Forty-one days of the Omer 5778

Today is forty-one days, which is five weeks and six days of the Omer. יסוד שביסוד, Yesod ShebeYesod. Bonding of Bonding, Foundation of Foundation.

Today is a day to contemplate the ways in which you bond with others. Are you close to people? What actions do you take to enact your bond? Are you committed to a group of people, an organization, or a company? What do you do that solidifies those bonds?

Are you wary of forming bonds? Interrogate your skepticism. Have you been hurt? Do you think you’re protecting yourself by holding people at arms length? As Les Miserables teaches us, “To love another person is to see the face of God.”

Try to open yourself to bonding. Physically reach out to someone and do something to create or solidify a bond.

And you can also think about the values that form the foundation of your journey. What do you do to bring those values alive? What is at the root of your being? What brings you meaning? What reminds you of the meaning of your life?

May your journey to the roots of your bonding, to the rock of your foundation nourish you. May your actions contribute to human flourishing, to eudaimonia. And may you know that your presence and your bonding is vital and life-giving to the people around you.