IYYAR 5, 5770

Much has been happening since I last wrote in this blog. The Feasts of Passover and Unleavened Bread have come and gone. We are now Counting the Omer. Counting the Omer.......it has been such a blessing this year because my daughter and I are counting together. It has become more meaningful to me becasue of this.

What is the purpose of counting the Omer....why do we do it? I have done it for several years now but did I ever really understand it? The Priests counted the Omer which was a sheaf..or a bundle of grain from the beginning of the first crop. The Priest would then wave it before our Elohim as a "Wave Offering" so that the Omer and the entire harvest would be accepted.

After the destruction of the first and Second Temples the verbal counting went on and so we 'speak' the Omer....as in day one...."Today is day One of the Omer".

My daughter and I are using two guides in our quest to 'Count the Omer'. One is.."The Counting of the Omer...Forty-nine Steps to Personal Refinement According to the Jewish Tradition" by Rabbi Simon Jacobson and "The Messianic Mo'adiym Devotional" by Kevin Geoffrey from Perfect Word.

These two studies, although very different works, enhance each other. Our lives are bing enriched by them because thru them, we are experiencing an intense character refinement..just as the Jews during the Exodus did, one step at a time to higher purity.

According to Rabbi Jacobson, Just as the Jews were slaves to Egypt,we can be slaves to our personalities, driven by forces over which we often seem to have no control.

The forty-nine days of sefirah or counting, teach us how to regain control over our emotions, showing us how to refine our characters, step by step, in a way that is based on the eternal truths of Torah."

Rabbi Jacobson also says..."Counting sefirah illuminates the different aspects of our emotional lives. The days of sefirah tell us a story--the story of our souls."

EACH DAY IN TIME HAS A LIFE OF ITS OWN. A DAY IS A UNIQUE ENERGY FLOW WAITING TO BE TAPPED AND CHANNELED INTO THE FIBER OF MAN'S BEING.

There are seven emotional attributes that in various combination make up the forty-nine qualities to be examined and developed during this period.

CHESED....Lovingkindness; benevolence.
GEVURAH.....Justice; discipline; restraint; awe.
TIFERET.....Beauty and harmony; compassion.
NETZACH.....Endurance; fortitude; ambition
HOD.....Humility; splendor.
YESOD.....Bonding, foundation.
MELCHUT.....Nobility; sovereignty; leadership

It is truly a worthy effort to study these things in your life...to allow yourself to give up the bad aspects and see where you can make changes in your life so you can come into more holiness in Him.

This evening we will be counting the Omer for Day 17.........so tonight if you wish to participate this is how you will begin......

THE BLESSING.........Blessed are You, ADONAI our Elohim, King of the Universe, who has anctified us with His commandments, and commanded us concerning the counting of the Omer.

Today is seventeen days, which is two weeks and three days, of the Omer.

May the Merciful Holy One restore the Holy Temple to its place, speedily in our days; Amein. Selah.

Psalm 67.........
May Elohim be gracious to us and bless us; may He make His countenance shine upon us forever; that Your way be known on earth, Your salvation among all nations. the Nations will extol You, O Elohim; all the nations will extol You. the nations will rejoice and sing joy, for You will judge the peoples justly and guide the nations on earth forever. The peoples will extol You. O Elohim; all peoples will extol you, for the earth will have yielded its produce and Elohim; our Elohim, will bless us. Elohim will bless us; and all, from the farthest corners of the earth, shall fear Him.

Tiferet of Tiferet
Examine the compassion of compassion; the expression of compassion and its intensity.
True compassion is limitless. It is not an extension of your needs and defined by your limited perspective. Compassion for another is acheived by having a selfless attitude, rising above yourself and placing yourself in the other person's situation and experience.


"When I was a child, I spoke like a child, reasoned like a child; but now that I have become a man, I have made useless the childish things." 1 Corinthians 13:11

*The master teaches us that unless we "turn around and become as children", we will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven. (Matthew 18:3) So why does Paul exort us to be finished with "childish things"? The answer is simple: yeshua is teaching us about being humble and innocent....Paul is teaching us about maturity.*

When we are children we do not reason or understand...but with maturity we begin to attain these things. Age does mean we are mature but in studying our Elohim's Word...His plan for our lives...we can gain the kind of maturity that allows us to show compassion towards others. We will no longer be selfish with our feelings. It is our choice...to be childish or to be the mature person our Elohim desires us to be.

Ask yourself...Am I able to rise above myself and place myself in someone elses situation?
Am I prepared to do this?
Can I express the compasion that is in my heart?
Is it true compassion or self-serving?
Does it come from guilt or is it genuine?

Compassion is the ultimate and most meaningful embodiment of emotional maturity. It is through compassion that a person achieves the highest peak and deepest reach in his or her search for self-fulfillment. --Arthur Jersild


Let us seek true compassion in our lives so that we will be a well spring from which it flows.

Father, we thank You for you are so good, Your Love and Mercy endures FOREVER!

THE ANA BI-KO'ACH...WE IMPLORE YOU

We implore You, by the great power of Your right hand, release the captive. Accept the prayer of your people; strengthen us, purify us, Awesome One. Mighty One, we beseech You, guard as the apple of Your eye those who seek Your Oneness. Bless them, cleanse them; bestow upon them forever Your merciful righteousness. Powerful, Holy One, in Your abounding goodness, guide your congregation. Only and Exalted One, turn to your people who are mindful of Your holiness. Accept our supplication and hear our cry, You who knows secret thoughts. Blessed be the Name of the glory of His Kingdom forever and ever.



*From the Messianic Mo'adiym Devonional