Timeless Torah

Counting can be the most boring, exciting, or worrying activity I can think of. Boring, if you’re counting sheep; exciting, if it is the lottery prize money you’ve just taken home; and worrying, if you’re tallying your bills. One aspect shared by all counting is that they inform you of movement. Sometimes the count broadcasts your progress, other times it sadly reports your regression.
Between the festivals of Pesach and Shavuos, Jews count the Omer. For many years, I viewed this ritual as a way of marking not just time, but spiritual development. Every day, a Jew had to move further away from the constraints of his personal Egypt and advance towards his appointment with destiny, Torah and Sinai. It was an exercise in upward and spiraling motion, rather than peace and tranquility.

From this vantage point, the Omer count seemed more suited for a New York cab driver, than a scholar, seated in an easy chair, deep in theological meditation. But Judaism is more than a journey pursuing a destination that can never be reached. It is a blessing that creates a structured life meant to be enjoyed, savored, and fully experienced at the spiritual level we are at.
A well-known philosophical discussion is the tension between Being and Becoming. Being is the experience of truly living as the person that you have become; at peace, integrated, with nowhere to go (at least not yet) and just enjoying life as you are. Becoming is movement, a desperate need to distance oneself from one’s existential angst, or the abiding belief that if I just cross over this one mountain, the grass is really greener on the other side.

We all have moments of Being; alone on top of a mountain, late at night as we peek at our children asleep in their beds, or as we gaze into the eyes of the people we love. Being occurs when the little annoying things in life, which too often get in the way, melt into the background. But lately, our daily grind is so filled with more responsibilities, more deadlines, and more plugged in via the net, cell, pager, etc., that we seem to get these moments less and less. So although we crave Being, we are consumed with Becoming.

Shabbat is one example of a day dedicated to just Being, of living with the things which matter most and are often tended to the least - G-d, family, and self. According to the mystics, each day of the Omer is similarly a time for reflection: A day to practice and experience a slice of your soul. True, by the next day one has to move along and bring to the fore another slice of the soul. But everyday, one is supposed to live that day to the fullest and not worry about the next.

Everyone recalls the poem, “Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall.” I always wondered why was Humpty on a wall in the first place. After all, he was completely egg-shaped and fragile to boot. Hardly, the kind of physique most suited for wall climbing! But perchance he wasn’t satisfied with his station? So he climbed...and he fell.

Just like Humpty lost his balance, we too are pulled in so many directions that we lose our center of gravity. Shabbat brings us back to the core of who we are. It allows us to integrate the accomplishments of the week as an extension of self, and not at the expense of self. Each day of the Omer works in the same way. It reminds us of who we are inside, and who we can be outside. It also awakens us to the fact that there does not need to be a spiritual dichotomy between the two.

The ultimate fate of every Humpty Dumpty is that, “All the King’s horses and all the King’s men, couldn’t put Humpty Dumpty back together again.” When we don’t have a space in our life called Shabbat, when we miss our weekly appointment with Being, then our Becoming ultimately fizzles out.

This paradigm holds true for our annual cycle. The forty nine day stretch between Pesach and Shavuos is not simply a mad dash from Ten Plagues to Ten Commandments. The Omer is forty nine unique and individual 24-hour-long moments of thoughtful repose. Each day is another stopping point where one nurtures the worthwhile relationships in our lives. It is an opportunity to pull back from the “creative” manipulation of our friends and peers and discover a healthier relationship with our inner selves.

Shabbat and the Counting of the Omer help us spiritual rejuvenate. More important, once we’ve regained our spiritual bearings, the purpose of Becoming will be more meaningful and focused.

These islands in time should be treated as a business retreat. Successful corporations require employees to set aside time to remember, recommit, and get re-energized by the company’s vision and business plan. JUDAISM INC. and your own family should do no less. Shabbat and the Omer period are spiritual retreats with the power of re-connecting us to our souls and to our Organization’s collective mission in this world.