If you wish follow the Counting of the Omer, there are two resources available for you. The first was written by our own Max Amichai Heppner – or second, you may choose the more conservative version written by Rabbi Simon Jacobson.
Thursday, April 19, 2018 – 4 Iyar 5778 – Omer day 19
Tazria: Leviticus 12:1 – 13:59
Metzora: Leviticus 14:1 – 15:33
The eruption of tzoras in the house requires emptying, removal of stones, scraping, plastering, and dismantling when necessary.
Begin to see the light in the darkness, the gift in each problem, and positive opportunity in every negative situation. (Method, p. 25)
Friday, April 20, 2018 – 5 Iyar 5778 – Omer day 20
Tazria: Leviticus 12:1 – 13:59
Metzora: Leviticus 14:1 – 15:33
These are the laws spoken to Moses and Aaron regarding defilement from unclean bodily emissions.
To love yourself is to affirm the beauty and spirit of your body. (Creativity, p. 273)
Saturday, April 21, 2018 – 6 Iyar 5778 – Omer day 21
Tazria: Leviticus 12:1 – 13:59
Metzora: Leviticus 14:1 – 15:33
Through the voices that are both ancient and new, we learn not only that the Bible is our wedding contract with God, but that when we touch our bodies, we touch God; when we pleasure ourselves, we pleasure God; when we shed blood, we shed the blood of God; when we are in union with another, we are in union with God; when we birth new life, we birth new forms of God; and as our bodies change, our image of God changes.
Rabbi Shoni Labowitz
God, Sex, and Women of the Bible, p. 29
Sunday, April 22, 2018 – 7 Iyar 5778 – Omer day 22
Ahare Mot: Leviticus 16:1 – 18:30
Kedoshim: Leviticus 19:1 – 20:27
The Lord speaks to Moses after the death of Aaron’s sons.
Nobility is the earth; it is the ground from which all life is born, upon which all life stands, and through which all life passes and is reborn. (Method, p. 26)
Monday, April 23, 2018 – 8 Iyar 5778 – Omer day 23
Ahare Mot: Leviticus 16:1 – 18:30
Kedoshim: Leviticus 19:1 – 20:27
Aaron goes into the Tent of Meeting to make atonement for himself, his household, and all Israel.
Cleave to the presence of holiness; move beyond self-awareness and self-consciousness to the momentary stillness and vast emptiness where there is nothing but God. (Creativity, p. 286)
Tuesday, April 24, 2018 – 9 Iyar 5778 – Omer day 24
Ahare Mot: Leviticus 16:1 – 18:30
Kedoshim: Leviticus 19:1 – 20:27
The Lord gives the law for the Day of Atonement, a solemn day each year when the priest makes atonement for the Israelites for all their sins.
Forgiving has less to do with another and more to do with giving to yourself – giving yourself the freedom to release tightness, let go of competition, unveil illusions of boundaries and limits. (Compassion, p. 141)
Wednesday, April 25, 2018 – 10 Iyar 5778 – Omer day 25
Ahare Mot: Leviticus 16:1 – 18:30
Kedoshim: Leviticus 19:1 – 20:27
The Lord speaks to Moses regarding sexual conduct and the laws of sexual morality.
Receive your own body, honor your own sexuality, and open to God as a partner, lover, and friend. In the process, you touch a part of humanity that commingles with the benevolent energies of a loving God and creates ecstatic, joyous living. (Creativity, p. 275)
