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Week 3
24 April | 30 Nisan
“True compassion means not only feeling another’s pain,
but also being moved to help relieve it.”  – Daniel Goleman
During the third week of the Counting of the Omer (Days 15-21 corresponding to April 24-April 30, 2020) we will be focusing on the middah of compassion.
Understanding Compassion

Compassion stems from the notion of closeness. It is most natural for us to feel compassion for those with whom are closest to us. But Jewish tradition takes this one step further, commanding us to also have compassion for the stranger, for the person we don’t even know. According to Alan Morinis, compassion is an “inner quality that grows within us out the perception that we are not really separate from the other.” The Hebrew word for compassion, rachamim , comes from the Hebrew word rechem , or womb. This image calls to mind that we began our lives inextricably linked to another human being and asks us to think about all the ways we remain connected to others. Of course, we recognize that, physically, we are distinct beings. But at a deeper level, there is also an understanding that we are interconnected – that I somehow share in, or feel, the sufferings and joys of others – even those whom I do not know. These feelings of connectedness are more than just emotions; they also compel us to action. If your sufferings are mine, then I want to work to end them. And if your joys are mine, then I want to celebrate them. 
Cultivating Compassion – An Invitation to Practice
Choose one or both practices for this week of the Omer.

  • Once a day, empathize with another person – whether this person is a family member, friend or a stranger. Try to feel what compassion for this other person feels like in your body. Then do one thing (e.g., offering assistance, setting aside time to listen to this person, sharing a smile) to express your compassion for this person.


  •     Count each day of the Omer this week (Days 15-21) by reciting the following blessing: 
Baruch atah, Adonai Eloheinu, Melech ha-olam, asher kid’shanu b’mitzvotav v’tzivanu al s’firat ha-omer.

Blessed are You, Adonai our God, who orders the universe, allowing us the opportunity to experience holiness through the commandments and commanding us to count the Omer.

Today is the _____ day of the Omer. May I experience the blessing of compassion this day.
Cultivating Compassion – An Invitation to Meditate
Sit for 10-20 minutes of meditation each day this week. You may listen to the audio or simply set your own intentions during your practice.
Please note: It has come to our attention that our meditation audio files are not currently compatible with some devices, such as iPhones, and iPads. We have reached out to our technology teams to see if we can modify this and make it so that the audio works from any device. In the meantime, to ensure the most high quality meditation experience, we ask that you please access and play the recordings from a computer desktop or laptop. We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your understanding. We will keep you posted on this situation.
Audio Transcript:

Shalom. This meditation is designed to help us cultivate the quality of compassion and loving kindness. Take you seat and notice your posture. Try to sit in a way, whether in a chair or on a cushion, where your body is upright and your spine is straight but not stiff. Feel the support of the cushion or chair beneath you and relax into this space. Begin to notice your breath. Your inhalation and exhalation. Become aware of breath sensations, how the breath feels in your body, and set an intention to stay here with your breath for the next minute or so.

Now invite into your awareness an image of yourself. See yourself, your physical body. Or imagine your essence, your soul. Hold this image tenderly in your mind’s eye and silently wish for yourself these blessings:
 
May I feel safe.
May I feel happy.
May I live with ease.

Expanding our awareness, call into your heart or into your mind’s eye, the image of someone you love who is easy for you to love right now. This can be a person, but also a pet. And as you imagine this being, wish for this being these same things:

May you feel safe.
May you feel happy.
May you live with ease.

Expanding our awareness even further, we now want to call into our hearts the image of a neutral person. Someone you do not have strong feelings for at all. It could be someone you can picture, like the person who drives your child’s bus or mows your lawn. Or it might be a person whose face you can’t imagine, like the person who delivers your packages. As you focus loving attention upon this person, wish for him or her these things:

May you feel safe.
May you feel happy.
May you live with ease.

Expanding our awareness again, we now call into our hearts someone with whom we are having a difficult time; someone with whom we are in conflict; someone whose views or opinions anger us in some way. And see if it is possible for you to wish for this person these same blessings:

May you feel safe.
May you feel happy.
May you live with ease.

And now, as if it were possible, we expand our heart even wider and invite into our heart-space all beings everywhere, saying:

May all beings everywhere feel safe.
May all beings everywhere feel happy.
May all beings everywhere live with ease.

Added Inspiration
An Unending Love by Rabbi Rami Shapiro

We are loved by an unending love.
We are embraced by arms that find us
even when we are hidden from ourselves.
We are touched by fingers that soothe us
even when we are too proud for soothing.
We are counseled by voices that guide us
even when we are too embittered to hear.
We are loved by an unending love.
We are supported by hands that uplift us
even in the midst of a fall.
We are urged on by eyes that meet us
even when we are too weak for meeting.
We are loved by an unending love.
Embraced, touched, soothed, and counseled,
Ours are the arms, the fingers, the voices;
Ours are the hands, the eyes, the smiles;
We are loved by an unending love.

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