COUNTING THE OMER – This prayer is traditionally recited between sundown and sunrise of each day.
Day 34: Yesod she b’Hod
The Blessing (Day 34):
Baruch atah Adonai elohaynu melech ha’olam asher kidshanu b’mitzvotav v’tzivanu al sephirat ha’omer.
Blessed are you, G-D, Source of Splendor, You make us holy through your mitzvot, commanding us to count the Omer.
Ha yom shloshim v’arba’ah yom, shehem arba’ah shavuot v’shisha yamim l’Omer.
Today is the thirty-fourth day, which makes four weeks and six days of the Omer.
Week Five- Hod (Splendor, Glory, Reverberation)
Day Thirty-four: Yesod she b’Hod (Foundation within Splendor) – GENITALS to LEFT HIP
Yesod she b’Hod concentrates on the firm foundation that underscores the splendor in our lives. A few years ago, a friend of mine found herself in a struggle with breast cancer. She shared her journey with many of us through a kind of blog, allowing her to tell her story as well as creating a true recounting of her struggles and successes while she was “in-the-moment”. Being a rabbi, she was very adept at writing her thoughts with clarity and focus, relating her true feelings to us through her words. Unfortunately, although she initially recovered, ultimately her life ended due to the disease. But, we can look back at her story knowing that in the days of pain and uncertainty, she was still able to find positive moments to grace her life.
The interesting part of this for me, which relates to today’s theme of Yesod she b’Hod, is that her most positive writings, regardless of the struggles of the day, came from days in which she had taken walks in nature. When she was feeling most vulnerable, these walks were very calming, reminding her of the spiritual foundation underlying the splendor of the natural world around her. The unique and glorious variety of the plants and animals she encountered provided her with a stronger sense of her place in the world, and the strength of that kind of structure helped her to feel supported internally in addition to the external support she was being given.
Today, take a moment to observe the world around you, marveling at the solid foundation of which the variety of plants and animals are all a part of, allowing us to feel supported in all we do.
Yedi'a 