Author: omerharvest
PHOTOS: Crafting the Omer Dancing Pole with Chevruta 5771
Hiddur Sefirat Ha’Omer: Crafting the Omer in Community
Daily Omer Haiku 5771 by Yael Raff Peskin
7th DAY OF THE OMER 5771
MALCHUT -> CHESED
overflowing love
majestic culmination
omer immersion
8th DAY OF THE OMER 5771
CHESED -> GEVURAH
wilderness sojourn
awesome strength powered by love
held in tenderness
9th DAY OF OMER 5771
NORTH -> NORTH!
GEVURAH -> GEVURAH!
mystery of mysteries
rushing rivers of the soul
strengthened by great strength
10th DAY OF OMER 5771
EAST -> NORTH
TIFERET -> GEVURAH
spring winds blow sweetness
harmony dances through fields
inner strength finds us
12th DAY OF OMER 5771
DOWN -> NORTH
HOD -> GEVURAH
weakened body’s gifts
humbling experience
finding strength in awe
13th DAY OF OMER 5771
WEST -> NORTH (blending of mystery)
YESOD -> GEVURAH (bonding in strength)
solid foundations
unwavering commitments
rootedness, grounded
14th DAY OF OMER 5771
CENTER -> NORTH (complete being-ness w/in mystery)
MALCHUT -> GEVURAH (majesty w/in strength)
armloads of sunbeams
overflowing emptiness
hidden moon delight
15th DAY OF OMER 5771
SOUTH -> EAST (inner clarity/essential self within balance)
CHESED -> TIFERET (lovingkindness in beauty/harmony/compassion)
wellspring of kindness
soul searching is optional
we’re soaking in it
16th DAY OF OMER 5771
NORTH -> EAST (vision/mystery within balance)
GEVURAH -> TIFERET (focussed strength in compassion)
mysterious strength
energizing compassion
great soaring eagle
22nd DAY OF OMER 5771
SOUTH -> UP (inner clarity of the universal)
CHESED -> NETZACH (lovingkindness of endurance)
broken open hearts
jagged rocks offer footholds
loving the journey
23rd DAY OF OMER 5771
NORTH -> UP (mystery of the essential/universal)
GEVURAH -> NETZACH (strength/restraint in endurance)
emerging in awe
rivers crashing through mountains
wearing down boulders
24th DAY OF OMER 5771
EAST -> ABOVE (balance in the essential/universal)
TIFERET -> NETZACH (beauty/harmony/compassion in endurance)
sweetest connection
mother-daughter pedicures!
ready for long haul
28th DAY OF OMER 5771
CENTER -> ABOVE (fullness in the essential/universal)
MALCHUT -> NETZACH (majesty in endurance)
keep on keeping on
unimagined life journeys
beyond the beyond
29th DAY OF OMER 5771
SOUTH -> BELOW (inner clarity in rootedness)
CHESED -> HOD (lovingkindness in humility/interbeing)
sinking into light
embracing impermanence
prostrations of grace
30th DAY OF OMER 5771
NORTH -> BELOW (vision/mystery in rootedness)
GEVURAH -> HOD (power in humility/interbeing)
ancestors calling
public radio fund drives
jump in, dig down deep
31st DAY OF OMER 5771
EAST -> BELOW (balance in rootedness)
TIFERET -> HOD (beauty in humility/interbeing)
clean house, happy house
everything found its own place!
momentary bliss
34th DAY OF OMER 5771
WEST -> BELOW (blending in rootedness)
YESOD -> HOD (bonding in humility/interbeing)
only for myself?
what am I? if not now, when?
