Rabbi Micah Hyman is the spiritual leader of Congregation Beth Sholom. To read more about Rabbi Hyman click to his bio here: Rabbi Hyman's Bio.
Rabbi Hyman's weekly Torah Byte:
In our Parsha this week, Emor, we learn of the laws of counting the Omer. We are told to take a sheaf of wheat each day for seven weeks and wave it before the Lord. This is reminiscent of Sukkot, when we take four species and wave them in all directions at the Temple. One can smell magical precedents in this ritual, a wand of fecundity pointing at the winds to bring us harvest and success. During the spring harvest season, as the sun naturally bakes the sheaves, we play a vital role in the maturation process. Each day that we announce the approaching day is an incremental offering towards Wholeness at the end of Weeks, 7X7.
But neither the Sukkot rain dance nor the Omer amber waves of grain are magic- they are a behavioral tool of God. We are asked to fix a time each day to wave a small amount that can become a spoonful of sustenance that over time will result in two loves of bread for Shavuot (the double portion of Challah on Shabbat comes from this source). Each small omer is both scattered and gathered for a goal of sustenance and strength, but each increment does not seem to add up to much. Flashcards every evening learning a language is like eating an elephant with a straw, but when parceled out with targets in place it can become a guarantee for fluency and achievement through discipline, consistency and care.
T.S. Elliot laments life measured out in coffee spoons (I lament mine measured in doppio espressos). Jews celebrate the measurement when the flour is choice. Do you have a metric of the Divine? We are two weeks from revelation and Shavuot, but we are also 33 days building toward a meal that as an offering represents all that has come before it. When the gift is a product of discipline, vision and love, the product is almost superfluous compared to the lessons learned in the small elevation each day.
Click here for information on Rabbi Hyman's weekly Torah study classes (Thursdays and Saturdays).
Scroll down for links to previously published Torah Bytes from Rabbi Hyman.
