The Omer Date: 9 Iyar

בייה

Topic: Omer (Sheaf) – Day 24 / Tiferet of Netzach

The Reason We Count

The Omer (Sheaf) was a harvest offering brought to the Temple on the second day of Passover (Lev. 23:9-14). We are count “seven full weeks and on the 50th day a festival known as Shavuot (the Feast of Weeks) was to be celebrated. In the Rabbinic tradition, it was understood that even after the destruction of the Temple, we are to actually count the day, “This is the X day of the Omer.” The Kabbalah explains that each of the 49 days of the Omer represents one of the combinations of the seven lower Sefirot (divine emanations). Each Sefirah has seven lesser Sefirot). So, we are to take all the teachings and apply its meanings on a daily basis for self-refinement. The Omer Prayer “Benevolent are You, YHWH, our Elohim, King of the Universe, who has sanctified us with His commandments, and commanded us concerning the counting of the Omer. Today is twenty-four days of the Omer.” Mystical Meaning The Week Four is Netzach (Eternity: perpetuity, victory, endurance) of Sefirah. Day Twenty-four is tiferet (beauty, symmetry) of Netzach.

We learned this week that we need desire (chesed) to win a game. We then needed power (gevurah) to win a game. The tiferet of Netzach is “the beauty of competition.” Hashem created this world for competition, another aspect of Creation. Thus, we are not to be afraid of challenges/competition placed in front of us. We find a beauty in a competition. For example, we can find that tiferet (beauty) is revealed when both teams play by the rules. As is the rule, there is always going to be a winner and a loser in a game. The tiferet is broken when the opponent or your team tries to overpower the other team with strength or tricks. Example: There is always going to be a winner or a loser in a personal relationship. The tiferet of netzach is to give (lose) and take (win) to make the relationship stronger. You want to go to a steakhouse and your wife wants to go to all vegetable restaurant. You give in (lose) by going to the restaurant of her choice. Next time, you take (win) her to a steakhouse for she allowed you. However, the Torah does not permit us to cross over other person’s domain or business. For example, if a woman is married, engaged, or has boyfriend, she is off-limit. You cannot violate her man’s domain as it is against the Torah. Another example: When you go to a restaurant, you grab extra napkins for your use in the future as you are leaving ge·zel; loot, plunder). This is prohibited by the Torah as it does not belong to) גֶזֶל the restaurant. This is called in Hebrew you. While you are at the restaurant, you are allowed to use napkins, but you are not allowed to take them for use later. Another example: You drive your car gently. But when you get into a rental car, you leave trash or drive like a mad man. This is also “gezel.” You are to care for the rental car as if you own it. “Gezel” is hard to do teshuvah (repentance) since it could have happened a long time ago and you cannot recollect when it happened as each sin requires teshuvah. So, we are to be generous to the needy to compensate for “gezel.” It won’t completely wash away “gezel”, but at least you regretted for your sin and vowed not to do it again. That is the real teshuvah: regret your sin and vow not to repeat same sin. Meditation for the day: Do I care for other’s property as if it is mine or completely disregard it? What are my ‘gezel’?

Shalom. www.kohebroots.com

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