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To read Rabbi Feingold's past messages, click a date below.August 2008
Rabbi Dena Feingold Could the Omer ritual be a remedy to the economic crisis?  During these weeks between Passover and Shavuot, we observe the rite of the “counting of the Omer.” A rather obscure tradition and ignored for many generations in the Reform Movement, the counting the Omer has made somewhat of a come-back in many congregations, ours included. The Omer ritual can serve as a useful landmark for us as we traverse the weeks between Pesach and Shavuot, especially this year, as we consider the significance of “counting” in this time of economic crisis.  The Omer ritual began as a way of “counting one‘s blessings,” thanking God for a successful barley harvest, in ancient Israel.  The Omer was a measure of grain brought as an offering to mark each week of the harvest.  After the Temple was destroyed and offerings no longer part of Jewish worship, the rabbis continued to include the counting of the Omer as a reminder of the Temple rites but also as a “count down” in anticipation of the holiday of Shavuot that commemorates the receiving of the Torah at Mt. Sinai.  Once exiled from their homeland in Israel by the Romans in 70 CE, few Jews continued to make a living through agriculture. The Temple was gone and, along with it, the sacrifices-that concrete ritual of thanking God for having enough.  Today, thanksgiving is reflected in our prayers. In each service, we thank God for all sorts of blessings in our lives, and there is even a prayer in which we ask God to grant us an abundant harvest. The Omercounting ritual can be viewed as an extension of this kind of thanksgiving. As we count down the days after Passover, we can take a moment to thank God for the abundance in our lives.  But what if our “harvest” isn’t abundant any more and, indeed, shrinking more each day? This is a harsh reality for many right now. The proverbial “rainy day” has definitely come, and some of us are depleting our savings to keep ourselves afloat. How do we count our blessings when we see some of our goals and dreams moving beyond our reach?  Perhaps counting our blessings by counting the Omer is just the remedy weneed. In ancient times, even in years when the harvest was poor, our ancestors brought their Omer thanks to God. So, let us use these days of the Omer to take stock of the goodness in our lives, instead of mourning for what we have lost or may yet lose.  As we count the Omer, let us count our loved ones and our friends. Have we taken them for granted? Let us return to the simple games and crafts we have at home to entertain us-that do not require us to spend our limited resources. Are vacations out of reach? Let us appreciate all of the excursions we can take locally to parks and nature preserves, museums and galleries, monuments and the lakefront, that are totally free and often overlooked because they are “in our own backyard.” Is eating out too expensive?  Let‘s return to home-cooked meals; maybe even plant a vegetable garden this year to help save a dollar or two.Regrettably, we have no control over the state of the economy or the unemployment rate. But we do have control over how we respond to this reality. Counting our everyday, simple blessings while we count our way to Shavuot is one way to combat the uncertainty of this time.  As we announce the day of the Omer each week at services and enjoy the fresh bouquets of flowers that our members donate for this ritual, often from their own gardens, may each of us endeavor to count our blessings and simple pleasures. Happy Counting! Rabbi Dena A. Feingold
© 2008 Beth Hillel Temple