49 days, seven weeks between Passover and Shavuot
18 Nisan 5773 | March 29, 2013
3rd Day of the Omer
So often the sun rises when we sleep. Its miracle not seen, not noticed, not blessed. We awake and there is light. We go about our morning. Routine.
And then, sometimes, the sun rises suddenly in a blaze of white. It startles the unsuspecting soul and it is overpowering, blinding. We turn away, though out of the corner of our eye and upon the softness of our face we secretly feel its warmth. How we yearn to be brave, to find our way around obstacles, to have faith, to run toward the future fortified with hope, to not fear the wilderness of uncertainty!
Sometimes the sun humbly rises: without spectacle, without color, without the drama of dawn. Simply light. And the darkness dissipates. And our tender views revealed. And we are called upon to live our life's purpose and to believe in the beauty we now see.
Slavery. The story of the Exodus from Egypt is universal and it is epic and it is an archetype that spans across the centuries. And it is deeply personal.
So much enslaves us. We are slaves by our assumptions of what is possible. We are enslaved by the words we use, the constructs of our thoughts and speech, the way we explain the past and speak the future. We are enslaved by our presumed limitations. We are enslaved by negativity and cynicism. We are enslaved by our fear. Escape is life-long, complicated, thrilling. It is the substance of growth and self-actualization. The edge of the wilderness and beckon us to become a part of a mixed multitude marching toward freedom.
Rabbi Karyn D. Kedar
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 third day of the Omer.