Renewing our Relationship with the Sacred (Shabbat Emor)

The Jewish sacred calendar is a pilgrimage through time. We take the same journey every year, but we, the people who embark on that journey — are, every year, a bit different. we hope a bit kinder, a little more forgiving of ourselves and others, a bit more grateful for the ordinary gifts of each day.

One of the special times Torah describes this week is called “the Omer”, the 7 weeks we are in, between Passover and Shavuot (a holiday that celebrates receiving Torah at Mt. Sinai). 

These weeks, like other special moments in our lives remind us of some basic truths we too easily forget.

The Sefat Emet, a 19th century Hasidic rabbi teaches Passover is the season not just of freedom but of our own personal liberation. We are beginning to find freedom here as Pequit opens, and we can gather together with less anxiety than we used to.

Afterwards, on Shavuot, is a time not just when Torah was given but when we gather our Torah – our insights, and wisdom. These are the Sefat Emet’s words: 

Torah is renewed on Shavuot in accordance with the freedom that has been awakened on Passover…. Even though we have already received the Torah, there is still a renewed revelation of Torah in each generation, each year, and each day…a revelation peculiar to that time.

According to his teaching, we need to experience freedom from what has been holding us back, whatever we’ve been afraid of, or felt stuck in, in order to gain new insights and wisdom.

For many of us, that includes fear of being around other people, feeling stuck in our own isolation. I recently pushed through that fear to visit my grandma in Arizona, and my parents, sister, brother-in-law, and niece in Chicago. The freedom I gave myself to see my family gave me many revelations as I sat on my grandma’s porch and learned stories about my family, or made challah with my niece.

The Sefat Emet goes on to say this process of liberation is continuous. It happens over the course of a lifetime — as we experience the growth and loss life brings to us; over a year, certainly a year like this has revealed so much about the racism and injustice seeking to be addressed in our society; even over a day, as we, in ordinary moments, of brushing our teeth, or walking with a friend, learn more about ourselves, and whatever we hold sacred.

So, in the few weeks leading up to Shavuot, the time our ancestors committed to live in relationship with the sacred, may you receive the blessings this season offers: may you feel deepening freedom to choose how you want to live; may you be inspired by the commitments you are moving toward; and may you sense the sacred close to you,  accompanying you in ordinary moments on this sacred journey.

Amen.