Counting the Omer: day 38

Count for this day in the evening of the date shown above.

Counting the Omer began the second night of Passover, which was on April 9, 2020. The last day of counting is May 27, 2020.

You can learn more about the practice and history of counting the Omer here.

day 38 of the Omer: qualities of focus

Week 6 of the Omer is focused on foundation, connection, creativity – Yesod. (Image Marlene Burns, copyright 2020. All rights reserved. art-marleneburns

The sixth week of the Omer is focused on Foundation and Connection (Yesod). The quality of Yesod is a force for creative life-giving energy.

The third day of the week is focused on Balance and Beauty (Tiferet).

The thirty-eighth day is focused on Balance and Beauty, supported by a foundation of connection.

the blessing for counting the Omer

It’s traditional to say a blessing each evening, followed by reciting which day it is in the Omer journey. Here’s the blessing in English, feminized Hebrew, and the traditional masculine Hebrew. Use whichever Hebrew and/or English versions work for you!

English version of the blessing

Blessed are you, Eternal One-ness, Source and Breath of All Life, that has made us holy with your mitzvot, and compels us to count the Omer.

If you prefer feminine God language in Hebrew:

בְּרוּכָה אַתְּ יָהּ אֱלֹהֵינוּ רוּחַ הָעוֹלָם אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָׁנוּ בִּמְצַוְּתָהּ וְצִוָּנוּ עַל סְפִירַת הָעֹמֶר

B’rukhah at Yah Eloheynu khay ha’olamim asher kideshatnu bemitzvoteha vetzivatnu al sefirat ha’omer.

If you prefer masculine God language, or just like the traditional way of saying the blessing:


בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה אֲדֹנָי אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָׁנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתָיו וְצִוָּנוּ עַל סְפִירַת הָעֹמֶר

Baruch ata adonai, eloheynu melech ha-olam, asher kidshanu b’mitzvotav vitzivanu al sefirat ha-omer.

here’s today’s count, in Hebrew (transliterated), and English.

The process for counting the Omer: bless, count, reflect, repeat!

Ha-yom shmonah u-shloshim yom, shehem chamishah shavuot u-shlosah yamim la-omer.

Today is thirty-eight days, which marks five weeks and three days of the Omer.

Let me know if you have any questions. I’ve never done this before via blog post, and need your help to make sure everything works.

prefer Hebrew script?

If you prefer to read the blessing and count using Hebrew text, check out this app.

Or look in your favorite siddur (prayer book). It can often be found at the end of the evening service.

today’s poetic meditation

I’m posting a poetic meditation for each day to enhance the journey. Each meditation is focused on the kabbalistic qualities (sefirot) associated with the day.

The kabbalists often used the image of gates to describe the portals of consciousness represented by the sefirot, and that’s reflected in the ending to each of the meditations.

Evoking the kabbalistic Tree of Life during the Omer.

The kabbalists also often referenced the Tree of Life, upon which the sefirot are represented by the trunk and branches.

Some people like to read the meditations when they say the blessing at night. Others like to contemplate them in the morning to provide spiritual nourishment for the day’s activities.

Experiment, and see what works for you!

Tiferet b’Yesod: the connective balancing of seeming polarities

Take two opposites,
dark and light,
full and empty,
war and peace.

Set them
on the ground and ask,
“where is the middle?”

If you find
the middle
on the ground,
the answer may be
murky or unsatisfying -
gray, half full,
a temporary
ceasefire.

But if you make these
seeming polarities
the base of a triangle
that is pointed upward
the answers
are much different

a rainbow of colors,
a delicious sip
of possibilities,
a mutual recognition
of shared and
un-shared needs
held at a height
from which vision
can emerge.

What in yourself
is at odds?

What in your world
would you like
the vision to
see clearly?

Climb the hill
of potential,
from whatever side
you are on,
look out from there
knowing you can’t
reach your vision
without climbing down
in a new direction.

This is the trail
to the 38th gate.

Copyright Shifrah Tobacman, 2012.

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Birds of Paradise looking like they might fly off together!

prefer to hold a book in your hand?

You might be interested in Rabbi Shifrah’s collection Omer/Teshuvah: 49 Poetic Meditations for Counting the Omer or Turning Toward a New Year. Write to rabbishifrah@gmail.com to get a copy!

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Poetic meditations on the Omer from Rabbi Shifrah

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About Rabbi Shifrah

Shifrah

I’m a rabbi, holistic teacher, interfaith chaplain, end of life doula, and poet. I have a healer’s spirit, and am dedicated to social, economic, and environmental justice. I live in Emeryville, CA with my beloved wife Ruth, with whom I’ve been happily partnered for over twenty-two years.

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