Shemini
Dear Friend,
Having just finished Passover, it’s now time to start looking forward to the next Jewish holiday. Actually, scratch that. We had barely put away our vacuum cleaners and settled into Passover, when on the second night of Passover we started counting the Omer, the 49 days from the Exodus to the revelation at Mount Sinai and the holiday of Shavuot.
We are often reminded to focus on the moment, to stop and smell the roses. And yet, here we are, barely stopping to savor Passover as we rush forward toward Shavuot!
Another anomaly: When counting the Omer, we neither count down “forty-nine days,” “forty-eight days,” “forty-seven days,” etc., nor do we number off the days, “the first day,” “the second day,” etc. Rather, we say, “Today is one day of the Omer,” “Today is two days of the Omer,” etc., giving more significance to the days achieved than to the goal we are aiming toward.
The lesson in all this: On the one hand, the second we reach a spiritual milestone, we immediately move the goalpost and aim forever higher. Yet at the same time, it’s not just the second or tenth day of a process, but every past and present step on the journey is significant.
Life is not just about the goals; it’s about the journey itself . . .
Yehuda Shurpin,
on behalf of the Chabad.org Editorial Team
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Looking at your world from Above, all is good.
Looking at your world from within, things don’t always look so nice.
Until you connect your world below to the world above. Then the goodness flows downward without distortion.
How do you make that connection? By clinging tightly above.
By putting all your trust in G‑d.
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