Omer 2019 Day 14: Koalas

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Omer 2019 Day 14: Malchut in Gevurah, Leadership in Strength/Justice

Koalas

Image by StockSnap from Pixabay

It's hard to equate "leadership" with an animal that spends most of its time sleeping and stoned, but it's International Wild Koala Day!

Good leaders make decisions based not on what others feel is right, but on their own judgement about what needs to be done at any given time. Many of the world's greatest leaders have made decisions that weren't popular at the time, but ended up being the best way to tackle a difficult situation.

Koalas spend most of their time eating eucalyptus leaves and sleeping the day away, but when they're not sleeping they are excellent and doting parents to their offspring, and defend their personal space with a grumpy feistiness. Maybe the most fair (or just) way to look at koalas is to acknowledge that sometimes the best way to handle a difficult situation (and let's face it - parenting and protecting your personal space can be extremely difficult in such a crowded and busy world) is to just lean back and take a nap.

Shabbat Shalom!

This year's animal Omer is a collaboration between myself and my friend Halli, a PhD in animal science. Thank you for counting the Omer with us!

Omer 2019 Day 13: Ants

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Omer 2019 Day 13: Yesod in Gevurah, Foundation in Strength
Ants

Photo by kazuend on Unsplash

Ants rely on their incredible strength to build the foundation of their colony (literally and figuratively). Regardless of species and lifestyle (some ants are farmers, some raise livestock, some hunt, some gather, and all raise their young in large colonies cooperatively), ants can lift anywhere from 20 to 100 times their body weight, and use this strength to build complex housing structures and harvest nutrients for their colonies.

This year's animal Omer is a collaboration between myself and my friend Halli, a PhD in animal science. Thank you for counting the Omer with us!

Omer 2019 Day 12: Rhinos

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Omer 2019 Day 12: Hod in Gevurah, Glory/Humility in Strength
Rhinoceros

Photo by Frans Van Heerden from Pexels

Today is Save the Rhino Day. Halli says, I think rhinos are a good example of "glory in strength." They are not particularly graceful animals, nor are they predators. But despite their clumsy appearance, they are a great example of an animal that doesn't use its strength for anything except intraspecies competition (mating rights) and foraging for food. They can be aggressive when startled, and there is a basis for the stereotypical "rhino charge" imagery that often comes to mind, but they are not aggressive by nature...just big. In honor of Save the Rhino Day, here is an article about a rare one-horned Indian rhino that was born this week (in captivity). She was born because of the tremendous efforts of conservation biologists (and friends of mine) who use assisted reproduction techniques to help endangered species persist even when they face tremendous challenges in the wild.

The surrealist artist, Salvador Dali was somewhat obsessed with rhinos. Enjoy this clip from Midnight in Paris:

This year's animal Omer is a collaboration between myself and my friend Halli, a PhD in animal science. Thank you for counting the Omer with us!