Through Affliction to a More Sustainable Life - Omer Day 19

by Andy Oram

Weighed nearly to the ground by bricks, grasping for wisps of straw that were stranded by other desperate slaves, frenzied by rumors that another killing of babies will be ordered--that is one form of oppression.  We can well identify with it today as real wages fall, social supports that used to fill the gap get undercut, and chances to climb out of the pit vanish.

But simultaneous with the oppression of blows and poverty, I must struggle with the oppression of finery. I remember the fine melons, the leeks, the onions. I nearly taste the succulent meat on my tongue. But I must learn the austere life, one in harmony with the Supreme Being who provides me with life.

What I do no realize is that my exile is temporary. My people's future takes us to a land laden with luscious grapes. But not until I am stripped of jewels and adornments. I must become plain again.

Like the Israelites among the Egyptians, modern people have to relearn our construction techniques, our wasteful food consumption, and our relationship to Nature. Otherwise, climate change and environmental degradation will continue leading to the bizarre diseases and harmful unbalances among species that we have seen over the past few decades, a modern series of plagues that never lift.

Living now in the unfathomably wealthy middle class suburbs of the United States, provided with all manner of beeping distractions on which I can write this essay and entertain myself in so many ways, I have to put myself in a radically new mental space to spend even seven days thinking of slavery and deprivation, or forty-nine days in contemplation of my good luck. Only by doing so can I receive the revelation of my relationship to the universe.

What sort of affliction will lead me to revelation? The discipline places heavy demands on me. It is hard to switch to a smaller car, to wait in the dark for a bus, to put on an extra sweater in winter and drench my face regularly so I can do without air conditioning in the summer. But Pesach has made me ready for a life in harmony with the world I live in.

Today is Day 19, which is two weeks and five days of the Omer.
Today is Day 19, which is two weeks and five days of the journey from bondage to revelation.

Andy Oram is a writer and editor at O'Reilly Media, a leading media outlet in the computer field. He is also an activist in the Jewish Climate Action Network as well as other progressive political organizations, and a member of Temple Shir Tikvah of Winchester, Mass. Some of his writings can be found at http://praxagora.com/andyo/fiction.

The Last Leaves - Omer Day 18

by Rabbi Katy Z. Allen

Autumn...

leaves turning, 
woods aglow with color...

leaves falling,
covering the ground,
branches bare for the winter...

a familiar sight,

a quantity known.

But now, in spring, 

I find leaves,

freshly fallen,

in my yard.

I know their source,

the sapling beeches,

holding their leaves through the winter...

but come spring, 

fall they must,

for only thus can new growth begin.


Today is Day 18, which is two weeks and four days of the Omer.
Today is Day 18, which is two weeks and four days of the journey from bondage to revelation.

Rabbi Katy Allen is a board certified chaplain and serves as a Nature Chaplain and the Facilitator of One Earth Collaborative, a program of Open Spirit. She is the founder and rabbi of Ma'yan Tikvah - A Wellspring of Hope, which holds services outdoors all year long. She is a co-convener and coordinator of the Boston-based Jewish Climate Action Network.

What Does Freedom Mean to You? Omer Day 17

The following is a Passover project of the North Shore University Hospital Chaplaincy Department, in Manhasset, New York. It was coordinated by Rabbi Daniel Coleman. A larger format version of it can be found here.

 

Today is the seventeenth day, which is two weeks and three days of the Omer.

Today is the seventeenth day, which is two weeks and three days of the journey from bondage to redemption.

Rabbi Daniel Coleman serves as chaplain at North Shore University Hospital and is on the board of the National Association of Jewish Chaplains.Rabbi Daniel Coleman was awarded “Chaplain of the Year” by North Shore hospital - flagship of the nation's second largest secular health system - recognizing him for bringing comfort to thousands of patients and their families and helping them harness Judaism’s healing tradition and wisdom. 

The Dream and Its Interpretation - Omer Day 16

A. D. Gordon, translated by Rabbi Katy Z. Allen

A. D. Gordon (1856-1922) was an early Zionist and pioneer in the Land of Israel. His words, written 100 years ago in totally different circumstances, resonate today when we read them through the lenses of climate change and environmental degradation. 

