Counting the Omer for Activists: Week 2
As part of our #TorahForTheResistance series by young scholars and students of Judaism and rabbinics, we offer this Counting the Omer for activists. Read more about using the Omer for activists, see previous weeks’ questions, and find below this week’s reflections designed specifically activists.
About the Omer
Between Passover and Shavuot, our tradition offers us a practice called the Counting the Omer, or Sefirat Ha’Omer. The Jewish mystical tradition has imbued this time with deeper spiritual meaning by creating a system of ‘counting’ that can help us experience different aspects of the Divine. These aspects are represented by the Kabbalistic system of sefirot, a structure representing the ten emanations through which God is revealed to us.
As activists, Sefirat Ha’Omer is a spiritual opportunity to engage with this fundamental political tension: What is the world that we want to see? Where do we encounter that world and what work is to be done?
Week Two: Gevurah/Boundaries (April 18th-24th)
We balance our work on Chesed from last week with the aspect of Gevurah the next week. Gevurah gives us space to take a break. This week we ask ourselves:
Am I doing more than I really have the capacity for? How can I take care of myself while remaining accountable to the issues and people I am working with?
Am I tired because I am not being collaborative enough, or because it is just too much?