By Michelle Azar Aaron (5-22-09)

Today is forty-three days, which is six weeks and one day of the Omer.

 

It is a tradition to count the days between Passover and Shavuot, as we mark our freedom from slavery and celebrate our freedom to accept Torah. This is called "counting the omer." This year we will observe the tradition of "counting the omer" by sharing stories about the many different ways that we have been turned on to Jewish learning, and through Jewish learning to Torah.

Thank you to everyone who wrote about a memorable moment of Jewish learning. We've collected 49 amazing stories, and we're grateful to all of our contributors. 

 

I was at another yoga retreat.  Observing another meditation on the deity resting delicately on the table in front of me, adorned with flowers. Another chanting of the 1,000 names of god. And another discussion on spirituality and devotional living.

As people dispersed and it came time for private meditation, I ventured outside with my havdallah candle to say goodbye to Shabbat. I immersed myself in the familiar melodies and words that have for all these years brought me comfort and joy, community, and deep happiness; and suddenly felt tears rolling down my cheeks. I had not realized until that moment just how much the words of our faith meant to me. I always knew the language had profound resonance for me, and that the culture of Judaism was one within I felt deeply rooted, but until this moment I had not realized the power Jewish Prayer had over me.

Since that day, I have chosen to actually pray. Daily, morning, and evening. I take one or two prayers from the services, depending upon the time allotted. I say them first as they are written, and then pause letting the words roll over my tongue and my mouth. I try to sit with them and linger anew in what their meaning has to offer me uniquely on that day. I have found a significant impact. I have slightly more patience, more tolerance for that which I cannot control, for that which has not gone my way. And a new level of delight and comfort in my daily tasks, the mundane and sometimes unappealing things required of me as a parent or house-maker, wife, teacher, professional, all seem to be even a bit more rooted in a higher purpose.

This notion is new and therefore needs much more practice and nurturing, but I am hopeful and thrilled at this new beginning for Jewish learning and prayer in my life. I don't have to wait for Shabbat to come each week to offer praise and thanks, nor do I have to look away from our culture and heritage to find "more" meaning and perspective. It is all here, available to me with what I already have been given. I simply need to use it.

By Michelle Azar Aaron

These stories are brought to you by the Temple Emanuel RE-IMAGINE project, an 18-month initiative sponsored by Hebrew Union College, devoted to re-thinking and re-structuring our religious school.