COUNTING THE OMER – This prayer is traditionally recited between sundown and sunrise of each day.
Day 28: Malchut she b’Netzach
The Blessing (Day 28):
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 shmonim v’esrim yom, shehem arba’a shavuot l’Omer.
Today is the twenty-eighth day, which makes four weeks of the Omer
Week Four – Netzach (Endurance, Perserverance, Continual Energy)
Day Twenty-eight: Malchut she b’Netzach (Indwelling Presence within Endurance) – BETWEEN FEET/AT MOUTH to RIGHT HIP
I am always amazed how relevant to our times the practices within our Judaism can be to our current modern days. The Torah portion often seems to be related to the exact things going on around us. So often our Counting the Omer, reflecting on the aspects of G-d within us and our world, is at a time when we are reflecting a lot on our world and dealing with aspects that we may not be prepared for, or at least that we don’t think we are prepared. Right at this moment, we find ourselves at the 28th day of the Omer, at Malchut she b’Netzach. It is here that we consider the knowledge of G-d’s constant and available Presence which give us courage to Endure disaster. Although not the same as an earthquake or other phenomenon, I think we can all agree that COVID-19 is a disaster of sorts, both health and economic.
When tragedy strikes, like some of us are experiencing now, it is sometimes unimaginable that the ordinary world goes on, that people can care about anything outside of the tragedy. It is at times like this that the mundane actions of everyday life can make the world at large seem callous in the face of our personal suffering. Even though some of us are facing major milestones without the same experience we expected, our tragedy is mundane in the eyes of someone who is suffering a more devastating experience. For example, my daughter is graduating from college in a remote virtual experience from our home rather than with her peers and teachers in one location together, just as they began 4 years ago. Our lamentation of the loss of this experience and the pain and suffering we are feeling can seem completely callous and irrelevant to someone who at the same time is experiencing the death of a loved one due to coronavirus. And to us, a person who is upset about not being able to spend time at the shore with friends may seem to be trivial compared to both of our situations. And so on. We find a way to continue on, all of us, in our own unique way for our own unique situation. It is Malchut she b’Netzach which helps us to remember the spiritual source of strength that helps us persevere through pain, anger and fear.
Today, consider how G-d’s presence influences you. What area of your world is filled with your Constant Energy (Netzach) and how has this Indwelling Presence (Malchut) influenced you to Persevere? Even though there may be times when it is difficult to continue on, we Endure with the support of G-d’s ever present Divine Energy.
*The basis of the information in today’s topic comes from and is inspired by Rabbi Min Kantrowitz’s book “Counting the Omer: A Kabbalistic Meditation Guide”
Yedi'a 