Rabbi's Week in Review
The jury made the correct decision in the trial of Derek Chauvin. Anyone who watched the horror play out on video — the nine minutes and 29 seconds of slow, cold-blooded murder — could not have thought otherwise.
But I and others are left with mixed emotions, if not a sense of confusion, as to the appropriate response to the verdict. I am relieved that justice was served in this one case. I also think that for those who took a ... Click here to read the rest of Rabbi Doug's blog post.
This Week's Torah Portion
This week’s Torah portion is Parashat Emor (Vayikra/Leviticus 21:1-24:23). We read this week about our Chaggim — the major festivals enumerated in our Torah along with Shabbat, the most major of holidays. It is in our hands how we sanctify our holidays — other than Shabbat, which always happens and is G-d’s gift to us — to keep them relevant in our lives, and to use their theological and spiritual messages for good.
Worship Events of the Week
We will gather this Friday evening, April 30, at 6:45 p.m. in the parking lot at All Souls. We will begin with Shabbat blessings and a short discussion of this week’s Torah portion. To celebrate further with a Shabbat festive meal, we are asking everyone to bring their own Shabbat picnic dinner, plus lawn chairs or blankets. We will maintain social distance and we ask everyone to keep masks on when not eating or drinking.
Saturday morning, May 1, at 9:30 a.m., we will continue our wonderful and enlightening study of angels in Judaism. First-timers are welcome. You will have no trouble getting up to speed and being part of the discussion. For the Zoom link, click here.
Weekly Feature
Counting the Omer — or the 49 Days From Passover
to Shavuot
By Ellen Karp
This period after Passover marks the beginning of the barley harvest when, in ancient times, Jews took the first sheaves to the Temple to thank G-d. The word “omer” literally means “sheaf,” and it refers to those early offerings. The holiday of Shavuot became not just a celebration of this agricultural bounty but a commemoration of the giving of the Torah.
While Passover celebrates the initial liberation of the Jewish people from slavery in Egypt, Shavuot marks the culmination of the process of liberation, when the Jews became an independent community with their own laws and standards. The omer period thematically links Passover and Shavuot. Counting up to Shavuot reminds us of the process of moving from a slave mentality to a more liberated one.**
I am struck with the many meanings of counting when we count the Omer:
• Counting as in “keeping track of” — Numbering each day and week over a period of seven weeks and 49 days. This year, keeping track of time, duration and sequence has had many of us channeling Bill Murray in Groundhog Day. I personally appreciate this ritualistic daily reminder to count and keep track of the movement of time as an antidote to floating through this limbo time in the world.
• Counting as in “everyone counts” — On Shavuot, we received Torah as a community and thus became a people. We live in connection with others. Democracy and our civil society depend on that.
• Counting as in “make it count” — The interim between the Exodus and our receiving Torah is generally treated as a time for mourning practices, and for solemnity and introspection, so as to be more intentional as we live our days.
• Counting as in “you can count on me” — If nothing else, the pandemic has reminded us how much and in what a myriad of ways we need and depend on one another in this life. Being able to hug a friend, kiss a loved one, or simply be with those we cherish will soon (G-d willing) be newly joyous for all of us. I find I am extravagantly appreciative all at once for all the folks who ride alongside me as our days and weeks unspool. They promise a journey forward together — and no one traveling solo.
**(From “How to Count the Omer,” by Rabbi Jill Jacobs, myjewishlearning.com)
