Owner of Ma'yan Tikvah - A Wellspring of Hope
Rabbi Katy Z. Allen is the founder and leader of Ma'yan Tikvah - A Wellspring of Hope, a congregation without walls that meets outdoors all year long. She is the co-convener and coordinator of the Boston-area Jewish Climate Action Network, and the founder of the One Earth Collaborative, a program of Open Spirit in Framingham, MA.
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Day 22: Chesed b’Netzach
This week, we dip into poetry for the week of Netzach, the Divine attribute of endurance, perseverance, and fortitude. This week's reflections were written by Lois Rosenthal, a member of Temple Tifereth Israel in Winthrop, where she teaches Hebrew School and tutors b’nai mitzvah students. Lois is also a member of the CREW Poets chapter of the MA State Poetry Society. She is retired from Santa Clara University, where she held an academic ...
Day 21: Week 3, Day 7 of the Omer – Malchut of Tiferet
by Rabbi Robin Damsky The ultimate expression of Tiferet; Malchut of Tiferet, is the nobility of compassion. Words like sovereignty, dignity, enhancing status and boosting up – like Brendan Graham’s lyrics, “You raise me up” – come to mind. Michael Jacobs, in his book, Counting the Omer, asks of this day: do our actions create dignity in those we intend to help? I am reminded of Maimonides’ Eight Levels of Tzedakah. There are many ...
Day 20: Week 3, Day 6 of the Omer – Yesod of Tiferet
The foundation of compassion by Rabbi Robin Damsky Did you ever notice how you walk differently on the beach or the forest than you do in the city? By the sea we usually remove our shoes. We want to feel the sand in our toes. If we walk close to the shore, the sand is firm from the ocean. It holds us up, but our feet sink in a bit, molding the earth with our steps. When the water washes over our feet they sink in even deeper. In the forest, our shoes ...
Day 19: Week 3, Day 5 of the Omer – Hod of Tiferet
How do we find and maintain humility in our compassion? by Rabbi Robin Damsky Nature is an abundant force. Those who swim the ocean know just how powerful an undercurrent can be. Those who have witnessed a wildfire jumping across a six-lane freeway can only feel miniscule, as well as terrified, at its indomitable force. In moments like these, how can we help but feel humble? The more intimate our relationship with the earth, the more ...
Day 18: Week 3, Day 4 of the Omer – Netzach of Tiferet
Endurance in Compassion: Rabbi Simon Jacobson asks: “Is my compassion enduring and consistent?” by Rabbi Robin Damsky When we sit down to a meal, do we think about where the food has come from? Judaism teaches us to say a brachah – a blessing – for that food. We may or may not take the time to do that, and even if we do, do we stop for a minute and think about the origin of that salad or how that bread came to our table? Barbara Kingsolver ...
Day 17: Week 3, Day 3 of the Omer – Tiferet of Tiferet
Could there be anything more harmonious, anything more joyful, than the compassion of compassion? This is Tiferet of Tiferet. by Rabbi Robin Damsky The truest compassion has no limits. It is as Isaiah spoke: You shall indeed go out with joy, and be led forth in peace. Before you mountains and hills shall break into cries of joy, And all the trees of the wild shall clap their hands. – Isaiah 55:12 When I walk in the forest and I feel ...
Day 16: Week 3, Day 2 of the Omer – Gevurah of Tiferet
Compassion that is disciplined and focused. by Rabbi Robin Damsky Recently I was rear-ended at a red light. I was more stunned than anything else, and getting out of my car, the thought that was foremost in my mind was the time I lived in Los Angeles and was the victim of a hit and run. My immediate focus was, if nothing else, to get the license plate and make of the car in case my assailant was planning to take off. And I got right on the line with ...
Day 15: Chesed b’Tiferet
Week three of the Counting of the Omer is the week of Tiferet, and in the context of Tiferet, Rabbi Robin Damsky will be sharing thoughts about gardening. Rabbi Damsky is the rabbi of West Suburban Temple Har Zion in River Forest, IL, and the proud mother of Sarah. In her spare time she promotes tikkun olam - repair of the world - through her garden. Tiferet is the Divine Attribute of compassion, harmony and truth. Rabbi Damsky quotes from ...
Day 14: Malchut B’Gevurah
Day Seven of Week 2 (14th day of Omer): Malchut in Gevurah by Susie Davidson Malchut is about dignity, and the final manifestation of the intended change. But it is also about sovereignty and authority, and if necessary, assessing if the recipients of such change are deserving and judging if they will utilize it wisely. It could only have been unimaginably difficult for G-d to mete out justice in the form of punishment to those of His ...
