Sefirat HaOmer

SEFIRAT HA'OMER - THE COUNTING OF THE OMER

4 Iyar/April 16

TODAY IS NINETEEN DAYS, WHICH ARE TO WEEKS AND FIVE DAYS OF THE OMER (Hod within Tiferet)

A great part of realizing and maintaining the beauty which is the balance of Tiferet is by the virtue of Hod - gratitude and the acknowledgment of limitations.

 

In the third week of the Counting of the Omer, Tiferet, balance and the beauty of a perfect equilibrium, is preeminent.

Chesed, Gevurah, Teferet, Netzach, Hod, Yesod and Malchut are seven of the ten sefirot through which we perceive G-d's relationship with creation. Each of these seven sefirot is also an attribute through which we can learn to better ourselves.

Chesed is best translated as loving-kindness and expresses the unlimited blessings with which G-d blesses creation. Giving of ourselves is a way of expressing Chesed.

Gevurah is the aspect of restraint, of holding back. Were G-d to not hold back and restrain the full impact of His Presence in the world, we could not exist. Therefore, Gevurah is also a necessary aspect of G-d's relationship with creation. Knowing when to hold back is is likewise essential in human relations.

Tiferet is balance, beauty, splendor. It is a synthesis between Chesed - loving kindness, giving, and Gevurah - strength displayed by restraint, holding back. The perfect balance between these two opposing but mutually required forces is Tiferet.

Netzach is victory, eternity - endurance. To endure is to be true, steadfast. The victory inherent in Netzach is by virtue of of action and patience.

Hod is frequently translated as glory or splendor - majesty! Hod also speaks of knowledge and acknowledgement, and of gratitude.

The two sefirot of netzach and hod are gateways to prophecy.

Yesod is Foundation. Yesod is the righteous, which is the foundation upon which the world stands. Yesod is the male principle, which by virtue of connecting with Malchut, the seventh of the seven lower sefirot, serves the will of G-d by raising up our world in holiness. Devotion to G-d is “the yoke of the kingdom of heaven.”

Malchut is Kingdom. It is the female principle. Malchut, which can be said to be the perceived reality in which we exist, is the portal through which we can approach G-d. To serve G-d is, therefore, to accept "the yoke of the kingdom of heaven."

The seven sefirot form unique relationships throughout the forty nine days of the counting of the Omer, each day presenting a rung on a ladder of spiritual refinement upon which we can climb and raise ourselves up, preparing ourselves to receive Torah at Sinai on the fiftieth day -Shavuot!

"And you shall count unto you from the morrow after the day of rest [the day following the first day of Passover], from the day that you brought the sheaf of the waving; seven weeks shall there be complete; even unto the morrow after the seventh week shall you number fifty days; and you shall present a new meal-offering unto HaShem." (Leviticus 23:15-16)

"Seven weeks you shall number unto you; from the time the sickle is first put to the standing corn you should begin to number seven weeks. And you shall keep the Feast of Weeks [Shavuot] unto HaShem your G-d after the measure of the freewill-offering of your hand, which you shall give, according as HaShem your G-d blessed you. (Deuteronomy 16:9-10)

Psalm 67 is traditionally recited with the counting of the Omer each evening:

"For the leader; with instrumental music. A psalm. A song.

May G-d be gracious to us and bless us; may He show us favor, selah

that Your way be known on earth, Your deliverance among all nations.

Peoples will praise You, O G-d; all peoples will praise You.

Nations will exult and shout for joy, for You rule the peoples with equity, You guide the nations of the earth. Selah.

The peoples will praise You, O G-d; all peoples will praise You.

May the earth yield its produce; may G-d, our Go-d, bless us.

May G-d bless us, and be revered to the ends of the earth."

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