There is a great beauty and spiritual sustenance in Jewish prayer practice, but the prayers don’t work like some magical incantation. Prayer is a vehicle that requires a driver, or, at
the very least, a co-pilot. When we open heart and soul, mix in wisdom and intuition, and add intellect and feeling into the
ancient formula of Jewish prayer, the synthesis yields spiritual nourishment for our modern circumstances. If the prayer seems dry, perhaps we haven’t added enough of ourselves. The responsibility for finding meaning in prayer is
upon us
~
Aleinu
.
What tools do we need to access prayer? Some reside in our very essence, our soul, our
neshama. We need do nothing more than open to ruach ~ the spirit that bubbles up from within. And some require us to invest in our Jewish learning to gain access to deeper wisdom and meaning freeze-dried within the structure of our sacred liturgy. Our interaction with prayer is the mayim chayim ~ the living waters that reconstitute the
nutritional content embedded in ancient prayer practices.
Unlocking the spiritual power in ancient custom is evidenced by the practice of counting the Omer ~ S’firat Ha’Omer. We can utilize this 49 day practice (seven weeks of seven days from Passover to Shavuot) as an opportunity for introspection and self-improvement. Combining the ancient (Biblical) practice of counting agrarian growth (from barley to wheat) and the Kabbalistic practice of moving through combinations of seven sefirot (representing emotional qualities or characteristics of the Source and within ourselves), a metaphorical journey unfolds from the festival of freedom to the festival linked by our sages to the revelation of Torah at Sinai. Counting the Omer is an ancient recipe for modern spiritual growth .
The Little Minyan Kehilla is one of a growing number of faith communities that draws
deeply from Judaic values of Earth-care. As just one of the many tools of Jewish tradition, we utilize the annual opportunity of S’firat Ha’Omer to recalibrate our internal rhythms in harmony
and synchronicity with the natural cadences of the Earth. As an Earth-centered practice, the Omer period can also be construed as a miniature version of the cycle of Shmita (every seven years) and Yovel/Jubilee (seven cycles of seven years). This is a Shmita year – one in which Torah tells us the Earth is to rest. Just as the Shmita cycle is designed to reset communal or societal rhythms to align with the needs of the land, the Omer cycle is a chance to align ourselves with the rhythms of spring and the spiritual freedom represented by our People’s journey from slavery and our receipt of Torah. We continue to value our freedom to choose the ways in which we seek, observe, and celebrate Judaism in our lives.
Tonight, we welcome Shabbat, and as the stars begin to reveal themselves in the sky, we also count the 35th day of the Omer ~ Machut/Nobility in Hod/Humility. As we enter this Shabbat, may we find ourselves standing tall in our dignity and modesty. Humility does not mean making ourselves small and invisible. Rather, when we are feeling the most full in spirit and secure in our value and nobility, that we have the greatest capacity for modesty.
