COUNTING THE OMER – This prayer is traditionally recited between sundown and sunrise of each day.
Day 25: Netzach she b’Netzach
The Blessing (Day 25):
Baruch atah Adonai elohaynu melech ha’olam asher kidshanu b’mitzvotav v’tzivanu al sephirat ha’omer.
Blessed are you, G-D, Source of Endurance, You make us holy through your mitzvot, commanding us to count the Omer.
Hayom chamisha v’esrim yom, shehem shlosha shavuot v’arba’ah yomim l’Omer.
Today is the twenty-fifth day, which makes three weeks and four days of the Omer
Week Four – Netzach (Endurance, Perserverance, Continual Energy)
Day Twenty-five: Netzach she b’Netzach (Endurance within Endurance) – RIGHT HIP to RIGHT HIP
The energy of Netzach she b’Netzach is awesome. It is like the explosion at the birth of a star, sending light years of energy out into the future, expanding the universe. It is like ripples in a pond, or sound waves, projecting out from a source, undulating, enduring. Netzach, which is often translated as Eternity, has a way of making us reach for the impossible even as we know it may be an exercise in futility. Netzach is an acknowledgement of staying in it for the long haul and becoming painfully aware of how impossible the task ahead truly is – and still going forward.
When we are in the midst of some kind of uncertainty such as where we are with COVID-19 right now, or possibly some kind of personal turmoil, such as grieving the death of a close family member, suffering with seasonal allergies that make your head hurt with no end in sight, or the seemingly endless teenage years (which can feel like forever for both the teen AND the parent!), our pain and confusion seem inexhaustible. We can find ourselves thinking that this transient feeling actually is a permanent one; that it will never end.
Netzach she b’Netzach gives us long-term perspective, reminding us to look past the immediate, and know that we will Persevere and move forward. Even more than ever we must use Netzach to meet our challenges, knowing that we will persist against the odds. Today, let us all reflect on G-D’s constant energy within us to Endure.
*The majority of the information in today’s topic comes from Rabbi Min Kantrowitz’s book “Counting the Omer: A Kabbalistic Meditation Guide”
Yedi'a 