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The commandment for counting the Omer is from the Torah, written in Vayikra 23:15 & 16:
You shall count from the day after Shabbat, from the day that you bring the waving omer, seven full weeks, even to the next day after the seven-week - you shall count 50 days, and then you will present a new Mincha (thanksgiving offering) unto your God.
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Each night, when the sun sets, say the Bracha and then count the appropriate day of the Omer (below). This year makes it very easy to remember which day falls when - the first day of the Omer coincides with the first day of April!
(Click to enlarge image)
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The middah hod is the root of gratitude (Todah/Hoda’ah), as in “Give your thanks (hodot) to the Heavens” (Psalm 8:2). How can we see life itself as glorious? How can we permeate our lives with an appreciation of the wonders of the world in which we live, the wonder of life itself? This week, let the aspect of hod/glory heighten our awareness of the beauty of each moment, and deepen our consciousness of the wonder that surrounds us.
Click on the calendar icons below to add the daily prayer prompts to your personal calendar.
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Day 29 - May 18 - Setting an intention for daily affirmation, or, pray and mean it!
What if, each morning this week, you began the day with a personal kavanah (intentional prayer) that set you up to notice the glory and wonder of the day? Maybe you say something like, “How glorious is this day!” Maybe you write your own. Or maybe you borrow the words of the Psalms and say them as if they were your spontaneous utterance: “this is the day that God has made, let’s rejoice and be happy in it!” or “God’s glory fills the entire universe, earth and heavens!”
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Day 30 - May 19 - How do you cultivate an attitude of gratitude?
When we take the time to notice the hod/glory of each moment, we gradually open ourselves to appreciation and gratitude. Giving thanks does not have to be for only for the “big things,” but for the everyday miracles we experience both in our beings and in the natural world. Examples of both are breath, mobility, insight, and emotion; sunrise, rainbows, the flight of birds, and the change of seasons. Our daily prayer of thanks in the Amidah states, for the everyday miracles, for the wonders and gifts that are with us each moment, evening, morning...may all that lives thank You always.
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Day 31 - May 20 - When giving thanks with King David’s prayer, how does it change your understanding of thanksgiving?
King David’s practice - King David prayed to God, saying simply, “for all is from You and from Your own hand I give to You.” This compact prayer can remind us today that the world we live in is borrowed from its creator, that what we have to give is already given to us by that same creator. David’s prayer teaches us that to give thanks to God is to acknowledge that the source and the destination of our blessings are one.
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Day 32 - May 21 - How do you show your own glory (hod) through your actions, without the goal of elevating your stature or standing?
Do not seek greatness for yourself, do not covet honor. Let your deeds exceed your learning. Do not crave the table of kings - for your table is greater than theirs and your crown greater than their crowns, and your employer can be relied upon to compensate you for your labors. - Pirkei Avot 6:5
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Day 33 - May 22 - How do you take a breath in the midst of sorrow to celebrate?
Today is known as Lag b’Omer, the 33rd day of the Omer (Lamed (30) + Gimel (3) = 33). According to tradition, the Omer is observed as a period of mourning: weddings, musical concerts, and haircuts are prohibited until (and some say after) this day. Lag b’Omer is celebrated each year in Israel on Mt. Meron (near Tzfat), at the tomb of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, the great 2nd-century rabbi and mystic. Bar Yochai is said to have died on Lag b’Omer, but because he brought such light into the world, told his students to celebrate instead of mourn. To this day, thousands of Hasidim visit the grave of Bar Yochai on Lag b’Omer. Many three-year-old boys receive their first haircut, and there is singing, dancing, feasting, and bonfires. Indeed, throughout all of Israel on this day, you can see bonfires lit in every neighborhood, secular and religious.
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Day 34 - May 23 - How do you show your own glory (hod) through your actions, without the goal of elevating your stature or standing?
Do not seek greatness for yourself, do not covet honor. Let your deeds exceed your learning. Do not crave the table of kings - for your table is greater than theirs and your crown greater than their crowns, and your employer can be relied upon to compensate you for your labors. - Pirkei Avot 6:5
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Day 35 - May 24 - Find, read, or share some good news today.
The modern Hebrew term for gratitude, or “good and welfare” is hakarat haTov, literally: noticing/recognizing the good. Being thankful for what one has, rather than being angry with not having enough, is easy enough to say, but harder to practice. Rabbi Nachman who famously taught, “It is a great mitzvah to always be happy.” (Likutey Moharan II, 24) also is said to have taught, “Gratitude rejoices with her sister, Happiness, and is always prepared to light a candle and party. She doesn’t much care for her neighbors Boredom, Despair and Taking-Life-For-Granted.”
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