The Omer is the 49-day period between the celebration of Passover and the Festival of Shavuot. This year, we invite you to count the Omer with us through the lens of creation and recreation—not only of the world but of ourselves and our community.
You will receive a weekly email with guiding quotes for each day – rooted in Torah, spirituality, and personal growth – and a question to carry with you. These offerings are meant to open space for reflection, guide our steps through the wilderness, and help us shape not only who we are but who we are becoming – individually and together.
Week 5: Birds and Fish – The World Beyond Us
“God created the great sea monsters, and all the living creatures of every kind that creep, which the waters brought forth in swarms, and all the winged birds of every kind. And God saw that this was good.”
Genesis 1:21
On the fifth day, before there were people, the world was already good. The waters swarmed with life; the skies echoed with birdsong. Creation pulsed with motion, with mystery, with meaning – and none of it depended on us. It is a humbling and expansive truth: we were not the beginning, and we are not the center.
And yet, in this world not made for us, we are still invited to listen. A fish flickering in a stream, a bird lifting off with the wind – these moments carry something sacred. They remind us that we are part of a vast, interconnected creation, one that speaks in glances and ripples, feathers and fins.
As we continue our journey toward Shavuot, toward the revelation that awaits, we’re asked to notice what is already unfolding around us. Sometimes the path to Torah is not a straight line, but a stream – meandering, life-giving, surprising. Each step brings us closer not just to Sinai, but to the truth of who we are becoming.
We hope you enjoy this video of our cantorial team singing about counting the Omer.
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ מֶֽלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָֽׁנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתָיו, וְצִוָּֽנוּ עַל סְפִירַת הָעֹֽמֶר
Barukh ata Adonai Eloheinu Melekh ha’Olam asher kid’shanu b’mitzvotav v’tizivanu al sefirat ha’omer.
Blessed are you, Adonai our God, Sovereign of the Universe, who has sanctified us with your commandments and commanded us to count the omer.
Daily Quotes and Questions
Week 5: May 12 – 18
Day 29 – May 12
Daily Quote:
“An animal’s eyes have the power to speak a great language.”
– Martin Buber
Daily Question:
What has an animal taught you about connection and understanding?
Day 30 – May 13
Daily Quote:
“Every living creature that swarms will be able to live wherever this stream goes; the fish will be very abundant once these waters have reached there. It will be wholesome, and everything will live wherever this stream goes.”
– Ezekiel 47:9
Daily Question:
What is the “stream” in your life that brings you abundance and sustains you?
Day 31 – May 14
Daily Quote:
“The kid with the earring starts screaming, “Goldfish, goldfish,” he’s so excited. And this, this really pressures Sergei, who tells the boy, it’s nothing, just a normal goldfish, stop filming it. Just a goldfish, Sergei tells him, just something he found flapping around in the net, a deep-sea goldfish. But the boy isn’t listening. He’s still filming and getting closer and saying something about talking and fish and a magic wish.”
– Edgar Keret
Daily Question:
What small, seemingly ordinary moments in your life might actually hold unexpected magic or meaning?
Day 32 – May 15
Daily Quote:
“In respect to every being He intended that being itself; and whenever the existence of some thing was impossible unless it was preceded by some other thing, He first brought that thing into existence…. Similarly [to the heavenly bodies, which give light and rule over time by their nature], it says of man, And have dominion over the fish of the sea, and so on, which dictum does not mean that humanity was created for the sake of this, but merely gives information about man’s nature with which He, may He be exalted, has stamped him … all the beings have been intended for their own sakes and not for the sake of something else, [nor] for the sake of the existence of man…”
– Maimonides
Daily Question:
What does it mean to see yourself as having inherent worth, rather than existing for the sake of something else?
Day 33 – May 16
Daily Quote:
“As the armor that protects the body of the fish, scales represent the quality of integrity, which protects us from the very many pitfalls that life presents… ”
– Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson
Daily Question:
What qualities or values serve as your armor, protecting you as you navigate through life’s challenges?
Day 34 – May 17
Daily Quote:
“Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”
– Lao Tzu
Daily Questions:
What is something you have learned that has sustained you long-term?
How do you pass that wisdom on to others?
Day 35 – May 18
Daily Quote:
“You have made humankind like the fish of the sea, Like creeping things that have no ruler.”
– Habbakkuk 1:14
Daily Question:
How do you experience freedom and structure in your life?
