Parashat for the end of Pesach and the Counting of the Omer

summary

5765 being a leap year has provided a rather odd annual cycle that has created much excitement for our Orthodox brothers and sisters at this season of Pesach. One only had to read the supplements that adorned the Jewish papers to see the complexities caused by the first night of Pesach coming on Motzi Shabbat – the end of the Sabbath.

The precise letter of the halakhah (Jewish law) has probably been of less concern to Liberal Jews but we are still affected by it. One example of this is that the last day of Peasch for us (we observe 7 days whilst the Orthodox in the Diaspora keep 8 days of Pesach) falls this Shabbat. Therefore our cycle of parashiyot is somewhat interrupted as we hold parashat kedoshim in abeyance to next week.

Our Liberal Communities will either read Shirat ha’Yam Song at the Sea (Exodus 15:1-18) or Deuteronomy 4:32-40. The former provides a song that to some may seem vitriolic in its praise of God’s redeeming power. However, put in the context of a people gaining their freedom after hundreds of years of captivity, their joy expressed in these terms seems quite understandable. Indeed, the allusion to it remains strong in our daily prayer through the use of verses 11 and 18 (“Mi Chamocha”) in our liturgy.

The latter portion, is an exhortation for the Israelites who stood at the end of the forty year wanderings to observe the Law given to their ancestors for whom God had performed the miracle that allowed Yetziat Mimitzrayim, the Exodus from Egypt.

The haftarah that will be read in most of our Communities will be Ezekiel 37:1-14. Writing during the exile in Babylon (sixth century BCE), Ezekiel fortified his people’s faith in God’s forgiveness and redeeming power and reminded them of the importance of structured ritual as a basis for religious revival. In this mystical dream or vision, Ezekiel affirms that just as God gave life to the enslaved in Egypt, so will God give life to the Israelites exiled in Babylon. TO express this hope, he evokes the image of dry bones being brought to life by God.

commentary

There are fifty days between Peasch and Shavuot. We keep track of these days by Sefirat ha’Omer, Counting the Omer. An omer is a bundle of grain. In ancient times, the Israelites would offer a bundle of grain at the Temple on each day between the two pilgrim festivals. Sefirat ha’Omer begins on the second night of Pesach. On each night the blessing is recited, “Blessed are You, Eternal One our God, Sovereign of the universe, You sanctify us by Your commandments and enjoin us to count the Omer,” and the day is announced, “Today is the first day of the Omer.” The announcement is traditionally made at Ma’ariv, the evening service or at the dinner table.

For many years, the Omer was basically ignored by Liberal Jews. However, I would suggest that the Omer provides us with an opportunity to make a daily practical and spiritual check on our lives, at least for this period of our year. The Omer concretises the relation between the biblical liberation from Egypt and the revelation of Sinai.

At Pesach we ask ourselves questions of ourselves with an individual focus, such as what are the things that enslave me today? What could I do to make a change so that I am freer in this year ahead? We may also ourselves questions of a more global scope, such as why are people still physically enslaved today and what can I do to bring and end to that situation? There are practical answers to these questions (perhaps see the sections below for inspiration concerning the latter) but what of the spiritual?

The kabbalists transformed this period from an historical journey to one of a personal, inner journey to lighten our burden of slavery that cannot be answered with practical steps. They used to concentrate on different aspects of the sefirot (spiritual centres through which the Divine energy relates to us and the world). Therefore, the period became a time of real inner reflection.

I am not sure whether I will ever allow enough time in my life for this process to be truly meaningful. However, just saying the bracha each night before I go to bed at the moment and thinking about how my inner being, that which is really ‘me’ has affected my behaviour seems to create a sense of inner calm and at the same time, excitement as I move towards the moment that I will stand at the foot of Sinai again. Rebbe Menachem Mendel of Kotsk once asked his followers where God was. ‘Everywhere, of course,’ they retorted, shocked that their teacher should even poses so elementary a question. ‘No!’ he replied. ‘God is where we let God in.’ If no more than a few moments from the time the light goes off to when you drift into sleep, perhaps say the bracha and allow for some inner time to provide the possibility for God to come in.