Three Days Omer: Beauty within Grace
Today is three days of the Omer in the year 5783. תפארת שבחסד, Tiferet ShebeChesed, Beauty within Grace. That state of consciousness that we get to in the presence of pure art. The flow of the universe articulated by artistic brilliance. The perfect song. The joy of a concert. Heart-breaking truth at the theatre. Fiction that helps us understand those who came before us and who we are. Non-fiction that illuminates the crevices of our minds. Deeply rooted wonder. Photography. Illustration. Paintings. A child’s smile. A kitten. A dog. The neighborhood wild turkeys. Art and Life shining pure being into our consciousness.
A note on sources
Many of my congregants at Temple Israel of Alameda have never heard of spiritually counting the Omer. If you have heard of it, you might wonder where I get the chutzpah to write 49 blog posts every year. Honestly, this journey started when I was introduced to the practice at Ohr HaTorah. From there, I rambled into the Academy for Jewish Religion, California. There is an introduction to the sefirot, the emanations of the Divine, in the back of the bilingual edition of The Tanya. that’s my primary source material. Those words embedded in my consciousness and helped me produce these writings. Over time, I’ve read more books and deepened my understanding of Kabbalah. I wrote my rabbinic thesis on the intersection of ethics and mysticism in early modern Jewish texts.
If you’d like to read a more straight-forward description of the traditional Omer count, there is no better resource than Dance of the Omer by Benji Elson. I still haven’t finished reading this rich resource. I’m sure every page can spark transformation.
Another good resource is Tarot and the Gates of Light: A Kabbalistic Path to LIberation by Mark Horn. This is ideal for folks who have been harmed by institutional religion. And for anyone who has found insight through Tarot.
Part of the reason I keep writing is that it keeps my Omer count going. Quite honestly, writing comes more naturally to me than reading at this point. (Darn social media altered attention span!) But also: in seminary, I came face-to-face with the way I had hidden my feminist self in order to consume religious truth. I have a deep respect for the Jewish tradition. And yet, basically none of it was written by or for women (or other non-males). So often, it is easier for me to express myself from within my own consciousness than to try to repeat the words of others than make me feel less than.
Take time to appreciate art today
A documentary about a great musician or band.
Wandering an art museum.
Sinking into a gorgeous book.
Immersing ourselves in cinema.
Skipping through nature.
Find the ways in which the awesome beauty that surrounds us can reconnect you to The Source.
Books for the Journey
Photo by Mabel Amber.