Counting the Omer-Week 3/COMPASSION-Day 2/JUDGEMENT

Smiling alligator in Myakka River state park, Forida.

Week 3-/(Tiferet) COMPASSION-Day 2/(Gevurah) JUDGEMENT

I think it is crucial for our compassion to be used to take care of God's creatures who can't stand up for themselves. The list includes children and alligators. The American alligator was once on the endangered list and on the brink of extinction. Then the  U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service pronounced a complete recovery of the species and now over a million alligators can be found in Florida, Louisiana, Texas and Georgia. I became more familiar with alligators during Passover when I drove in the Everglades and also when I visited Myakka River state park on the west coast of Florida. Even though I want to have compassion for alligators I also need to remember they are wild animals. This alligator may look like it is smiling when in reality it is waiting for prey to eat. Our compassion to be useful needs to be something we have or do on a regular basis and not just happen on whim. It needs to come not just from the heart but also from the head. 

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 sixteen days which is two weeks and two days of the omer.

Counting the Omer-Week 3/COMPASSION-Day 1/LOVE

A live conch on Sanibel beach, Forida.

Week 3-/(Tiferet) COMPASSION-Day 1/(Chesed) LOVE

One of the stories that got me to Sanibel beach, Florida was about a friend and her parents who went there 40 yrs ago. A toothless woman helped them find lots of live conch which they boiled to kill the animal and then kept all the shells. My friend found the shells still in bags in the basement of her parents house when recently cleaning it. The story really stuck in my mind. Every live conch I found while walking the Sanibel beach I made sure to pick up and throw back deep into the ocean. It may seem funny but my heart felt so bad for those long ago murdered conch and I know my friend now feels bad too. Our compassion may be turned to big situations or tiny small helpless things like these conch. The loving-kindness I showed  to these conch may not change the world in a big way but more than likely most of us only have small ways to change things. Let love help you be compassionate each day in some any way possible.

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 fifteen days which is two weeks and one day of the omer.

Counting the Omer-Week 2/JUDGEMENT-Day 7/KINGDOM

Feet on the grainy sand of South Miami Beach, Forida.

Week 2-/(Gevurah) JUDGEMENT-Day 7/(Malchut) KINGDOM

A friend of mine has been having problems with one of her feet. The pain has come and gone, and after using ice she went to the doctor only to discover surgery is needed to correct what is wrong. Finding out what needs to be done is good even if in the short term it inconveniences you Any kind of problem to do with the feet is a mess since we use them so much. However because they are so essential it is important not to overlook them. Making a judgment about when to seek out medical advice and when you should just let it heal is often hard to decide. One should royally take care of the essentials in our life and keep our moral and spiritual centers involved in the judgments we need to make too. Slow down and feel the moment. I push my toes into the sand on the Florida beach connecting my centers to the earth's center. My feet are naked, vulnerable but totally supporting the rest of me. Everyday. 

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 fourteen days which is two weeks of the omer.

Counting the Omer-Week 2/JUDGEMENT-Day 6/FOUNDATION

A sand castle on the Siesta Key beach.

Week 2-/(Gevurah) JUDGEMENT-Day 6/(Yesod) FOUNDATION

In what kind of soil do the decisions of our life grow? In my house I walk on carpet and out on the fire escape metal floor. I dream of a house with a backyard so I can lay out and push my toes in the grassy soil. One of the best parts of my vacation was having so many opportunities to walk on the beach, barefoot in the sand. I try to nourish my spirit with indoor plants during the winter and when the warmer seasons roll in fill the outside pots. Keeping these organic spirits close at hand helps to cleanse and clarify my thoughts. Yesterday afternoon I visited a friend's garden where there were blooming tulips, other flowers and lettuces. At another friend's house were sprouts of cucumber, kale and sugar pea plants. It made me want to go get things for my own garden.  By the end of the day I purchased and transplanted tomato, bell pepper and lavender plants. I might not have put my toes into the ground but I filled my hands with the good stuff. Ahem.

