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 thirty days, which is four weeks and two days of the Omer.
Meditation
Exodus 12:36-38
36 And the Lord had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have what they asked. Thus they plundered the Egyptians. 37 And the people of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides women and children. 38 A mixed multitude also went up with them, and very much livestock, both flocks and herds.
Devotional
God hardened the heart of Pharaoh who set up the system of genocide over His people. But God had given favor to His people in the sight of the Egyptians. The people of Israel left with reparations (Genesis 15:1). In the Exodus, they were favored. But in the future, they would become a byword among the nations (Deuteronomy 28:37; Jeremiah 24:9). We ought not to react to oppression that justifies our oppression. Yet we will not be perfect victims, but ideal scapegoats bearing the blame, faults and judgments of others. When people see the unjust and unfair treatment of innocent victims, their conscience will be awakened. We must encourage those who get used to carrying out the mechanisms of systems of oppression and tyranny to not participate and to walk away. The lynch mob came for Jesus. His death was sought after and justified by the leaders of his day (John 11:45-53), who understood the power and usefulness of scapegoating. The disciples even walked away from Jesus. We must pray for courage to stand up when others are made to pay for our sins.