2015 - Make Each and Every Moment COUNT - A Shavout Reflection

Make Each and Every Moment COUNT! A Shavuot Reflection:  “And you shall count onto you from the morrow after the day of rest, for the day that brought the sheaf of the waving, seven weeks shall there be complete. Even onto the morrow after the seventh week shall you number 50 days, and you shall present a new meal offering unto the Lord.” Leviticus 23:14-15  We are commanded to count 7 weeks, or 49 days until the 50th day. Rabbinic Judaism has established this counting, known also as the “Sefirat Haomer” to be in effect from the second day of Passover until Shavuot, and that the 50th day is Shavuot, the festival which commemorates the receiving of the Torah at Mount Sinai. These past few weeks my family and I have counted every day. We began: “Today is the first day of the omer.” “Today is the second day of the omer” … “Today is the 9th day, which is 1 week and 2 days of the omer” … “Today is the 41st day, which is 5 weeks and 6 days of the omer” And tonight – Friday night - we will count: “Today is the 49th day which is 7 weeks of the omer.”  For me, to do something every night requires discipline and commitment, to do something every night requires that I remember; and this is nearly impossible, even with reminders on my cell phone, unless I have others to remind me.  We, as a family, reminded each other, every day – First, every day “Sefirah (Counting)” would be the text message, and if I was in the middle of doing something or if I simply forgot, when I got home there was a gentle reminder; “did you count?” And then we as a family, or some of us at one moment and a few others at another moment would sing the blessing in this beautiful melody I grew up with: “Baruch Ata adonai. Elohaynu melech haolem asher kidshanu b’mitzvotav v’tzivanu al sefirat Ha’omer." “Blessed are you God, Spirit of all that is, that has sanctified us with your comandments and commanded us to count the omer.” Today is… Sefirah means counting, and I have been reflecting a lot about counting for all these past 7 weeks. Can I make every moment count? Can I make every hour count? Can I make every day? Week? Month? Year?  Our minutes turn into hours then into days, weeks and months and before we know it years… where are they going? What are we doing with them? How do we make them count?  I can go into a longer discussion about the Sefirah – the same Hebrew word for counting is also used to explain the emanation of God in the mystical Tree of Life. However, for this year, and for this moment, perhaps simply counting is enough.  “What” we are actually doing with our time matters little in the big picture; rather it is so much more important to notice the moments… Taking the time to stop - to pause - to count - to simply be in the moment is what makes the moments of our lives really count.   So for just a moment now, would you indulge me and take a deep inhale, a deep exhale… and breathe… Notice where you are, notice your surroundings and then, count your blessings in this moment. I am blessed with a family that reminds me to count. What are you blessed with? Chag Somayach Shavuot Tov A Git Yom Tov Chani