Joliet Jewish Congregation
From the Rabbi's Study
April 15, 2025
SMELL THE ROSES:
A COUNTING OF THE OMER LESSON
“And you shall count for yourselves…
from the day that you bring the omer (offering)…”
Vaykira (Leviticus) 23:15 ​​
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“This is the day the Lord has created.
Let use rejoice and be glad.”
Tefillin (Psalms) 118:24
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Springtime is a time of joy. It is a time for rebirth and rediscovery, when the baby birds take to flight and the seedlings burst through the soil. The thing about Spring is that it has a quickening aspect to it. It hurries us along and often we let it pass us by. Each moment of beauty is missed by the pressures and distractions of life. Perhaps we are caught up in an unexpected drama or strife and have trouble looking up to the sky even for a moment. We have serious worries about the world and our loved ones, and we cannot imagine stopping for a moment to smell the roses. In fact, this seems like a ridiculous and insensitive suggestion.
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But is it?...
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Imagine for a moment that our G-d understood that life would be difficult. G-d knew that the pressure would surmount, and we would have trouble finding our way through the dark. It is this understanding that inspired the rhythm of our Torah and its clever synchronization with the seasons of the year and our life.
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At the conclusion of our celebration of Passover, we begin the Counting of the Omer. The Counting of the Omer is a forty-nine-day period of time between our escape from Egypt and our receiving of the Torah on Shavuot. This Omer Counting may be seen as a living metaphor for the uncomfortable space and time between two significant events. As the saying goes, “One door closes and another one opens…but the hallway is a drag.” Some examples of these “hallway” moments may be as follows: heading to the doctor and then waiting for a diagnosis; going on a date with a new love and waiting for the phone call; or, applying for a loan and waiting for the bank to call. During these waiting periods we often have difficulty. Our own impatience causes us to “Build Golden Calves” or stir up drama and trouble. We simply can’t endure the wait.​​
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The Counting of the Omer brings us to the present moment. It signals us to stay in each day of the “hallway” and enjoy its offerings. As the great meditation teacher Thich Nhat Hanh reminds us, “If you miss the present moment, you miss your appointment with life.”
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This year, while we wait for these doors to open, let’s use the Counting of the Omer to be a part of life. In between worrying or planning, during the counting of the Omer we can stop and notice the sky, smell the roses or jasmine, and grab hold of life.
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“A happy man is too satisfied with the present to dwell too much on the future.”
Albert Einstein
WE ARE STRONG
By Rabbi Jenny Steinberg-Martinez JD CHT
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The peaceful Buddhist country of Tibet was invaded by Communist China in 1949. Since that time, over 1.2 million out of 6 Tibetans have been killed, over 6000 monasteries have been destroyed, and thousands of Tibetans have been imprisoned. When the Dalai Lama’s Tibetan Sanctuary, was invaded by the Chinese, and the surviving monks were sent out into the world to survive, he called upon Jewish leaders for advice. Why? It is because we are strong in our identity and have remained true to ourselves in a life of Diaspora. With our strength we have managed to touch all four corners of the globe with our wisdom, joy, and traditions.
The summer time in the Western World brings celebration, barbecue, swimming and fun. It seems a strange time of year for our most somber holiday. Tish B’ Av, the sacred fast, arrives this month to remind us of the 9th day of Av a day when a number of disasters in Jewish history occurred, primarily the destruction of both Solomon's Temple by the Neo-Babylonian Empire and the Second Temple by the Roman Empire in Jerusalem.
Tisha B'Av is regarded as the saddest day in the Jewish calendar and it is thus believed to be a day which is destined for tragedy. The observance of the day includes five prohibitions, most notable of which is a 25- hour fast. The Book of Lamentations, which mourns the destruction of Jerusalem is read in the synagogue, followed by the recitation of kinnot, liturgical dirges that lament the loss of the Temples and Jerusalem. As the day has become associated with remembrance of other major calamities which have befallen the Jewish people, some kinnot also recall events such as the murder of the Ten Martyrs by the Romans, massacres in numerous medieval Jewish communities during the Crusades.
So how do we honor this day with an appropriate balance of reverence and optimism? This is how; we claim our Diaspora as a beginning and not an ending. We claim our Diaspora as a call from God to persevere in the world and be a force of Torah for all to experience. We claim our strength. It is when we claim these things that we can help bring unity and healing to the whole world without preoccupation with what was lost; for we have found more than we have lost. We have found our power. We are strong!
*To read more about the Jewish and Buddhist conversation: The Jew in the Lotus, by Roger Kamenetz