Temple Shalom
of Central Florida
Rabbi Zev Sonnenstein Reflects
I hope everyone had a Freilich (happy, joyous) Purim! A special thank you to the Purim players and MaryAnn for doing groovy fun job in Liverpool Megillah Beatles style ...I hope you had as much fun performing it as everyone had watching it! Thank you to Samantha and Marcy for helping direct and stage it! Also, a thank you to Ritual committee Mishloach Manot volunteers under the guidance of Joyce Lieb for sharing the Mishloach Manot with the whole congregation...it truly added to the joyous month.
Now with Purim behind us, Pesach is around the corner- Seder and all, and that means once again it is time to count the Omer- beginning this year on Wednesday night 4/24 through Shavuot- 50 days later.
The reason behind the counting can be found in the secrets of the number seven. The number seven is code for two things in the Torah - wholeness and holiness - and it’s the base unit for the way sacred time is arranged in the biblical view. Shabbat- the day of rest- the 7th day of creation; the harvest festivals last 7 days; Aaron and the priesthood have a 7-day ritual in preparation prior to entering the tabernacle; a baby boy is circumcised on the 7th day; just to name a few. Counting the Omer, we count in 7 sets of 7, each week building on the previous, helping us elevate our spiritual self to our highest point of revelation- whatever it is for us -each individually.
The 7’s continue with the ancient mystics- the Kabbalists of the 16th century, who laid out a ladder of sorts with special intentions for each week inspired by each one of the seferiot or the attributes of God.
1- “Hesed” (Loving Kindness) ...2- “Gevurah” (Heroic Discipline) ...
3-- “Tiferet” (Splendor)...4-- “Netzah” (Eternity)...5-- “Hod” (Beauty)
6- “Yesod” (Foundation)...7- “Shekhina” (Gods prescence)
These steps help us ask the question of ourselves- “what is Shleimut or wholeness to me? What’s keeping me from getting there? What do I need to focus on to reach Shleimut?”
Join me each night of the Omer as we once again count together (on zoom), talk, and explore our own individual journeys to Shavuot, to reach our highest spiritual potential to receive and accept Torah.
Have a zissen (sweet) Pesach. B’Y’didut-In Friendship... Rabbi Zev Sonnenstein
B’Ydidut- L’Shalom,In friendship and in Peace
Rabbi Zev Sonnenstein