Seventeen days of the Omer: Truth of Truth

Today was seventeen days, which was two weeks and three days of the Omer. תפארת שבתפארת. Beauty of Beauty. אמת שבאמת, Emet ShebeEmet Truth of Truth.

The perfect synthesis of grace and judgment, loving kindness and discipline. Beauty so perfect, it reveals deep truth. Have you experienced the awe of a great work of art? A play so perfect, revealing something utterly essential about the human condition?

At an interview before our wedding, my partner and I were asked if we had season theatre tickets because “we’re supposed to.” I found it such a strange question. I mean, I guess there are people who do cultural things to keep up with others. We go to the theatre because it nourishes our souls. (And sometimes it provides comedic relief when bad.) 

A baby’s first smile. A toddler’s giggles. A child’s wonder. These are beautiful things that reveal such profound truth.

The following three books are so beautiful and such a triumph of human ingenuity. I believe the truths they reveal are important for all people. 

Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl. Z’l 

The Path of Blessing: Experiencing the Energy and Abundance of the Divine by Rabbi Marcia Prager

Conscious Community: A Guide to Inner Work by Rabbi Kalonymus Kalyan, z’l

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I wrote the above post on the seventeenth day of the Omer and did not post it because I was becoming sick and decided to sleep instead of posting. The Omer is counted for forty-nine consecutive days. I have been doing the count consistently this year, but I missed four days of blog posts due to illness. I am not publishing about those days of the Omer because I feel it is useful to have a record of my connection to this practice as it unfolds within me every year.

Previously on this day in the Omer

17 Days of the Omer 5778 / 2018: Sinking into pure Beauty and beautiful Truth.

17 Days of the Omer 5777 / 2017: Struggling towards pure compassion.