swimming in questions
35th DAY OF OMER 5771
CENTER -> BELOW (all in rootedness)
MALCHUT -> HOD (being-ness in humility/interbeing)
roses and redwoods
intertwining majesty
willow trees swaying
36th DAY OF OMER 5771
SOUTH -> WEST (essential self in blending)
CHESED -> YESOD (lovingkindness in bonding)
glittering treasures
ties that bind us together
twisting our way home
37th DAY OF OMER 5771
NORTH -> WEST (mystery in blending)
GEVURAH -> YESOD (strength/determination in bonding)
open to wonder
finding the path that’s been carved
clearing the brambles
44th DAY OF OMER 5771
NORTH -> CENTER (mystery in fullness)
GEVURAH -> MALCHUT (strength/determination in majesty)
courage taking flight
soaring through space and time
panoramic views
45th DAY OF OMER 5771
EAST -> CENTER (balance in fullness)
TIFERET -> MALCHUT (beauty/harmony in majesty)
spacious cloud-filled skies
spanning all generations
now is our moment
47th DAY OF OMER 5771
BELOW -> CENTER (rootedness in fullness)
HOD -> MALCHUT (humility/interbeing in majesty)
divine measured days
we are becoming always
taking hold of life
48th DAY OF OMER 5771
WEST -> CENTER (blending/healing in fullness)
YESOD -> MALCHUT (bonding in majesty)
low tide wiggle shells
starfish wedded to boulders
mussels huddle close
49th DAY OF OMER 5771 (thanks julie batz!)
CENTER -> CENTER (fullness in fullness)
MALCUT -> MALCHUT (majesty in majesty)
sh’ma yisroel
adonai eloheinu
adonai echad!
Omer Chants by Rabbi Shefa Gold
Below are eight chants by Rabbi Shefa Gold along with links to Shefa’s website so that you can hear Shefa offering these chants directly. The matching of the chants to each sefirah, as well as the selection of a chant that can be used each day of the Omer Period, was done by Chantleader Atzilah Ellen Solot and Yael Raff Peskin.
On any given day during the Omer Period, three of these chants are offered: Ivru/Breakthrough Chant, Chant of the Week and Chant of the Day.
They can all be chanted together in the evening (or morning) when the Omer is counted, and/or throughout the day … bringing awareness back–again and again–to the qualities of the day, infusing each moment with an embodied experience of the Omer journey.
THROUGHOUT THE OMER PERIOD – “IVRU, IVRU”
Go through, go through the gates, clear the way of the people! (Isaiah 62:10)
Ivru, ivru ba’sh’arim, panu derech ha’am
Click to hear Rabbi Shefa Gold chant: “Breakthrough: Ivru, Ivru”
DAY/WEEK ONE – CHESED – “ASHREI”
Happy are those that dwell in Your House; they keep on praising. (Psalm 84:5)
Ashrei yoshvei veytecha od y’hal’lucha
Click to hear Rabbi Shefa Gold chant: “Ashrei”
DAY/WEEK TWO – GEVURAH – “OZI V’ZIMRAT YAH”
My strength, (balanced) with the Song of God, will be my salvation. (Psalm 118:14, Exodus 15:2)
Ozi v’Zimrat Yah Vayahi li l’shu’ah
Click to hear Rabbi Shefa Gold chant: “Balancing Will and Surrender: Ozi v’Zimrat Yah”
DAY/WEEK THREE – TIFERET – “ET HAKOL ASA”
(God) makes everything beautiful in its time,
and also hides the universe in their hearts. (Ecclesiastes 3)
Et Hakol asa yafeh b’ito, gam et ha-olam natan b’libam
Click to hear Rabbi Shefa Gold chant: “Knowing Beauty and Finding the Universe: Et Hakol Asa”
DAY/WEEK FOUR – NETZACH – “KAYN AVARECH’CHA”
I will bless You with my very life; through Your Name I will raise my hands. (Psalm 63:5)
Kayn avarech’cha v’chayai; b’shimcha esa chapai
Click to hear Rabbi Shefa Gold chant: “With My Life: Kayn Avarech’cha”
DAY/WEEK FIVE – HOD – “HODIYEINI YAH”
Oh God, show me my end, and what is the measure of my days? (Psalm 39:5)
Hodiyeini Yah kitzi, u’midat yamai ma hi
Click to hear Rabbi Shefa Gold chant: “Inviting Our Future Selves: Hodiyeini Yah”
DAY/WEEK SIX – YESOD – “K’DOSHIM T’H’YU”
You shall be Holy, for I am Holy. (Leviticus 19:2)
K’doshim Ti’h’yu Ki Kadosh Ani
Click to hear Rabbi Shefa Gold chant: “Becoming Holy: K’doshim T’h’yu”
DAY/WEEK SEVEN – MALCHUT – “L’TAKAYN”
Healing the World through the Majesty of Nurture. (Alaynu)
L’takayn Olam b’malchut Shaddai
Click to hear Rabbi Shefa Gold chant: “The Majesty of Nurture: L’Takayn”
My Omer Counting Journey (#1): Cultivating Contemplative Practices in Chevruta
For almost twenty years, I have been counting and crafting the Omer with my chevruta, my family and my community, each year adding at least one new practice to further embody and beautify the qualities of the Omer Period.
