My first conscious glimpse of the numinous occurred when I was three years old. I had just taken a bath and was in my pajamas standing in the bathroom combing my hair. I was too short to see myself in the mirror as I combed, but when I was satisfied that I had styled my hair perfectly I climbed up on a stool to look. I was taken aback by what I saw, my baby fine wet hair was sticking out on both sides in two perfect 45º angles, like the legs of a triangle. I giggled aloud and leaned in to get a closer look. Then, I saw it, not my hair or my freckles or my smile, but in my eyes, something drawing me in. I saw me, into me, into a self that I had not yet been aware of. It is hard to say how it was that in that moment I knew that this deep inner self was my own and no one else’s, and yet somehow connected to something more. This sense of the depth of me and my connection to all that is has been with me since then, and has been a touchstone of my spiritual life.
This is the first graphic story I have drawn, an unedited first.
The Torah instructs us to count seven weeks from the second day of Passover, the fiftieth day is the holy day of Shavuot.
And from the day on which you bring the sheaf of elevation offering—the day after the sabbath—you shall count off seven weeks. They must be complete: you must count until the day after the seventh week—fifty days; then you shall bring an offering of new grain to the LORD. (Leviticus 23:15-16)
Initially Shavuot was a harvest festival, a time to make a pilgrimage to the Temple to bring an offering. After the destruction of the Temple the rabbis and Jewish mystics associated this important holy day with the receiving of Torah on Sinai. The custom and law is to count seven weeks of seven days, each day reviewing one’s self in light of qualities associated with sephirot specified for each day, and to say a blessing and pronounce the count of the day. This practice is intended to refine our character and do mitzvot in hopes of becoming ready to receive Torah. This practice is called ‘counting the omer’.
According to the mystics, each week of the seven is represented by a mystical aspect of the divine to focus on. And each day of the 49 is a combination of two aspects. For example, referring to the list below, the first week is associated with Chesed (qualities of loving kindness, compassion), and the first day of the first week we reflect on Chesed of Chesed. The second day of the first week we reflect on G’vurah of Chesed, and so on for each of the seven days to the first week. The second week is associated with G’vurah, and day one of week 2 we reflect on Chesed of G’vurah. Day two of week two we reflect on G’vurah of G’vurah, and so on. There are many guides and apps to aid you in counting of the omer, we are meant to make it a very personal journey.
Correspondences of the Seven Sefirot of the Omer Period
[“Sefirot” refers to the kabbalistic notion of the divine emanations.]
Having had such a great time doing daily Omer drawings, I decided to continue my daily drawing practice. The Omer counting provided a structure for my imagination, contemplating combinations of qualities of the sephirot of the Kabbalistic Tree of Life, what to do for this leg of the journey? The inspirations for this series of drawings comes from just tuning in and seeing what images come. Occasionally I opened one of the books I am studying and an idea from that became the seed of the drawing. The captions for each drawing give some idea of where my head was at each day… what do you see in them?
Having counted the days of the omer (see What is Counting the Omer?) for a number of years, taking care to say the blessings every evening, but having difficulty connecting to the process, it had sadly become quite arduous. This year, 5781 – 2021 I decided to take a different approach, making one drawing per day, in the morning (when I am most creative), taking time to focus on the daily combination of sefirot/qualities. I drew with pen on paper, no erasing, no do overs. Interestingly, I grabbed a stack of old pin-feed computer printer paper to draw on, and though I did not count the pages, there were exactly 50 pages in the stack, all connected as one book. See the images below.
Correspondences of the Seven Sefirot of the Omer Period that inform my thoughts about the quality combinations for each day
[“Sefirot” refers to the kabbalistic notion of the divine emanations.]
Here are Counting the Omer Images for the year 5781/2021:
Just Being, in loving love of what is. Chesed Sheb’Chesed.
The Push, being and oneness gives way to process. Gevurah Sheb’Chesed.
Beautiful, love in that sweet spot. Tiferet Sheb’Chesed.
Firmly planted, reaching, spanning earth, sun and moon. Netzach Sheb’Chesed.
My roots go down. Hod Sheb’Chesed.
Clouds of Glory fill me up. Yesod Sheb’Chesed.
