COUNTING THE OMER – This prayer is traditionally recited between sundown and sunrise of each day.
Day 7: Malchut she b’Chesed
The Blessing (Day 7):
Baruch atah Adonai elohaynu melech ha’olam asher kidshanu b’mitzvotav v’tzivanu al sephirat ha’omer.
Blessed are you, G-D, Source of Lovingkindness, You make us holy through your mitzvot, commanding us to count the Omer.
Ha yom shiva yomim l’Omer, shehem shavuah echad l’Omer.
Today is the seventh day of the Omer, which makes one week of the Omer.
Week One – Chesed (Lovingkindness, Compassion, Grace)
Day Seven – Malchut she b’Chesed (Indwelling Presence/Manifestation within Lovingkindness) – BETWEEN FEET/AT MOUTH to RIGHT SHOULDER
Malchut is the final of the sephirot that we are accessing through our Counting of the Omer. It is referred to as Indwelling Presence of G-d, and it is the manifestation of G-d’s attributes through us here in our Physical world. This is the sephira that is the reflection of all the other sephirot. It is not G-d’s direct actions, but rather our OWN actions that are guided by G-d’s attributes within us. Malchut is not only mapped as between the feet, but also at the mouth. It is G-d acting THROUGH us, by our ACTIONS (forward movement visualized between our feet) and by our SPEECH (mouth).
It is not just what we do, but what we say that is meant to be a reflection of G-d within us. This is what it means by the saying “we are made in G-d’s image.” All that we do should be a reflection of G-d within us if we are open to allow each of the sephirot, the attributes of G-d, to flow fully to their end. This end is at Malchut. Here we experience and exhibit two things at once – both exaltedness (as we are acting as G-d’s reflection) and humility (as we are aware of our own humble role.)
Today is the seventh day of the Omer, the first resting point in our counting. After a week of freedom from slavery, we pause, remember the seed of eternal love placed within each of us, and take the time to honor its Source. On this seventh day, we mark the completion of a week of counting the Omer and we begin renewed, ready to move closer toward the future, knowing ourselves more intimately and honestly than we might have the week before our journey began. It is truly the process of the work, the traveling on this journey that is the important piece. Not necessarily the destination. As we open ourselves up to respecting each of these attributes of G-d deep inside ourselves, we change the direction of our journey. We also change, even in subtle ways, the effect on the people and the world around us.
As a meditative practice, take a few deep breaths and consider how you may have changed this week. Have you opened yourself up to providing the level of compassion and loving-kindness that you wish to give to the world? A great visualization for this is the moon and how it reflects light on us. The moon is like Malchut – it does not give off anything of its own being, but rather it takes the light of the sun and reflects it back off in beauty. We are like the moon with G-d as the sun. We take G-d’s emanations, the sephirot, and reflect the attributes back into the world through Malchut. How have you reflected Chesed, lovingkindness, into the world this week? Like the moon at night, that which we can reflect back on our society can illumine the darkest of time. Choose to reflect compassion and kindness back into the world. Allow Malchut to influence Chesed and be that source of loving care for others.
Yedi'a 