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 forty one days, which is five weeks and six days of the Omer.
Meditation
Exodus 20:16
16 “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
Devotional
We share desires and hence the same objects of desire. When we engage in rivalry, to solve the conflict, stop and identify what the two parties desire. Determine to whom it really belongs. This is what made Solomon famous when he solved the conflict of the two women and their baby in 1 Kings 3:15-27. Jesus solved rivalry through sharing, providing the needs of others to restore and to ensure equity and justice. This is what David was known for. He did justice on behalf of Israel (2 Samuel 8:15). This is why God instituted the Sabbatical Year and the Year of Jubilee into the life of Israel (Leviticus 25). This is the message of Moses and all the prophets (Amos 5:24; Isaiah 1:15-20). Moses assigned judges to resolve conflicts among the people (Exodus 18:14-24). This is why we have policing and a judicial system. In the ancient world, these institutions of forgiveness and punishment revolved around the temple and the king’s court. At the heart of the matter is what objects of desire we are sharing. Fundamental human behavior is imitation. We imitate each other. Our behavior is patterned and predictable. Human desire and rivalry too. It leads to lie to ourselves and others about our rival(s). Lying is one link in the chain of human desire that leads to rivalry, harm and violence. We know that we are in trouble when we engage in lying. Lying places false blame on others. Lying allows and justifies violence against our rivals. Lying makes our rivals into monsters. God wants us to see how our shared desires should lead us to sharing rather than stealing. Solve the rivalry by giving to others what they need. Sometimes we must hide what we desire so that the person beside us won’t fight us over it. But find a creative way to satiate your neighbor’s desire for what you have. And be mindful that your desires come from others and not from yourself. We must make sure our desires don’t harm others as well as ourselves.