Counting the Omer – 5/4/24
May 3, 2024Counting the Omer – 5/18/24
May 17, 2024Saturday, May 11, (after dark, the 19th day of the Omer)
Counting the Omer
Each Saturday (after sundown) for seven weeks, before we receive the Torah on Shavu’ot, we’ll email you the text of the blessing one says while counting the Omer. Along with it, a meditation written by clergy or fellow congregants.
The Prayer
Baruch atah, Adonai Eloheinu, Melech haolam, asher kid’shanu b’mitzvotav v’tzivanu al s’firat haomer.
Praised be You, Adonai our God, who rules the universe, instilling within us the holiness of mitzvot by commanding us to count the Omer.
Today is the _______ day of the Omer.
Tiferet- Beauty
By Laura Schreiber
…HOW do we learn to see beauty in all things?…in ourselves/others?
During our most recent Young Family Shabbat outside, I had a moment where I looked around, taking everything in and thought, “Isn’t this beautiful?” Surrounding our group of children and adults we could see various shades of green on the trees, colorful flowers, and a gorgeous, blue sky with the sun shining down. In addition to the loud voices singing and children laughing, we could also hear birds proudly chirping along. And that was just the most obvious beauty.
As I reflected deeper, I was brought to smile because of the beauty that appeared in perhaps the less obvious ways:
The beauty of being together in community,
The beauty of new parents snuggling their newborns while singing Shema,
The beauty of old and new friends joining together up at the outdoor bimah,
The beauty of older children returning to what was once their home and teaching their younger siblings,
The beauty of seeing the joy in children as they sing and dance to welcome in Shabbat.
The question continues, how do we learn to see beauty?
Seeing beauty begins within, and is something we value teaching our children from a very young age. During our Shabbat service, Rabbi Frankel and Lexi Weakley asked the children and families to think about, “What are you thankful for?” as we sang the song Thank You G-D. Familiar with this practice, many children were eager to share their answers, ranging from “my brother” and “butterflies” to “my teachers” and “my heart.” Finding beauty begins with gratitude for not just the large flashy items, but for the small, everyday moments.
As we continue to count the Omer, I invite everyone to take advice from the children and find beauty in those small moments. If we pause to take a break from seeing just the outside, and look within, we can find, even in the darkest times, a little bit of beauty to light the way.