בסיעתא דשמיא

סדר ספירת העומר | the Order of Counting the Omer in the Spring

Image: Barley Field by net_efekt (License: CC-BY 2.0)

“Sefirot HaOmer” by Aharon Varady, following the color correspondences of Reb Zalman Schachter-Shalomi. Each of the seven weeks and days of the Omer is represented by one of the seven lower Sephirot: Ḥesed, Gevurah, Tiferet, Netzaḥ, Hod, Yesod, and Malkhut, the creative emanations all the worlds were created and continually sustained, as taught in . . . → Read More: סדר ספירת העומר | the Order of Counting the Omer in the Spring

יום קשת מ״ב בעומר | The 42nd Day of the Omer is Rainbow Day

"Foster City Double Rainbow" by Peter Kaminski (License: CC-BY 2.0). Cropped by Aharon Varady.

The time we are in now is a time to ask: are we so determined to undo God’s rainbow covenant? Will we truly burn the sea, chemically and literally, with the oil we unleash from inside the Earth? Will we flood the sea with death as the land was flooded according to the Noah story of so long ago? As the cleanup continues and the effects will continue for decades, what new floods will we unleash in the coming years? . . . → Read More: יום קשת מ״ב בעומר | The 42nd Day of the Omer is Rainbow Day

Scaling the Walls of the Labyrinth: Psalms 67 and Ana b’Koaḥ

Image: Map of Jericho in 14c Farhi Bible by Elisha ben Avraham Crescas (Public Domain)

Psalm 67 is a priestly blessing for all the peoples of the earth to be sustained by the earth’s harvest (yevulah), and it is a petition that all humanity recognize the divine nature (Elohim) illuminating the world. Composed of seven verses, the psalm is often visually depicted as a seven branched menorah. There are 49 words in the entire psalm, and in the Nusaḥ ha-ARI z”l there is one word for each day of the Sefirat haOmer. Similarly, the fifth verse has 49 letters and each letter can be used as a focal point for meditating on the meaning of the day in its week in the journey to Shavuot, the festival of weeks (the culmination of the barley harvest), and the festival of oaths (shevuot) in celebration of receiving the Torah. Many of the themes of Psalm 67 are repeated in the prayer Ana b’Koaḥ, which also has 49 words, and which are also used to focus on the meaning of each day on the cyclical and labyrinthine journey towards Shavuot. . . . → Read More: Scaling the Walls of the Labyrinth: Psalms 67 and Ana b’Koaḥ

בסיעתא דארעא