The Omer Date: 16 Iyar

בייה

Topic: Omer (Sheaf) – Day 31 / Tiferet 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-one day of the Omer.” Mystical Meaning The Week Five is Hod (Splendor: Withdrawal, surrender, sincerity) of Sefirah.

Day Thirty-one is tiferet (Beauty, victory, endurance) of Hod.

The idea of ‘admit’ is very difficult and it may be above your level of comprehension. Not many people ‘admit’ despite their ability to do so. The moment you ‘admit’, the hod is upon him and it glows. For example, when Moshe came down from the mountain, his face glowed and no one was able to look at his face for forty years. To ‘admit’ is to be ‘humble’. The tiferet is actual beauty of emotion, and the hod is the aura surrounding the person when he ‘admits’ that he is wrong or respect others by giving ‘space’. How do we reach the level of tiferet of hod? It is through the rectification of attribute of hod in your nefesh (bodily soul) which comes from humility and modesty. It is to recognize others with respect even though they don’t deserve it. For example, Korah (Num. Ch. 16) disrespected and challenged Moshe. But Moshe treated him with respect through his humility. The respect is not just to people only, but it also applies to property belonging to others. Meditation for the day: How do I behave toward others? Am I showing my humility despite travail from another person? Who is my role model for humility?

Shalom.