One Day Omer 5783 Enveloped in Grace
Today is one day of the Omer in the year 5783, Chesed Shebe Chesed חסד שבחסד, Covenantal Love within Covenantal Love.
Omer counting begins as soon as the second day of Pesach begins. Traditionally, it is done as soon as the day begins. Therefore, the count must be said after sundown and before midnight. If you count during daylight hours, you can count but you can’t say the blessing. If you miss a day, your count ends. Though, the Kosher Police are highly underfunded, so use the tradition however you want.
If you want to do a traditional count yourself, I recommend an Omer app. You could choose the Meaningful Life Center My Omer app or the Chabad Omer Counter app.
I was introduced to Neo-Hasidic Omer counting by Rabbi Mordecai Finley. Until I started blogging about my count, I never got through the 49 days between the beginning of Pesach and the entrance of Selichot. This is my seventh year formally counting. The idea behind this spiritual count is that by meditating into the lower seven sefirot, emanations of the Divine, we open ourselves up to revelation on Shavuot. Or, we’re just really, really prepared for the wheat harvest. One or the other.
This is my first year counting as an ordained rabbi. I did count last night, though my blog host is acting up and I abandoned the idea of posting last night.
The first week of the count is dedicated to aspects of Chesed (חסד), Divinely Obligated Love. Perhaps not quite Grace (Chein, חן), but the way it is expressed in Kabbalastic literature, it is closely related to Grace.
Chesed reaches out to us whether or not we believe in God.
Chesed nourishes us, suckles us with the nectar of Binah, בינה / Understanding, The Higher Mother Who births the lower seven sefirot, allowing the Flow of the Divine to enter physical reality. Humans can never truly know the Divine. Words cannot contain the Ultimate Oneness. Therefore, if these metaphors frighten you, or you despise them, ignore this paragraph.
Chesed rules all. The world continues to exist because Chesed is the strongest force known to most people. (The upper three sefirot are too mystical for most to grasp.)
When we let ourselves let go of our need for control. When we allow ourselves to feel peace and stillness, we are sinking into the Chesed of life.
Image by Quang Nguyen vinh from Pixabay