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 7: And It Was Very Good…Shabbat
“And God saw all that had been made, and found it very good. (Genesis 1:31) The heaven and the earth were finished, and all their array. (Genesis 2:1) And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy—having ceased on it from all the work of creation that God had done. (Genesis 2:3)”
After six weeks of movement—of building, stretching, seeking—we arrive at the seventh. This is the week of menucha, of sacred stillness. Not an end, but a fullness. “And God saw all that had been made and found it very good.”
In the rhythm of creation, Shabbat was the final touch—the breath that made the world whole. So too, in our journey toward Sinai, this week invites us to pause and notice what has been formed within us. We are not finished. We are becoming. And with each quiet, intentional step, we come closer to the mountain. Torah is not just what waits at the top—it is what rises in us as we stand together, trembling and ready, in the presence of something greater. We rest not to retreat, but to prepare our souls to hear the voice that speaks in stillness, the one we’ve been moving toward all along.
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 7: May 26 – June 1
Day 43 – May 26
Daily Quote:
“Menuha which we usually render with ‘rest’ means here much more than withdrawal from labor and exertion, more than freedom from toil and strain or activity of any kind. Menuha is not a negative concept but something real and intrinsically positive…‘What was created on the seventh day? Tranquility, serenity, peace, and repose.’ (Genesis)…To the biblical mind menuha is the same as happiness and stillness, as peace and harmony…In later times menuha became a synonym for the life in the world to come, for eternal life.”
– Abraham Joshua Heschel
Daily Question:
Especially on a long journey, how do you envision the role of rest?
Day 44 – May 27
Daily Quote:
“If you don’t take a Sabbath, something is wrong. You’re doing too much, you’re being too much in charge. You’ve got to quit, one day a week, and just watch what God is doing when you’re not doing anything.”
– Eugene Peterson
Daily Questions:
How has the Holy One been a partner for you?
Day 45 – May 28
Daily Quote:
“Why should the Torah begin with Shabbat? I am not concerned here with the question of whether this is the precise spoken word of God or the wisdom of our ancient sages. The point of the story is to proclaim that as soon as there were human beings, there had to be Shabbat. Human life is just inconceivable without Shabbat. That is one of the great truths of Judaism, something we still need to teach the world.”
– Rabbi Art Green
Daily Question:
How does Shabbat change the way you experience time?
Day 46 – May 29
Daily Quote:
“Anybody can observe the Sabbath, but making it holy surely takes the rest of the week.”
– Alice Walker
Daily Question:
For you, what is holy about Shabbat?
Day 47 – May 30
Daily Quote:
“More than Jews have kept Shabbat, Shabbat has kept the Jews.”
– Ahad Haam
Daily Question:
How does Shabbat bring you wholeness?
Day 48 – May 31
Daily Quote:
“The question “What is the best thing that happened to you this week?” draws everyone at the table into the spirit of Shabbat. It overcomes the negativity that lingers in the mind as we sit down at the Shabbat dinner table.”
– Rabbi Mordecai Schreiber
Daily Question:
As you reflect on this journey to Sinai, what has been the best part?
Day 49 – June 1
Daily Quote:
“’And what do you plan to do now?’ I asked her. She looked down at her hands clasped in her lap. ‘I think I will just be myself.’”
– Rachel Naomi Remen
Daily Question:
In what ways are you now ready to receive Torah?
Blessing for the 49th Day of the Omer
You have counted each day, step by step, breath by breath, soul by soul.
You have stepped through the waters of creation, crossed into the wilderness of becoming, and arrived at the edge of revelation.
Now, as the 49th day closes and the 50th begins, may you feel the fullness of this journey.
May your heart be open, your spirit at rest, your hands ready to receive.
May the Torah that awaits you not only teach you – but transform you.
And may you remember always: you are not standing at Sinai alone.
We arrived here together.
