day 1: A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
Gevurah in Chesed, Bravery in Loving-kindness

As Trent Crimm summarized in Ted Lasso, "It's a lovely novel. It's the story of a young girl's struggle with the burden of leadership as she journeys through space." Yes, I read this book as an adult because it was featured in Ted Lasso. Any reason is a good reason to read a good book. In Ted Lasso, they use A Wrinkle in Time to teach a lesson about leadership, but I think it fits better here with bravery in loving-kindness. In the book, the main character, Meg, finds bravery in her love for her brother. She ultimately puts herself in danger, not to save the world (though she does that as well), but because her love for her family compels her to act. Her strength and bravery are rooted in love.

Omer 2025 Day 1

 Omer Intro

Day 1: The Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown, pictures by Clement Hurd
Chesed in Chesed, Loving-kindness in Loving-kindness

I realized when I was preparing this year's theme that this first week is really all about relationships. You'll see throughout this week that loving-kindness plays out in each book through the relationships of the characters.

I chose this particular book to kick us off because the relationship piece works on two levels - both within the book and in my reading of it with my kids. My kids loved this book when they were little and I loved it too. I can't say that about every book they wanted to read on repeat, but this one was always a joy to read to them. 

The entire book is a conversation between a bunny and his mother. Seemingly out of the blue, the bunny announces that he is going to run away, and he and the mother take an imaginative journey through all the ways he could run away and all the ways that she could find him. If he becomes a rock on a mountain, she would be a mountain climber. If he becomes a bird, she would be the tree he comes home to. In the end, finding no scenario in which his mother will not provide a loving home for him, he gives up the idea and decides to stay right where he is. There was an opportunity for his mother to counter his outlandish plans with a dose of reality, telling him he can't turn into a rock or a bird or a boat, or arguing that he has everything he needs at home already. But his mother meets his need for creativity and adventure with imagination and love.

Counting the Omer 2025: The People of the Book

At our second night seders on Sunday night, we will begin counting the omer, entering the period of time on the Jewish calendar between Passover and Shavuot. These seven weeks are spiritually a time for self-reflection and personal growth, moving ourselves from a narrow mindset toward freer self-expression. The time also marks the journey in the Torah from when Israelites left Egypt to when we reached Mt. Sinai and received the Ten Commandments. Shavuot is the holiday that celebrates our people receiving the Torah from God, the book that makes us the "people of the book." So, as we count up to Shavuot this year, I want to highlight books that help us open up our minds, expand our understanding of ourselves and others, and express the seven sefirot (attributes) of the omer:

1. Chesed (חסד): loving 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

I'll highlight all genres - children's literature, popular fiction, non-fiction, memoirs, and the occasional graphic novel - and try my best to avoid spoilers. I hope you'll share books that you think fit as we go along.

Looking forward to counting with you this year!