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I am certain that you, like me, have all experienced how unreliable our sense of time can be. In our ordinary life, time often seems to speed by. We find ourselves saying “where has this week gone?” or “where has the year gone?” (Sometimes I sing “Where have all the Flowers gone?”) Sometimes, even larger chunks of time seem to disappear without a trace.
I am equally certain that each of us have experienced are other instances where time drags and feels endless. What is it about us and time.
During this season of the year, Judaism offers a great opportunity to keep track of time. For seven weeks - between Passover and Shavuot - we count each day in a formal, ritualized way. This is called the Counting of the Omer. It appears to have its genesis in an ancient biblical celebration of the spring harvest.
It is not by accident that we mark the time between these two holidays. Passover marks our redemption from slavery and Shavuot marks our receipt of the gift of Torah at Mount Sinai. Starting on the Second night of Passover (near the end of the Seder), and for a total of 49 days, each evening, we Count the Omer, until we reach Shavuot. (An Omer is a measure of grain, in this case barley. The Torah actually required that an Omer of barley be brought to the Temple on the second day of Passover).
Waiting to put some time and distance between slavery and the receipt of Torah is a nice thought, but why count the Omer each day? Answering this question is a bit more challenging.
One answer is that it forces us to check in with ourselves every day for at least the few minutes it takes us to say: “Today is the XX day in the counting of the Omer.” Too often we find ourselves immersed in the past or pondering the future. The daily Omer ritual requires us to become attuned to the present.
I am proposing another reason for the daily ritual, and this theory will provide an opportunity for us to observe the ritual in a special way this year.
Shavuot marks the moment that we received the Torah. The Torah is spiritually and literarily very powerful. As such, it is too big to accept and absorb at one time. Our senses and our brains would be overloaded.
What if one purpose of counting for 49 days, is to enable us to receive a little piece of the Torah each day that we count. In this way we gently and calmly can absorb what the Torah wants to tell us.
Perhaps you are thinking: How can we reenact absorbing a little Torah at a time? I’m glad you asked. This year on Wednesday evenings, right after minyan, from May 8th until June 5th, we will be studying Pirkei Avot, the Ethics of our Ancestors. This special Text is customarily studied at this time of the year. It is a wisdom Text that provides guidance on how to live our lives, with topics including, among other things: friendship, work, family, learning, spirituality, and conduct.
Whatever the topic covered in each class, I can assure you that the discussion will be lively and worth the price of admission (which is nothing).
Join us every Wednesday evening. Services start at 7:30 and our discussion will begin at about 7:50. Here is the link:
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83559208295?pwd=ZGNQbFlxR3Y4S1Vuc1hiYUNCMnNuUT09
Meeting ID: 835 5920 8295
Passcode: 437484
Whatever the reasons may be for counting, it provides us with a good time to reflect a bit on our lives, our families, our friends, our JCC community, the greater Jewish community, the world, and Torah.
By the way, if you want to count the Omer on a regular basis, you can join us at any evening service at the link above.
Count, reflect, discuss, and be present.
Shabbat Shalom – Rabbi Michael S. Jay
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