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.
Read MoreAs I strolled through the greenhouses at Longwood Gardens the other day, brilliant blossoms of yellow and white and blue dazzled my senses. The sun on my pale skin told me it had been snowing only yesterday, and reminded me how suddenly the seasons change—and how sensible, in this time of powerful transformation it is to celebrate Passover, our (perennial) liberation from slavery in Egypt. But this riot of color also made me wonder: How does the Omer—this period of quiet, patient waiting—connect to the process of liberation and the revelation that we experience at the end of the Omer on the holiday of Shavuot?
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