I began counting the Omer with my chevruta in Oakland, CA in the early 1990’s, meeting weekly to reflect on the journeys of our lives within the framework of the Omer Period. We began using Rabbi Simon Jacobson’s now classic flip book when it was first published in 1996 and, over the years, a sweet format has evolved that includes reading from the flipbook, followed by a period of silent sitting meditation and then sharing what is up for us in our lives. Our discussion is guided by the particular combination of sefirot for that day, and that is the lens we look through to further cultivate the qualities of boundless lovingkindness; discipline and mindfulness; beauty and compassion; endurance and determination; humility and awe; bonding at our core; and open-hearted majesty in our lives.
Several years ago, we began integrating chanting into our Omer counting practice, matching one of Rabbi Shefa Gold’s chants to each of the sefirot and, also, choosing a chant to recite throughout the Omer Period. Now, we begin and end our gatherings with periods of chanting, further embodying the qualities of each day, each week and the entire Omer Period.
My Omer Counting Journey (#2): Family Practice and Colors of the Omer
After my daughter was born, I wanted to come up with a way to truly engage and include her in Counting the Omer. Appreciating the impulse of Waldorf Education to completely infuse the young child’s world with beauty, I turned to a trusted Waldorf staple: silk scarves! I chose seven pastel colors and purchased two vegetable-dyed 7” squares in each color. Since my two year-old daughter’s world was drenched in pink, she chose dark pink for the first day and week (Chesed/Lovingkindess) and light pink for the next one (Gevurah/ Structure). The beloved Waldorf rainbow of pastel colors continued: orange (Tiferet/ Beauty), yellow (Netzach/Endurance), green (Hod/Humility), blue (Yesod/Bonding) culminating in the regal purple (Malchut/Majesty).
A note on matching colors to the sefirot: I have done a fair amount of research and exploration on this topic and have found a variety of configurations and models. I figured my daughter’s sense of matching the color dark pink to lovingkindness, and following the rainbow to its lavender end (using a double dose of pink!), seemed as reasonable and appropriate as any other combination out there, so we went with that … and it has taken hold of us in a very deep way over the course of the last decade.
Back to the silk scarves … One scarf of each color is hung on a gold cord (beginning with dark pink on the far right and ending with lavender on the far left) in front of a window, wherever the best place is for sunlight to shine through. (Over the years, we have moved our Omer Counting scarves from the living room to the bedroom and now they are back in the living room.) We found these cute little colored clothes pins to match the colors of the scarves and they work great. Each week, one silk scarf (from the second group of scarves, not the ones that are strung on the gold cord) makes its way across the arc of colors–journeying from right to left (as Hebrew is written)– through the entire color spectrum and all of the qualities of the sefirot. In this way, there are 49 different color combinations, each offering a unique color experience of sunlight shining through. To see photos of the silk scarves, click here.
Our evolving practice includes saying the blessing for Counting the Omer each night at bedtime and moving the scarf over to the next day. When we wake up the next morning, the sun is shining through a bright new offering of color! Sometimes, we change the scarf first thing in the morning, giddy with excitement to see the sun dancing through the changing combination of colors.
In the morning, then, delighting in the new color qualities of the day streaming into the room, we read from Rabbi Simon Jacobson’s Omer Counting flip book for inspiration and encouragement to meet the day. A practice we added some years back was for each of us to then do some kind of movement with our bodies that is inspired by the reading. Each person in the family (or group) takes their turn. Then we do all of them together. Then we are really ready to meet the day!
omerharvest 