from The Pool
When I was young, in my best years,
first blessed by the Shechinah,
still knowing dumb longing and wonder
and how to find a secret prayer place,
I used to take off on a hot summer's day
to the grand kingdom of peace -
the thick of the forest.
I wandered hours alone on a track
known only to wolf and brave hunter
through God-like trees
where no sound of axe was ever heard,
meditating on myself and my God till I came,
passing over traps of gold,
to the holy of holies -
the forest's eye.
C.N. Bialik, Selected Poems
Baruch Ata Adonai Elo-hei-nu me-lech ha-olam a-sher ke-d-sha-nu b- mitz-vo-tav, v-tzi-va-nu al s-fi-rat ha-omer.
Praised be you Adonai our God who rules the Universe instilling within us the holiness of mitzvot by commanding us to count the Omer.
Today is the sixth day of the Omer.