We dreamed, you and I, 
my brother and my sister, 
interpreter it has none, 
an ancient dream it is, 
as the days when we went forth from exile, 
but you forgot it or did not elucidate it for yourselves,
and I did not recount it to you. 
Grand is the dream, 
vast like the void of the universe, 
and we long for it with our souls, 
but I will not remind you of it this time, 
except for a small fragment/excerpt.

Now, please hear, my brother, 
please hear my dream, my sister, 
and remember that you also dreamed as I did. 

In my dream--and here it is, 
I arrive at the land. 
And the land is neglected and desolate
and is in the hands of foreigners, 
and the destruction darkens the light of her face 
and destroys her spirit, 
and an alien government corrupts her. 
Distant from me and strange to me 
is the land of my ancestors,
and I, too, am distant from her and a stranger to her. 
The single connection that ties me to her, 
and the lone memory that reminds me 
that she is my mother and I am her son, 
is--because my soul is also desolate 
like her, 
for it, too, fell into the hands of foreigners,
to destruct it and destroy it. 
I feel the destruction and I ponder the ruins
with all my soul
and with every ounce of my being, 
and a divine voice goes forth from the ruins and declares, 
“Mortal! Consider these ruins, 
and consider them once again, 
turn not a blind eye to them. 
And you shall know and gain insight 
to what you already understand, 
that the destruction is the destruction of your soul, 
and the destroyer is the destroyer in your life, 
in the midst of which you lived in foreign lands 
and which clung to you until this time. 
Remember this, 
for your redemption requires this! 
And as you continue to ponder and to dig deeper, 
you shall see that from below the ruins
an orphan cinder still whispers, 
saved by hiding from the spirit of that life,
and the spirit of the land breathes upon it 
to bring it to life.
And when it totally abandoned that life, 
which others created,
when you left their land and arrived here 
to create a new life for yourself, your life--
then cinder smoldered and lived,
glowed and brought forth its flame, 
and you returned and lived,
and your people and your land returned and lived.

Today is Day 16, which is two weeks and two days of the Omer.
Today is Day 16, which is two weeks and two days of the journey from bondage to revelation.

Rabbi Katy Allen is a board certified chaplain and serves as a Nature Chaplain and the Facilitator of One Earth Collaborative, a program of Open Spirit. She is the founder and rabbi of Ma'yan Tikvah - A Wellspring of Hope, which holds services outdoors all year long. She is a co-convener and coordinator of the Boston-based Jewish Climate Action Network.

In the Ice - Omer Day 15

Photos by Lisa B. Kaye

Text by Rabbi Katy Z. Allen

What do we see in ice?

The incredible beauty of Creation?

Ice dams and water damage?

Delicate tapestry?

Remnants of the bondage of winter?

A reflection of our self or the world?

Hope for new beginnings?

The intersection of solid and liquid, of secure and fluid?

The uncertainty of all?

What do you see in ice?

Today is the fifteenth day, which is two weeks and one day of the Omer.
Today is the fifteenth day, which is two weeks and one day of the journey from bondage to revelation.

Rabbi Katy Allen is a board certified chaplain and serves as a Nature Chaplain and the Facilitator of One Earth Collaborative, a program of Open Spirit. She is the founder and rabbi of Ma'yan Tikvah - A Wellspring of Hope, which holds services outdoors all year long. She is a co-convener and coordinator of the Boston-based Jewish Climate Action Network.

Lisa Baye Kaye is an amateur cell phone photographer and poet by passion and a healthcare and educational consultant by trade. She has lived all over the USA and currently resides in Metrowest, MA. In her words, “I believe that nature is a great healer and we must protect this sacred Earth that invites us to be part of its system.”

A Vision of a World - Omer Day 14

Malchut of Gevurah

by Judith Felsen

Today we know a vision of a world enhanced by conscious rigor

is a potential outcome of restraint embodied in commitment to Your will

as we begin to act to shift the fate of earth from futures of destruction to its Eden.

We recognize today in this sefirot’s light an image of a planet

with apparent history of each human’s lower nature

once concealed and now revealed.

The scars of our desires now become the guides exposed

to offer pathways of correction, our teshuvah, in cooperation with Your will.

