Tag Archives: kabbalistic

Spotlight on Nature: The Omer Bird Count

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Jews around the world are involved three thousand year old ritual called ‘the Counting of the Omer’.

The period between the second day of Pesach (Passover) and Shavuot (Pentecost) is called the Omer. According to Scripture; this forty nine day period between the Exodus from Egypt and the giving of the books of law, the Torah, on Mount Sinai was marked by a daily sacrifice of barley and the appointing of a daily ‘count’.

Now that there is no longer a Holy Temple in Jerusalem Jews around the world mark the day by counting which day it is every night, for instance 2 nights ago we counted ‘1 day of the Omer Count’, the day after we counted two and so on.

There are many different responses to how to make this relevant to daily life. Many people focus on a separate moral issue every day. Many people have a different spiritual theme every day (typically they follow the 49 kabbalistic permutations mentioned in the Jewish books of mysticism).

A novel response by Rabbi Bobby Silverman has been to assign a different bird of Israel to each day. The bird pictured above is a Turtle Dove, the kind commonly found in the Sinai Peninsular and in Israel.

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This word of Torah is devoted to the Health of Zlata bat Sima

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This word of Torah is devoted to the health of Zlata bat Sima

 

 

Succot in the Sun

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My Succah

 On any tour of Jerusalem for the next week, the week of Succot / Tabernacles (for instance if you were to book a Chol HaMoed Tour here) you will see many interesting little booths topped with leaves or bamboo canes and decorated with streamers and pictures (such as the one above). This custom derives from a commandment in the Bible (Leviticus 23: 42 – 43) that the Israelites should live in booths (Succot) for seven days. There is a deeper Kabbalistic reason for the custom which is apparent when one asks the question, why also on Succot do Jews read Kohelet / Ecclesiates?

A Book Focused on the Sun

One of the first verses in Kohelet says:

‘The Sun rises and the Sun sets  – then to its place it is pulled and it shines again ‘ (Kohelet 1: 4)

In fact the book seems to have a pre – occupation with the Sun, it mentions the Sun many times.  The Sun is a representation of Din; divine law and propriety. It fits a set programme which does not later at all, commanded by God to do what it does and not alter a tiny bit. Compared to rain, which seems fickle (and is a representation of Chesed, loving kindness), the Sun is a fixed thing.

A Protection against Din / Judgement

A Succah is a protection against the Sun, it shields the dweller from the Sun’s harmful rays, any Succah that fails to do so is not Kosher. Succot is supposed to be a time where we are protected from harsh divine Judegment, from Din. There is a phrase in Jewish liturgy;

‘On Rosh Hashanah (New Year) we consider how Judgement is made, on Yom Kippur it is sealed’

A Further Chasidic idea suggests that the final judgment is served on the last day of Succot and all the time from Yom Kippur to this day the judgement is suspended so as to give the person who was sentenced time to appeal. We have just finnished being judged a week ago on Yom Kippur  being judged and the whole period of Succot is a period of being protected from Din, from harsh judgement.

The Succah is a representation of divine Chesed (loving kindness); protection against the harsh divine judgement made on Yom Kippur.

 

Dedicated to the health of Zlata bat Sima

To Learn more about Succot, join Yossi on a Chol HaMoed Tour