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 thirteen days which is one week and six days of the omer.

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

A painting hanging on the side of an apartment building.

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

Today was the most beautiful day. The sun was out and brought with it a slight wind so it was warm and cool at the same time. A perfect day for what I had planned and that was to bentsh gomel or say the gomel prayer with my Tot Shabbat community. The gomel blessing is what you say when you have escaped danger which in my case was the space heater catching on fire. How splendid that Jewish tradition realizes ritual is needed to mark certain things that happen to you. With gomel you thank God for having taken of you and the community acknowledges it as well. We would do it during my torah story. I made the judgment to tell everyone what had happened and that I needed their help in bentshing gomel. I knew it would be an unfamiliar prayer for most including myself and I gave everyone the page number in the siddur where they could read the words. By the time we had finished it was like magic. Splendid and cleansing. 

After nightfall on Saturday:

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 twelve days which is one week and five days of the Omer.

Counting the Omer-Week 2/JUDGEMENT-Day 4/ENDURANCE

An alligator floats in water that reflects clouds and trees.

Week 2-/(Gevurah) JUDGEMENT-Day 4/(Netzach) ENDURANCE

This morning I had a scare. The space heater in my bedroom caught itself on fire. I was lucky enough to be able to put the fire out with little damage to my home. Still, I know that my soul was shocked. For this writing I knew I had to acknowledge what happened and yet move on. Tonight's omer involves judgment and endurance. My judgment in buying the space heater I thought to be sound and I placed it on a tiled surface with nothing around which could catch fire. Yet it happened. We do the best we can in the judgments we make and hope our decisions will enable us to endure. Looking at this photo I took in Florida while by the side of the road I wonder how you would judge it? Would you know it is of an alley filled with water that is reflecting the sky and clouds? Would you see that in the middle is an alligator waiting for a meal? Making wise choices we take what information we can gather and then we hope.

After nightfall on Friday:

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 eleven days which is one week and four days of the Omer.

 

Counting the Omer-Week 2/JUDGEMENT-Day 3/BEAUTY

A young dancer near the Siesta Key drumming circle.

Week 2-/(Gevurah) JUDGEMENT-Day 3/(Tiferet) BEAUTY

For several years I have heard about Siesta Key. A friend of mine and her family go there every year. I have heard about white beaches, kayaking and drumming circles. When I was trying to figure out where to go for Pesach I made the judgement that part of the time would be there. I would check and see if there were really powder white beaches for starters (there is) and whether the mangrove kayaking was as interesting (it was). I meant to leave Sunday morning but then I remembered that that night would have been when Miriam and Moses would have crossed the  Reed Sea on their way to freedom. Miriam would have had her timbrel and the women would have had theirs and there would have been lots of dancing. As I walked toward the sound of the drums this beautiful young lady in her colorful outfit danced in front of them. The right judgement is a beautiful thing too and I had been right to stay. 

After nightfall on Thursday:

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 ten days which is one week and three days of the Omer.

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

At the end of a Myakka River State Forest parking lot.

Week 2-/(Gevurah) JUDGEMENT-Day 2/(Gevurah) JUDGEMENT

I drove into the entrance of Myakka River State Forest noticing vultures flying overhead. Not thinking much more about them I parked my rental car in the parking lot near the upper lake then walked over to buy a ticket on the next air boat. There was an hour to wait so I walked to the end of the parking lot past my car to a grove of trees with lots of Spanish moss on them. In addition to the trees was this sign saying "warning vultures may cause damage to vehicles". I read the sign several times trying to make a judgement  about what I was being told and what I should do about it. Did they want me to move my car? Were they just covering themselves in case of accidents? What would the vultures do to my car anyway? I needed to make a wise judgement. The judging we do without even thinking about it happens all the time. Judging our judgements without over judging is the ticket lest like the vultures it causes damage to our life.

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 nine days which is one week and two days of the Omer.