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 twenty eight days, which is three weeks and seven days of the Omer.
Meditation
Exodus 7:10-13
10 So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the Lord commanded. Aaron cast down his staff before Pharaoh and his servants, and it became a serpent. 11 Then Pharaoh summoned the wise men and the sorcerers, and they, the magicians of Egypt, also did the same by their secret arts. 12 For each man cast down his staff, and they became serpents. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs. 13 Still Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the Lord had said.
Devotional
Moses and Aaron began to demonstrate the power of God before Pharaoh who appealed to his gods and his servants skilled in the secret arts. But the difference lies in this: be wise as a serpent and harmless as a dove. Pharaoh corrupted his wisdom when he planned the genocide of the people of Israel. Acts 7:22 says, “ And Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was mighty in his words and deeds.” When one uses his authority over others to harm them, then what wisdom and knowledge they claim to possess be some foolishness. And they will reap what they sow. They will be defeated. Pharaoh’s defeat was not enough to change his heart, but rather he doubled down. The result was his heart hardened. Each day we refuse to stop harming others, we refuse to ask forgiveness for the harm we’ve down, we harm ourselves as well as others, making it more difficult to course correct.