Counting the Omer-Week 5/SPLENDOR-Day 2/JUDGEMENT

Another sign I spotted on my visit to the Jewish day school.

Week 5-/(Hod) SPLENDOR-Day 2/(Gevurah) JUDGEMENT

Last night I saw a movie that involved travel in India. There were women in beautiful saris dancing and beautiful architecture of the buildings. It reminded me of the splendid art I purchased there; the wall hanging of an elephant drawn in stitchery, the wonderful Punjabi outfits hand crafted by a Mumbai tailor, the scarves and runners made with silver and gold threads and the cloth whose patterns were made with wood blocks. I was able to see the artists work and watch as they created each of the various items. In order to create splendor you must have an eye that is able to judge what should and what should not be there. Sometimes it might require adding, layering on while other times it could be subtracting, taking away. In addition to having the eye one must have a talented hand that is able to make the splendid things the mind is able to imagine. What starts out in the inside turns out and becomes something to be shared.

After nightfall on Wednesday:

BA-RUCH A-TAH ADO-NAI E-LO-HE-NU ME-LECH HA-OLAM 

ASHER KID-E-SHA-NU BE-MITZ-VO-TAV VETZI-VA-NU AL SEFI-RAT HA-OMER.

Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the Universe, who has sanctified us with His commandments, and commanded us concerning the counting of the Omer.

Today is thirty days which is four weeks and two days of the omer.

Counting the Omer-Week 5/SPLENDOR-Day 1/LOVE

A simple white seed head held elegantly by one of my students.

Week 5-/(Hod) SPLENDOR-Day 1/(Chesed) LOVE

The word "splendor" makes me think of the 1961 movie "Splendor in the Grass" with Natalie Wood and Warren Beatty. It is a coming of age movie in which the main characters grow and find their way in the world and their way to love. I also think of the poem of William Wordsworth which Natalie recites in the film and from which the movie gets its name: "Though nothing can bring back the hour, of splendor in the grass, of glory in the flower, we will grieve not, rather find strength in what remains behind". These lines of the poem remind me of the fluffy white seed heads of the dandelion that children love to blow to watch the white seeds go into the air. Love is indeed a splendid thing and the love we give to making our lives splendid may dissolve and may fly away as easily as the seeds do. Still both exist. There is a pureness to the seeds and the best love is just as pure. You can see this pure love in the smiling face of a child. Splendid.

After nightfall on Tuesday:

BA-RUCH A-TAH ADO-NAI E-LO-HE-NU ME-LECH HA-OLAM 

ASHER KID-E-SHA-NU BE-MITZ-VO-TAV VETZI-VA-NU AL SEFI-RAT HA-OMER.

Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the Universe, who has sanctified us with His commandments, and commanded us concerning the counting of the Omer.

Today is twenty nine days which is four weeks and one day of the omer.

Counting the Omer-Week 4/ENDURANCE-Day 7/KINGDOM

One of the many signs I saw in JDS, Jewish Day School.

Week 4-/(Netzach) ENDURANCE-Day 7/(Malchut) Kingdom

This afternoon I left my own classroom to go observe the classrooms of a Jewish day school, JDS. It is one of the Jewish schools in this area parents might be interested in. I want to be able to give my opinion if it is a good fit for a child should a parent ask. Education is definitely one of the things that endures and that goes for whether you are five or fifty. I had a lunch with the other educators and director of JDS. Then we took a stroll into the various younger classrooms and one of the things I noticed was all the signs. In one of the rooms was a sign that read "Make your dear teacher happy" and its old fashioned look really struck me. I started thinking of my own teachers and how I had made some of them happy. Teachers you love seem like royalty one is honored to learn from. Teachers who have insight and are able to help guide us in our life path are better than kings or queens, more like angels. Why wouldn't we want to make them happy?!

After nightfall on Monday:

BA-RUCH A-TAH ADO-NAI E-LO-HE-NU ME-LECH HA-OLAM 

ASHER KID-E-SHA-NU BE-MITZ-VO-TAV VETZI-VA-NU AL SEFI-RAT HA-OMER.

Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the Universe, who has sanctified us with His commandments, and commanded us concerning the counting of the Omer.

Today is twenty eight days which is four weeks of the omer.

Counting the Omer-Week 4/ENDURANCE-Day 6/FOUNDATION

A close-up of one of my mommy's eyes.

Week 4-/(Netzach) ENDURANCE-Day 6/(Yesod) FOUNDATION

In Le Petit Prince, a novel written in 1943 by Antoine de Saint Exupery, there are the most wonderful lines "Voici mon secret. Il est tres simple: on ne voit bien qu'avec le coeur. L'essential est invisible pour les yeux." Translated to English it means "Here is my secret. It is very simple. It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye." I think this is also the secret to what endures in the world. Yes only those things that remain with us in our hearts endure. So many things we lose or leave us in death but what we keep in our heart lasts forever. This then is the foundation of what endures. Our eyes see everything but our hearts act as filters and only keep the essential things. How do we keep these truths in our heart alive even after we are on the earth? What are we to do? Perhaps to speak from our heart to another heart, like one hand holds another hand .

After nightfall on Sunday:

BA-RUCH A-TAH ADO-NAI E-LO-HE-NU ME-LECH HA-OLAM 

ASHER KID-E-SHA-NU BE-MITZ-VO-TAV VETZI-VA-NU AL SEFI-RAT HA-OMER.

Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the Universe, who has sanctified us with His commandments, and commanded us concerning the counting of the Omer.

Today is twenty seven days which is three weeks and six days of the omer.