Correction is within us and apparent in our daily life

as we create new structures  which do manifest our values changed

as centuries of darkened habits of the other side are altered.

We can restore Your kingdom here as we meld into one with You.

There is no separation of our will from Yours in this world redeemed.

Your light, all emanations of reality flow through divine sefirot and abide in us.

We catalyze Your essence and rebuild Your majesty.

As Your schliach we protect and heal our planet.

We are mighty farmers of Your light, all workers of Your earthly kingdom.

We come today to till our fields with consciousness, now fueled by our atonement,

to sow our crops as You advise with discipline and willingness,

to yield Your blessings once revealed, then concealed and now revealed again.

Creation through divine restriction, malchut of gevurah

is empowerment and emanation of Your will

as with divine restraint we restore balance,

heal our earth and harvest holiness in crops of life.

Today is the fourteenth day, which is two weeks of the Omer.
Today is the fourteenth day, which is two weeks of the journey from bondage to revelation.

Copyright 2015  Judith E. Felsen, Ph. D. Used by permission.

Judith Felsen holds a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology, certificates in hypnotherapy, NLP, Eriksonian Hypnosis, and Sacred Plant Medicine. She is a dancer of sacred circle dance, an AMC kitchen crew, trail information volunteer, trail adopter, and daily student of Torah and Judaism. She is enrolled in Rabbinical Seminary International. She has studied Buddhism, A Course in Miracles, and other mystical traditions. She is a hiker, walker, runner, and lives in the White Mountains with her husband and two large dogs. Her life centers around her Jewish studies and daily application.

Have We the Wisdom? Omer Day 13

Yesod of Gevurah

by Judith Felsen

As our sages have at times advised, have we the wisdom now to listen

and to respond to all compelling signs that less is more?

Are  we able now to triumph in recognizing indicators

all of which tell when to stop?

The time for our cessation of past idols is upon us

as well as clear direction for destruction of our golden calves.

Embodiment of care of Elohim may signify to “just say no”

in preparation for corrective local plans.

Are we ready to embrace the light of spheres above

assimilating Your transmission of a path to health?

Chesed, gevurah, netzach and hod all do contain  

the energy  to build a renewed world through our restraint.

Our discipline, Your strength, withholding and divine constraint

directs us in the farming of new life.

Today’s sefirot guide us with a mighty focus

as we “just say no” to that which brings destruction,

and recast earth’s riches and our assets to all

that saves our world and brings forth life.

Today is the thirteenth day, which is one week and six days of the Omer.
Today is the thirteenth day, which is one week and six days of the journey from bondage to revelation.

Copyright 2015  Judith E. Felsen, Ph. D. Used by permission.

Judith Felsen holds a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology, certificates in hypnotherapy, NLP, Eriksonian Hypnosis, and Sacred Plant Medicine. She is a dancer of sacred circle dance, an AMC kitchen crew, trail information volunteer, trail adopter, and daily student of Torah and Judaism. She is enrolled in Rabbinical Seminary International. She has studied Buddhism, A Course in Miracles, and other mystical traditions. She is a hiker, walker, runner, and lives in the White Mountains with her husband and two large dogs. Her life centers around her Jewish studies and daily application.

Is it Too Late? Omer Day 12

Hod of Gevurah

by Judith Felsen

Is it too late to beg forgiveness of a world

seen only through the eyes of our desires,

heard only through our ears awaiting affirmation

of our deals and continuous demands?

Is it too late to mend our sight as we adjust

from our myopia to corrected long term vision?

Is it too late to make repairs to reconstruct

our damage to Your tattered footstool

scarred by our constant battering?

Is it too late for You to hear our humbled cries

and yearning in our delayed efforts to return

Your world to You?

We pray with muddied hands washed in polluted waters

as we bend our knees in tending poisoned soils.

We chant with voices damaged an atmosphere

consumed by our debris.

This is our midnight.

We  live today in  pyramids we built

in deals conspired with our own oppressors.

And yet we seek to quickly leave mitzrayim of our making,

undeserving of redemption’s path and barely willing

to assume Your yoke.

With humbleness and new restraint we follow You

on paths unknown into a desert we both crave and fear.

