Counting the Omer

We prepared for Pesach by searching for the chametz

and purifying ourselves of all that does not serve us.

But now we engage in a singular ritual of counting the omer.

There is nothing else like it in the Hebrew calendar.

Each day of counting

is the dawn of a new pairing of the Sephirot,

the divine emanations.

We immerse ourselves in that fresh conjunction of qualities

at every sundown, trusting what unfolds.

We say Hineni in our opening blessing

and then the brucha for counting the omer.

Every week we crown one of the madregot our theme,

finding it in ourselves and lifting it up:

Chesed, Gevurah, Tiferet, Netzach, Hod, Yesod, Malchut/Shekinah.

These 7 weeks are part of the covenant

we have entered into with the Divine

to be sanctified in every generation.

Z'man Matan Torateinu.

Letting go of all division and discord,

all cynicism and malice,

our hearts resonate in the harmony of achdut.

May we merit the blessing and revelation of Torah,

the gift of wisdom and understanding with awe and love,

in service of the Infinite One.

We stand together in the barreness of desert.

Though we may feel like strangers,

we are called up by our names,

each one tested in her strength to be holy,

to be a force for mercy and justice,

deeply rooted in the foundations of the Ein Sof.