The Children of Israel arrived at Rephidim on the 23rd of Iyar, in the year 2448 from Creation (1313 BCE), 38 days after their exodus from Egypt.
Rephidim was desert land and waterless, the people grumbled that they and their flocks were in danger of dying of thirst. G-d commanded Moses to take the elders of the people to a rock which he was to hit with his staff. Moses hit the rock and from the dry stone, a well sprang forth.
Links: Food in the Desert
Tomorrow is the thirty-ninth 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 thirty-nine days, which are five 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: Netzah sheb'Yesod -- "Ambition in Connection"
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
Why is Torah compared to light? Because it tells us the place of each thing.
Because, in truth, there is no need to change the world. Everything is here.
Each thing has a place, and in that place it is good. Altogether, it is very good, a beautiful world. All that’s needed is a little light.
What is light? Light doesn't add anything or take away. It only reveals the meaning and purpose of all that it shines upon.
Think of your own home. In the dark, there is no way to know what belongs in your closet and what belongs in the laundry, what is ready for use and what is in need of repair. Instead, that which could be washed or repaired is rejected and despised, and your most valuable possessions may become the greatest hazards.
Switch on one little light and a dangerous place becomes a home. With every light you add, you become suddenly wealthier and more blessed.
So too, this world is meant to be G-d’s home. Torah is light. Shine it bright and heal the world.