Simultaneous Joy and Pain: The Wisdom of the Counting of the Omer
This year at our Passover seder, I experienced something deeply powerful which I had not felt in the context of Passover before.
Let the #Torah Tweets Begin!
For a people with just one God, we Jews sure do a lot of counting.
Three patriarchs, four matriarchs, six days of creation, eight nights of Hanukkah, 12 tribes, 40 years in the desert, 70 years in a life - 80 if we’re really robust. You get the picture…
What I Brought: A Poem for the Last Day of the Omer
I stood on the border of my wilderness.
It beckons in silent commandment,
My feet feeling for the road
That is dusty and half hidden
Under brambles and
Desire.
Tu BiShvat: Customs and Rituals
Tu BiShvat: History
Counting of the Omer: Blessings for Each Day
S’firat HaOmer
"Counting of the omer;" An omer is a biblical measurement of grain. The counting of the omer is 49-day period that begins on the second night of Passover during which each day is counted with a blessing. On the 50th day, the Festival of Shavuot is observed.
Arbaah minim
Literally, “four species.” The Torah specifies four species to bring together on Sukkot. The four species are: lulav (branches of palm trees), etrog (citron), hadasim (myrtle branches), and aravot (willows) (Leviticus 23:40).