Day 13: Yesod b’Gevurah
Day Six of Week 2 (13th day of Omer): Yesod in Gevurah by Susie Davidson Yesod is about foundations, the base of support from which to enact these desired changes. And foundations are bonded together, which reflects Yesod's other attribute of bonding. With a firm foundation, a springboard that is also a grounded platform, we can join with like-minded others in a disciplined, Gevurah ...
Day 12: Hod b’Gevurah
Day Five of Week 2 (12th day of Omer): Hod in Gevurah by Susie Davidson Hod stands for humility and acknowledging limits. In concert with the restraint and discernment of Gevurah, you might want to lower those expectations. But don't, because Hod is also associated with splendor and glory. Sure, change can be difficult, and there is a certain comfort to same old same old. But it doesn't have to be huge, insurmountable ...
Day 11: Netzach b’Gevurah
Day Four of Week 2 (11th day of Omer): Netzach in Gevurah by Susie Davidson It all begins with ourselves. And Netzach signifies trusting in ourselves by summoning both strength and confidence (Gevurah) and facing challenges that can come from within. Thoughts or feelings can either inspire and empower ourselves, or stand in our own way. Netzach is associated with perseverance, endurance and victory. So hang in there, and don't be your ...
Day 10: Tiferet b’Gevurah
Day Three of Week 2 (10th day of Omer): Tiferet in Gevurah by Susie Davidson The aspects of Tiferet are harmony, compassion and mercy. "Tiferet is a blueprint for change, and how your plan for change takes into account the need for balance—both internally and with others.” (Chabad.org) In order for our desired change to manifest, we need reserves of Gevurah's discipline and careful planning. We need its restraint as ...
Day 9: Gevurah b’Gevurah
by Susie Davidson Day Two of Week 2 (9th day of Omer): Gevurah in Gevurah Focus, discipline, restraint, determination, careful measure - times two. This is steadfastness in the face of challenge. Michael Zank, who teaches biblical studies at Boston University's Department of Religion and is Director of the Elie Wiesel Center for Judaic Studies, writes in his book Approaches to Ancient Judaism that the epithet Gevurah “ref...
Day 8: Chesed b’Gevurah
This week we welcome Susie Davidson as she writes about Gevurah in the context of agriculture, intrinsic to the human relationship with the Earth. Susie is a poet, journalist, author, and filmmaker who writes regularly for the Jewish Advocate, the Jewish Daily Forward, the Cambridge Chronicle and other media. She has also contributed to the Boston Sunday Globe, the Boston Herald and the Jerusalem Post, and Ha'aretz. She has written three books ...
Day Seven: Malkut b’Chesed
by Rabbi Judy Weiss Malkut: majestic dignity and unity of all with loyalty Talmud Sotah 30b: How did all Israel know the words to the song? When the Israelites ascended from the Red Sea, they desired to sing a song (Exodus 15:1). How did they sing it? Like an adult who reads the Hallel (Psalms 113-118) and they respond with the leading word, “Halleujah”. Moses sang, ...
Day Six: Y’sod b’Chesed
by Rabbi Judy Weiss Y’sod: loyalty stemming from connection and communication Midrash: Rabbi Yohanan once asked his students to describe the appearance of the walls of the Red Sea when the waters parted for the children of Israel to cross. When none could do so, Rabbi Yohanan described them as resembling a window lattice. Then, all at once, they heard a voice say: “No, it was not like that at all!” ...
Day Five: Hod b’Chesed
by Rabbi Judy Weiss Hod: loyalty based in gratitude and humility Talmudic Midrash: Megillah 10b The ministering angels wanted to chant their hymns of praise and rejoice when Israel finished crossing the sea, but the Holy One said “The work of my hands is being drowned in the sea, and shall you chant hymns? Question: To save Israel, God split the sea and then allowed it to crash ...
Day Four: Netzach b’Chesed
Netzach: endurance and decisiveness generating loyalty Midrash: Mekhilta de Rabbi Yishmael (translation by David Stern, JPS publication, 1993, pp 155-156) When the Israelites stood at the sea, one said: “I do not want to go down to the sea first,” and the other also said: “I do not want to go down to the sea first,” as it is said (Hosea 12:1): “Ephraim compasseth Me about with lies, and the house of ...
Day Three: Tiferet b’Chesed
by Rabbi Judy Weiss Tiferet: compassion, beauty, and balance to achieve loyalty According to early interpreters of the Bible, the splitting of the Red Sea involved more than one miracle. Midrash: Legends of the Jews 3:22 "The dividing of the sea was but the first of ten miracles connected with the passage of the Israelites through it. The others were that the waters united in a ...
