Blessing
Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the Universe, who has sanctified us with His commandments, and commanded us concerning the counting of the Omer.
Barukh atah, A-donai E-loheinu, Melekh Ha-ʿolam, asher qid’shanu b’mitzvotav v’tzivanu ʿal S’firat Ha-ʿomer.
Count
Today is fourteen days, which is one week and seven days of the Omer.
Meditation
Exodus 2:23-25
23 During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. 24 And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. 25 God saw the people of Israel—and God knew.
Devotional
At that time the king of Egypt died, but the suffering of the people of Israel did not cease. They moaned and groaned under the harsh treatment and heavy burdens of slavery. They cried out to the God of their ancestors to save them from their oppression. Those prayers reached the ears of God who heard their cry and remembered the promise made to their fathers. God saw them. And God knew. This is the turning point in the story that is captured in the words “But God.” When all is bleak and appears to be lost, “But God.” God steps in to save and to deliver. God is “the God of the Oppressed.” God identifies with the plight of his human children and comes to see about them. From what do you need God to save you and your people? To save us, God uses us. Like God we must see the suffering of others, hear their cry and act. Whose cry do you hear today? To whom will God send you? Who will God use you to save?