Forty days of the Omer 5777

Today is forty days, which is five weeks and five days, ofthe Omer. Hod of Yesod. Splendor of Bonding.

RabbiFinley explains Hod as the tabernacle, priest, vessel of the prophetic word.And he teaches that Yesod is where energy becomes consciousness, your naturalpatterns / personality.

I thinkback to last Saturday and can't believe I was across the country, welcoming inthe week with a couple dozen rabbinical students from across the ideologicalspectrum. I think about how we are each trying to be a vessel for holy energy.I wonder if we pause enough in our studies to sink into the task ahead of us.

I think about my final presentation for my Bikur Cholimand Aveilut class (Jewish laws of visiting the sick and dying). I'll be talkingabout the soul's journey after death. I wonder if we bond too fiercely to ourmaterial possessions and material status to really penetrate the splendor ofbonding. I worry we have almost lost the ability to connect to higher realmsthrough prayer -- instead relying on mindfulness meditation, as if prayerwasn't the original mindfulness practice.

I cravemore hours in the day. I hope in the coming years to learn how to be presentwith my family at the end of a semester. I know this year, I've failed. I worryabout the chasm in my life -- the intense bonding I feel toward my family,which is distinct from my bonding with rabbinical school. I hope to create abalance between them, even though I know there is never true balance withtoddlers -- only uncovering news ways to have patience.

May youfeel the splendor of your personality today. May you connect with the holysparks within and be a light for those you encounter.