In Jewish time we are in the second week of the counting of the Omer...
In Jewish time we are in the second week of the counting of the Omer, an ancient practice and mitzvah when a measure of grain was brought to the Temple each of the 49 days after the beginning of Pesach. The focus is clearly on the land, it’s productivity and expressing gratitude to the Creator. Most of us urban and suburban folks don’t see the awesome efforts that farmers are engaged in this time of the year. We more easily witness the news about devastating fires, floods and wars and their impact on the land.
We are blessed to have our Sanctuary Retreat Center in the heart of the Agricultural Reserve of Montgomery County. The planting season is in full swing. This past Monday, Ilene and Phil Freedman, who live near Sugarloaf Mountain, donated dozens of tomato and vegetable plants, as they have done for years, to our Gene Lippman Acre Plus. Most of our harvest goes to two local food banks and a shelter.
These seven weeks of the Counting of the Omer, represent a deep spiritual journey that we are invited to participate in. These days link us to the giving of the Covenant at Mount Sinai, Shavuot, the first harvest festival. Kabbalist and Mussarists have created wonderful meditations to help up appreciate life and what it means to be more fully liberated.
In a piece written this past week by Rabbi Arthur Waskow, he pushes us to think about the threats to our land, Earth and democracy. He pushes us to acknowledge that we also have our oligarchs and corporate demons that make billions of dollars off of war. He reminds us of when in the 50’s Eisenhower warned the nation about the military industrial complex. Who is benefiting from the Russian-Ukraine War? How can these bombs and missiles of destruction support life?
He writes: …I am all for dropping thousands of food packets from unarmed drones into Ukrainian cities that the Russian Army is trying to starve. (Why isn’t this being done already?)
I am all for sending thousands of unmanned and unweaponed drones over cities in Russia to drop hundreds of thousands of leaflets with photos of dead Ukrainian civilians murdered by Russian troops. (Why isn’t this being done already?)
In chapter 18 of this week’s Parsha Achare Mot, we read: The Ineffable said to Moses, “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘I am the Eternal your God. You must not do as they do in Egypt, where you used to live, and you must not do as they do in the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you. Do not follow their practices. You must follow my laws and be careful to follow my decrees. I am the Eternal your God.”
On a positive note I think we, in Maryland, are encouraged by the recent Legislative Session that produced many progressive Acts passed into Law from Climate Solutions, Paid Leave, Banning Ghost Guns, Protecting Reproductive Choice, Safeguarding Elections and Saving Lives and more….
Sefirot Tovot!
Reb David