In the seven weeks between Pesach and Shavuot, we count the Omer – – each day counting the days with a ritual prayer. The Omer was an ancient measure of grain. In the days of the Temple in Jerusalem, Jews brought a barley offering to the Temple on the second day of Passover. The Torah commands that after that day of offering the grain, “you shall count off seven weeks.” It is interpreted as a period of growth and introspection in preparation for Shavuot.
These seven weeks are a bridge between Pesach, where we retell the Exodus from Egypt, to Shavuot, when we celebrate the giving of the Torah at Sinai. As described by Rabbi Daniel Syme, Jewish mystics see this period as joining the Jewish people’s physical (Pesach) and spiritual (Shavuot) redemption.
I have an easier time thinking about the physical part – – freedom from slavery, freedom from want, and freedom from persecution, that many of us discussed at our Seder tables. In our modern American lives, our constitution says, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.”
So we believe our right is to pursue happiness. It is clear how we pursue physical happiness: models of the wonderful life abound, from TV ads, to electronic media. What shoes do our superstars wear? What suits do our president and his cabinet buy? Seaside homes, fast cars, vacations abroad.
I understand less well the spiritual part – – our American vision to pursue happiness is different than perhaps a vision to pursue fulfillment. Does happiness include spiritual growth and fulfillment?
One of the meanings of Shavuot is “oaths.” The day God gave us the Torah, God swore eternal devotion to us, and we in turn pledged everlasting loyalty to God. Unlike our constitution’s guarantee to pursue happiness, the Torah commands us to be holy – – to live by God’s laws, and thereby find spiritual fulfillment. If there is a spirit, and developing that spiritual life to fulfillment is spirituality, I find my spiritual life more ephemeral and challenging. I am working to help understand the meaning of my loyalty to God and God’s devotion to me.
In the period between Pesach and Shavuot, connecting the physical to the spiritual, I wish each of you a fulfilling journey.