Forty-three days of the Omer: Grace of Divine Presence
Today is forty-three days, which is six weeks and one day of the Omer. חסד שבשכינה, Chesed ShebeShechinah. Gracious Love of Divine Presence.
The final sephira is the only one that is understood as explicitly feminine from the beginning of this system of expressing how the Divine emanates into material reality. It is the reclamation of El Shaddai, the God with Breasts.
I am fascinated that kingship and male virility are much more common expressions of the power of the Divine. Our ancestors understood that breast milk is Divine nectar. That a human can be nourished solely by another human being is an incredible gift. We should honor the Divine gift of creating life and nourishing life.
I don't think this week needs to devolve into a debate about the painful challenges to women's bodily autonomy currently being waged in the United States. Nor are my reflections meant to cast judgment on women who choose not to breastfeed.
Rather, today is an opportunity to reflect on the Divine Mother who nourishes all of us. If you have a wonderful mother, she is a reflection of the Divine Mother. If you have struggled with your mother, or if you grew up without a mother, the Divine Feminine is still there to nourish you. (These statements should not be taken to cast any judgment on gay parents or single parents.)
We are all held in the bosom of the Divine. Divine lovingkindness is the nectar my soul craves. Allowing myself to sink into the warm embrace of the universe allows me to open myself up more deeply to the people around me.
May you feel the embrace of the Divine Presence today and every day.
Previously on this day in the Omer
Allowing The Divine Presence A Place In My Life, 2018 / 5778
Image by seeseehundhund from Pixabay.