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, May 17, 2018 – 3 Sivan 5778 – Omer day 47
Bamidbar: Numbers 1:1 – 4:20
As you journey the roads of your life, do not lose yourself in the oblivion of fragmented pathways and alternate routes of being. If you choose to stop and pick the scattered refuse thrown from every which way, it will be difficult to maintain focus on the larger purpose and destination of this highway. Do not forget the original intention with which you journeyed a particular road. (Success, p. 211)
Friday, May 18, 2018 – 4 Sivan 5778 – Omer day 48
Bamidbar: Numbers 1:1 – 4:20
The families of the sons of Levi are appointed to serve as guardians of each component of the Holy Sanctuary.
Witness how you accept the responsibility for making decisions or give it over to another. When you choose or relinquish responsibility, notice if it in turn increases or diminishes you and your unique ability to contribute to a new way of thinking, feeling, or being in this world. (Success, p. 216)
Saturday, May 19, 2018 – 5 Sivan 5778 – Erev Shavuot – Omer day 49
Bamidbar: Numbers 1:1 – 4:20
This is Erev Shavuot, the Feast of the Harvest (also the Feast of Weeks), at which time we celebrate the first fruits, offer bread, and thus acknowledge the partnership between humans, the earth, and God.
Partnering God means living a vision of holiness and trusting that your vision is not an illusion, but rather God’s vision being lived through you. It means tapping into a memory divinely ordained and eternal. It means letting go of the pride connected with doing it yourself, and noticing how God helps. (Glory, p. 245)
Sunday, May 20, 2018 – 6 Sivan 5778 – Shavuot I
Naso: Numbers 4:21 – 7:89
Shavuot has come to be recognized as the anniversary of God’s giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai, each individual has the opportunity to receive the Torah anew on Shavuot.
When the Israelites were three months gone from Egypt, God asked them to recall the miracles and wonders of their passage. The Israelites vowed never to forget the covenant with God, a covenant of memory, “to remember God.” And they knew God’s glory was embedded in each of them as they passed through the light at that moment of freedom. (Strength, p 162)
Monday, May 21, 2018 – 7 Sivan 5778 – Shavuot II
Naso: Numbers 4:21 – 7:89
Sometimes you are forced into silence by circumstances of loss, illness, or other avenues of solitude. Do not view the silence as confining or constraining; rather, sense it as an opportunity for spiritual development and accessing awareness. (Intention, p. 50)
Tuesday, May 22, 2018 – 8 Sivan 5778
Naso: Numbers 4:21 – 7:89
The Lord defines further the duties of the priests, and commands a census of all the Levites who serve.
The essence of sacred service dwells in the mind. When a person’s thoughts are connected to Divine wisdom and nobility, even the simplest actions become holy. – Baal Shem Tov, (Glory, p. 249)
Wednesday, May 23, 2018 – 9 Sivan 5778
Naso: Numbers 4:21 – 7:89
The Israelites are instructed regarding persons afflicted with skin eruptions and other impurities.
Upon rising in the morning, bless God for having created you with a soul that is pure. In saying to yourself, “My soul is pure,” you reach that place within yourself that acts with integrity, compassion, and openness. Imagine that God is embracing the purity of your soul with unconditioned love. (Intention, p. 42)
