Lag B'Omer 5780: Hod of Hod, Splendor of Splendor

May 11

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Today is thirty-three days, which is four weeks and five days of the Omer in the year 5780. הוד שבהוד, Hod of Hod, Splendor of Splendor. That means we have reached the extremely minor holiday of Lag B’Omer!

Hod: creating a dwelling place for the Divine

According to Rabbi Finley, the energy of Hod helps us bring the emanations of the Divine into physical space. This is the energy that creates a mishkan, a dwelling place for the Divine. There is the dwelling place within our souls and there is the dwelling place in physical reality.

When I can tap into both the dwelling place within and create calming space around me, then it is possible to be a clear conduit of the Divine. This is why retreats are so effective — we enter numinous space, untouched by the mundane burdens of everyday living. We gather with friends, old and new. We create an intentional, and time-bound community. And we flow in the life-giving waters of Divine-knowing.

Retreats create space full of Hod, free of memories

I mourn for in-person community. My body rejects Zoom. Like my children, I am happy to be online for countless hours, but pretending to be connected to people on a computer screen zaps my energy like nothing else. Even getting the flu earlier this year was easier than being in class from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. via Zoom. I used to think there was something wrong with me personally. Now that more people are experiencing the soul-crushing reality of Zoom, I realize I am not unique. Computer screens are hard to focus on with emotional intensity for longer than thirty minutes.

Creating a mishkan within my home

So I dedicate myself to creating the dwelling place of the Divine within my home. Today, I shall clean the bathrooms and put away the laundry. Sometime this week, I shall make gluten-free pancakes and maybe even some gluten-free cookies. There will be laughter and love and lots of hugs to celebrate the Divine flowing through us and with us through these choppy waves of uncertainty.

I might even finish my courses on time within the next 1.5 weeks. It will be a miracle if it occurs, but stranger things have happened. B’ezrat HaShem. With the helps of the Ground of Being.