With sadness and our own regret we slowly see the imprint

of our lower selves upon Your world, as we now ask, 

“Is it too late for yet another chance,

as we transform the makings of our golden calf into a dwelling place

that is Your home?”

Today is the twelfth day, which is one week and five days of the Omer.
Today is the twelfth day, which is one week and five days of the journey from bondage to revelation.

Copyright 2015  Judith E. Felsen, Ph. D. Used by permission.

Judith Felsen holds a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology, certificates in hypnotherapy, NLP, Eriksonian Hypnosis, and Sacred Plant Medicine. She is a dancer of sacred circle dance, an AMC kitchen crew, trail information volunteer, trail adopter, and daily student of Torah and Judaism. She is enrolled in Rabbinical Seminary International. She has studied Buddhism, A Course in Miracles, and other mystical traditions. She is a hiker, walker, runner, and lives in the White Mountains with her husband and two large dogs. Her life centers around her Jewish studies and daily application.

The Force of Our Desire - Omer Day 11

Netzach of Gevurah
by Judith Felsen

Can the force of our desire

create a power made for self,

become a tool for good?

Can the strength of our own will

convert a tidal wave of damage

into streams of irrigation?

May our desecration carve a birthing place

for possibilities otherwise untold?

Will our irresponsibility bring us miseries

which smash the walls of our denial?

Can pride and greed transform

to good will, cooperation meant for all , not one?

Will our heading for disaster help us realize

the team we’re on has helped to do us in?

It’s not too late, it seems, to use the errors of our ways

to make new paths now based on life instead of profit.

On this day of netzach of gevurah,

may we use our will, our pride, our stubbornness

to make our victory our new surrender to Your yoke  

to feed our fortitude to plow Your fields

as You would have them done.

Intensity of our mistakes can turn things inside out

transforming sewage heaps to sparkling mounds of memories

reminding us of our mistakes

now tilled  with new corrections as we

turn our strength, our stubborn will, our victories

to work for You.


Today is the eleventh day, which is one week and four days of the Omer.
Today is the eleventh day, which is one week and four days of the journey from bondage to revelation.

Copyright 2015  Judith E. Felsen, Ph. D. Used by permission.

Judith Felsen holds a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology, certificates in hypnotherapy, NLP, Eriksonian Hypnosis, and Sacred Plant Medicine. She is a dancer of sacred circle dance, an AMC kitchen crew, trail information volunteer, trail adopter, and daily student of Torah and Judaism. She is enrolled in Rabbinical Seminary International. She has studied Buddhism, A Course in Miracles, and other mystical traditions. She is a hiker, walker, runner, and lives in the White Mountains with her husband and two large dogs. Her life centers around her Jewish studies and daily application.

Is There Time for Harmony? Omer Day 10

Tiferet of Gevurah

by Judith Felsen

Is there time for harmony,

hope for a planet to restore,

or has imbalance formed by us

made avalanches of indiscretion

too vast to alter?

Is there a window of time

for discernment correctly applied

to afford adjusted actions

toward reconstruction of our earth?

Has restraint of desire come too late

or is there a chance for discipline to

re-calibrate our lifestyles in accordance with survival?

Today we reflect upon perhaps what are

our own unruly wants and needs,

as we examine inner adjustments required

to restore  internal balance  to bring to this world.

Harmony of restraint allows for cultivation of Your garden.

In this season of omer counting may we have a chance

to bring Your beauty to this earth,

to rectify indulgences with disciplined awareness

so that this world, with Your will,

is balanced once again.

Today is the tenth day, which is one week and three days of the Omer.
Today is the tenth day, which is one week and three days of the journey from bondage to revelation.

Copyright 2015  Judith E. Felsen, Ph. D. Used by permission.

Judith Felsen holds a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology, certificates in hypnotherapy, NLP, Eriksonian Hypnosis, and Sacred Plant Medicine. She is a dancer of sacred circle dance, an AMC kitchen crew, trail information volunteer, trail adopter, and daily student of Torah and Judaism. She is enrolled in Rabbinical Seminary International. She has studied Buddhism, A Course in Miracles, and other mystical traditions. She is a hiker, walker, runner, and lives in the White Mountains with her husband and two large dogs. Her life centers around her Jewish studies and daily application.