The Omer Date: 18 Iyar

בייה

Topic: Omer (Sheaf) – Day 33 / Hod of Hod

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 thirty-three days of the Omer.” Mystical Meaning The Week Five is Hod (Splendor: Withdrawal, surrender, sincerity) of Sefirah.

Day Thirty-third is hod of Hod.

The hod of hod means “the essence of emunah (faith).” We all believe in Hashem, but we do not have faith in Hashem. Even an atheist believes in Hashem because he had to believe in the existence of Hashem before he can reject Him. Why is that? The power of hod in the nefesh (physical body) is so strong and above the intellect we can understand. We cannot fully grasp Hashem nor can we understand faith. We are only scratching the surface of Ein Sof (Supreme Being). Thus, we try to understand Hashem through Torah study, thinking perhaps we can truly know Hashem and grasp the Light of Hashem.

The faith is when we try to bring our belief to the surface. The reason we are limited in believing Hashem is because we believe we are limited in believing Him and having faith in Him. Thus, we are limited by the limitation we see ourselves. For example, we believe we can’t walk through walls because we believe it to be solid. Therefore, we can’t walk through it, meaning we lack in faith. To believe in Hashem means to have 100% faith in Hashem. When we reach that level, or even 1%, nothing is impossible.

How does Hashem exist? He exists through faith by doing the mitzvot (deeds) to light His Sparks within me. There are some who truly believe in Hashem, but most of us don’t believe in Him. Thus, we are to reveal our faith by walking (doing deeds) the paths He has chosen for us. We claim that we believe in Hashem when things are going well with us. But, when things go sour, our faith goes out the window and tries to do things in a worldly way. Meaning, we don’t believe in Hashem.

Meditation for the day: How do I believe in Hashem? Is my belief based on when things are running smoothly in our way or hang on to Him even in trials? How am I nourishing the emunah in me?

Shalom.