Beautiful Strength, 10 Days Omer 5782

Today is ten days, which is one week and three days of the Omer in the year 5782. תפארת שבגבורה , Tiferet ShebeGevurah Beautiful Strength.

God's Strength in Heaven

I often imagine HaShem as The Rock when meditating into Their Strength. Benji Elson, in Dance of the Omer, reminds us of another image: the waters above and the waters below, that flow through the Jewish imagination. He tells us that the word for heaven, shamayim, contains both fire and water, because the fire of the sun and the waters of rain are contained within it.

Do sunsets inspire you? Or do they remind you how much pollution is in the air, causing most of the beauty we see in city sunsets?

I am not a person who spends much time in nature. Yet, it is landscape photography that sinks me into the depths beyond the mundane. Overflowing Source of Blessing, thank you El Shaddai, for this gift.

El Shaddai: God of Breasts

Our Protector, the one whose blessing we seek on our doorposts with mezuzot, is El Shaddai, God of Breasts. Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie, creator of Lab/Shul, recently posted about El Shaddai on Instagram.

This reminds me of my meditation into El Shaddai during the Omer in 2019 / 5789.

The Divine Mother yearns for us to understand Her. To recognize that She is not distinct from the Divine Father, though She appears separately and has been hidden for millennia. By accepting multiple gender expressions for the Divine, we understand ourselves more. We reconnect with the rejected aspects within. And we help to heal the brokenness of the world.

Do Not Fear Strength

Balanced, Harmonious Strength. The ability to protect the innocent, care for those in need, and lead people towards the future.

The Strength within each of us can see us through whatever happens. I cannot tell you why unspeakable things happen every single day. Evil exists. Bad choices are part of free will.

The Beautiful Strength to endure whatever happens emanates from HaShem.

May El Shaddai watch over you. May we together create the peaceful world we wish to live in.