On this day in 5594, a relatively unknown man, Shmuel the Watercarrier of Polotsk, Belarus, passed away. Almost immediately after he was buried, 200 kilometers away, in the city of Lubavitch, the seventh son of Rabbi Menachem Mendel (the “Tzemach Tzedek”) was given the name Shmuel in his honor. This Shmuel grew up to be the fourth Rebbe of Chabad.
R. Nissan Nemanov served as mashpia (chassidic mentor) at Yeshivat Tomchei Tmimim Lubavitch in Brunoy, France, where he taught and guided many thousands of students. He was renowned for his piety and for his devotion to the sixth and seventh Lubavitcher Rebbes, R. Yosef Yitzchak and R. Menachem Mendel Schneerson. It was said of him that he reached the level of the “intermediate man” as explained in Tanya.
Tomorrow is the twenty-fifth day of the Omer Count. Since, on the Jewish calendar, the day begins at nightfall of the previous evening, we count the omer for tomorrow's date tonight, after nightfall: "Today is twenty-five days, which are three weeks and four days, to the Omer." (If you miss the count tonight, you can count the omer all day tomorrow, but without the preceding blessing).
The 49-day "Counting of the Omer" retraces our ancestors' seven-week spiritual journey from the Exodus to Sinai. Each evening we recite a special blessing and count the days and weeks that have passed since the Omer; the 50th day is Shavuot, the festival celebrating the Giving of the Torah at Sinai.
Tonight's Sefirah: Netzach sheb'Netzach -- "Ambition in Ambition"
The teachings of Kabbalah explain that there are seven "Divine Attributes" -- Sefirot -- that G-d assumes through which to relate to our existence: Chessed, Gevurah, Tifferet, Netzach, Hod, Yesod and Malchut ("Love", "Strength", "Beauty", "Victory", "Splendor", "Foundation" and "Sovereignty"). In the human being, created in the "image of G-d," the seven sefirot are mirrored in the seven "emotional attributes" of the human soul: Kindness, Restraint, Harmony, Ambition, Humility, Connection and Receptiveness. Each of the seven attributes contain elements of all seven--i.e., "Kindness in Kindness", "Restraint in Kindness", "Harmony in Kindness", etc.--making for a total of forty-nine traits. The 49-day Omer Count is thus a 49-step process of self-refinement, with each day devoted to the "rectification" and perfection of one the forty-nine "sefirot."
Links:
How to count the Omer
The deeper significance of the Omer Count
Envision a deluge over all the earth, hellish waves pounding back and forth, crushing every structure, carrying away every living being, until no dry land remains, no life endures.
This is the world into which you were thrown. The waves are the stress and anxiety of indecision, not knowing which way to turn, on what to rely. Up and down, hot and cold—constantly churning back and forth, sucking the life out of you.
The secret you must know is that these are truly peaceful waters. They are called “the waters of Noah”—because their energy can be harnessed to achieve true serenity.
Do as Noah did and build an ark. Ark in Hebrew is teivah—which also means “a word.” Your ark shall be the words of Torah and of prayer, of mitzvahs and of kind deeds. When the waves rage—whether from outside or from within your own heart—direct their power into those harmonious words.
Rather than drown you with everything else, let that raw energy of the mighty waters carry you upward—into a serene world you could never reach without them.