Beit Midrash
- Shabbat and Holidays
- Jewish Holidays
- Sefirat Haomer
In the city of Sderot, where I live, there are, as we know, many "Color Red" alarms. The first few times, I would impatiently count the seconds from the end to the beginning so that we could leave the safe room (or until I heard the "boom" – whichever came first...). Over the years, I've found that for me personally it's easier to count from the beginning to end. This way, I got a sense of maximizing the time in the safe room – not just the moments of terror that we want for them to end, but also moments in which patience and composure are built. A feeling of a small sense of accomplishment of delayed gratification.
This method can also be applied in other areas of life: not to count, for example, the number of pages left to the end of the text, but counting those we have already learned; not to count the kilograms remaining to reach the goal in the diet, but counting those that we have already lost; not to wait impatiently for the end of Operation Shield and Arrow, but to patiently list the achievements of these days; of which there are quite a few.
By the way, if we are dealing with numbers – I don't know what the planned target population of the city of Sderot is; however, nine years ago, during Operation Protective Edge, the city had 20,000 residents; today during Operation Shield and Arrow – it numbers thirty-five thousand. The frustration of the Islamic Jihad is understandable...
Shabbat Shalom!
The bad will pass.
The good will prevail.
With God's help.
Counting Sefira Somewhat Early
Rabbi Daniel Mann | 30 Nissan 5784
10. Specific Laws Regarding the Mitzva of Sefirat ha-Omer
Rabbi Eliezer Melamed | Tishrei 30 5782