…and from here, Shefa flows into the world. Malchut Sheb’Chesed.
Submitting to the critic, under a rain of loving kindness from my angel. Chesed Sheb’Gevurah.
Push pull, holding back speech. Gevurah Sheb’Gevurah.
With Aba and Ima. Tiferet Sheb’Gevurah.
The long, difficult, and precarious climb, Kingfisher spies his catch…meanwhile, back on the farm. Netzach Sheb’Gevurah.
Holding up and protected by Earth, submitting to the power of the storm. Hod Sheb’Gevurah.
Sitting close but not in the torrential falls of Shefa, revitalized by the gentle mist, nursing a baby. Yesod Sheb’Gevurah.
A river issues from Eden to water the garden, and it then divides and becomes four branches. Malchut Sheb’Gevurah.
Loving compassion, beauty in nature. Chesed Sheb’Tiferet.
Focusing in on one corner of the wonders of nature. Gevurah Sheb’Tiferet.
Fires within fires, the cave of Machpelah, portal to Eden. Tiferet Sheb’Tiferet.
Lingering along the trail, picking flowers, enjoying the company. It might take longer; it is precious time spent. Netzach Sheb’Tiferet.
Humbling being a part of the miracle of life, and witness to such wonder and joy. Humbled by the beauty of exuberance. Hod Sheb’Tiferet.
All who dwell on Earth, come feast. Yesod, Sheb’Tiferet.
Diving into Shechinah’s swimming hole. Malchut Sheb’Tiferet.
Mysteriously, my usual burdens are not dragging me down today. Chesed Sheb’Netzach.
Sometimes, we have to pause on our long journey. Gevurah Sheb’Netzach.
Tending the fire. Tiferet Sheb’Netzach.
Enduring the verb, Enduring the adjective, Enduring bonds of Family. Netzach Sheb’Netzach.
You go on ahead, I’ll catch up, I take it a little slower these days and that is fine with me. Hod Sheb’Netzach.
Enduring bonds of love: Earth and Moon, Grove of Trees, Man and Woman. Yesod Sheb’Netzach.
Channeling Shechinah, hitting that sweet spot. Malchut Sheb’Netzach.
Showering love on the next generation, no competition or envy, just nachas. Chesed Sheb’Hod.
When Torah comes through, the ego stands back and trembles, coming to peace with leadership. Gevurah Sheb’hod.
Not consumed by flames of passion, a bush among the lambs grazing in the orchard. Tiferet Sheb’hod.
Feeding the hungry. Without even being seen. Two handed, full hearted help for the long haul. As Torah says: For there will never cease to be needy ones in your land, which is why I command you: open your hand to the poor and needy kinsman in your land. Deut 15:11 Netzach Sheb’Hod.
One of billions, One in a million, one of a minyan. Hod Sheb’Hod.
All sefirot, from Keter to Yesod, are all full cups raised to sanctify Malchut, Kingdom, Earth. Yesod Sheb’Hod.
Almost Shabbos. Standing in the magnificence of the mountains, cleaning and preparing to welcome the Shabbos bride. Malchut Sheb’Hod.
To truly bond, have compassion, meet a being where they are, dive into their world. Chesed Sheb’Yesod.
Making space for all aspects, under one roof, in one skin. Gevurah Sheb’Yesod.
Tenderness and patience, just being with a hurting friend. Tiferet Sheb’Yesod.
Planting for future generations. Netzach Sheb’Yesod.
Singing with the choir, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Hod Sheb’Yesod.
Riding the magic carpet, the power of the bush. Yesod Sheb’Yesod.
Learning to ride, getting encouragement. Malchut Sheb’Yesod.
The world is our playground. Chesed Sheb’Malchut.
Limiting availability, time to daydream. Gevurah Sheb’Malchut.
Teaching life skills. Tiferet Sheb’Malchut.
Creative powers grounded in the body. Netzach Sheb’Malchut.
Sovereigns tending the Earthly Garden. Hod Sheb’Malchut.
One with the wave. Yesod Sheb’Malchut.
A tree of life to all who grasp her. Malchut Sheb’Malchut.
Humbled at the Mountain of Revelation. Shavuos 5781.
