49 days, seven weeks between Passover and Shavuot
30 Nisan 5773 | April 10, 2013
Rosh Hodesh Iyar
15th Day of the Omer
Moses asked, "Who am I that I should go?" Exodus 3:11
And God said, "I will be with you." Exodus 3:12
God calls Moses to his destiny and in the inextinguishable light of revelation, doubt casts a shadow. We imagine him quivering, afraid, trying to avoid and protest the call. And this most human response is one so familiar to all of us. Self-doubt plagues even the most accomplished and seemingly confident person. It prevents us from walking upon the path to self-actualization. Am I worthy? Am I able? Am I good enough? The path to a life of deeper meaning and greater purpose begins with a decision. We change when we decide to change, we grow when we decide to grow; decision is the consciousness that we must try another way.
The invitation to change is continually offered. We simply have to make a decision to say yes to sacred living. And upon saying yes, possibility abounds; the possibility of reclaimed power, of self-realization, of abundant living, of becoming who we were meant to be.
There are two enemies of intentional decision: fatigue and fear. Fatigue is the ever-pervasive stupor that accompanies our daily living. Unconscious to possibility, to beauty, to our capacity for excellence and splendor, we wander through life undirected, unnoticed, and unannounced by the grandeur of our spirit. We are fine. The tolerance for mediocrity places us in a fog. We simply cannot see the power of our decisions. And then there is fear. We are so afraid of so many things. Voices clatter around within us telling us no, convincing us of limitations that do not exist, pulling us away from the edge. But it is from the edge of possibility that we can fly; it is from beyond our perceived limitations that we are forced to grow; it is by saying yes to living that we live.
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 fifteenth day - two weeks and one day of the Omer.