Passover • Counting the Omer
Each spring, between Passover and Shavuot, we are invited to embark on a sacred journey: Counting the Omer. This seven-week period offers an opportunity for intentional reflection, spiritual growth, and inner transformation as we prepare to receive the gift of Torah anew.
As we enter Shabbat HaGadol, the Great Shabbat that comes just before Passover, we find ourselves standing at a sacred threshold—between preparation and remembrance, between liberation and revelation, between the story of the Exodus we retell and the journey of Counting the Omer that we are about to begin.
This season always feels to me like an invitation to tend the flame:
the flame of memory,
the flame of hope,
the flame of faith,
the flame of love.
Introduction to Counting the Omer
For those who may be unfamiliar with this mitzvah, Counting the Omer is a spiritual practice of preparation for receiving Torah on Shavuot. Just as the Israelites journeyed from Egypt to Sinai, we take an inner journey—from liberation to revelation. This seven-week period helps us refine our character and open our hearts to love and Divine wisdom. Counting the Omer prepares us—mind, body, and soul—to become true recipients of revelation on Shavuot, following the liberation we experience at Passover.
For the past few years, I’ve had the privilege of gathering with fellow spiritual seekers to do this work. Together, we fulfill the mitzvah of counting, reflect on the daily sefirah pairing, journal, and share. I compiled the art and journaling questions I’ve shared with my Havurah during this process into a guided journal that is now available to everyone.
The journal is designed not only for private reflection, but for shared conversation and insight. I think it is an ideal tool to use with a hevruta partner or for inspiration if you are leading Omer counting in a community setting.
I’m especially glad to be able to offer my new Omer journal as a digital download in the shop for those who would like a companion for the journey.
Rooted in Kabbalistic tradition, this guided journal offers a creative framework for exploring the ancient practice of Counting the Omer. The journal is organized into seven sections, each dedicated to one of the Seven Lower Sefirot: Chesed, Gevurah, Tiferet, Netzach, Hod, Yesod, and Malchut. Each section begins with an introduction to that week’s sefirah—its qualities, its Hebrew name, a biblical verse, and the major figures associated with it. Each of the 49 days is a unique pairing: the sefirah of the week combined with the sefirah of the day.
Whether this is your first time counting or a yearly tradition, this journal will help you cultivate presence, intention, and personal growth—day by day, step by step, sefirah by sefirah—on the path from Passover to Shavuot.
Soul Journey
The journey from Passover to Shavuot
is not only a movement through time—
it is a journey of the soul.
Each counted day becomes a container
for awareness, intention, and growth.
Each week asks us
to refine a different quality of the heart.
And each step reminds us
that holiness is built
one day at a time.
I love that Judaism gives us this bridge.
We do not leave Egypt and arrive at Sinai all at once.
We count our way there.
Day by day.
Step by step.
Sefirah by sefirah.
The Omer is not just a count. It is a sacred invitation to pause, reflect, and notice who we are becoming. It is a daily practice of intention, awareness, and soul growth. Each week invites us to focus on one of the seven lower sefirot—and each day offers an opportunity to explore their intersections in a more personal way.
Because we were never meant to do all of our becoming alone.
We need companions on the path.
We need people who help us notice what is holy.
We need others who can hold the questions with us, illuminate the journey, and remind us to keep showing up.
Counting the Omer Week 1
The first week of the Omer is Chesed—loving-kindness, compassion, generosity. It resonates deeply that we begin here. Before discipline, before endurance, before balance, before embodiment, we begin with the heart.
We begin with love.
This year, when so much in our world is spinning wildly out of control, and many of us are frightened and feel ‘othered’, the Omer journey feels especially important to me. Counting the Omer is an invitation to open our hearts. To be present. To be come more intentional. To reach out in love.
How do we love more generously?
How do we set wise boundaries?
How do we cultivate balance, perseverance, humility, connection, and presence?
How do we show up in the world as reflections of our best selves?
These are Omer questions.
These are Passover questions.
These are human questions.
As we gather around our Seder tables this year, may we do more than remember.
May we awaken.
May we remember what it means to walk forward before the path is fully clear.
May we understand that the journey from bondage to liberation is not only collective and historical, but personal and ongoing.
Journeying Towards Freedom
Passover begins with memory, but it does not end there. It asks us to do more than tell the story of slavery and liberation. It asks us to see ourselves within that journey. It asks us to remember that freedom is not only something our ancestors longed for. It is something we are still called to seek, to protect, and to extend.
That is part of what makes this season so powerful.
Passover reminds us that redemption is possible.
That transformation is possible.
That even after constriction, there can be expansion.
Even after darkness, there can be light.
And perhaps most important of all, it reminds us that liberation is not the end of the journey.
It is the beginning.
As we prepare to gather around our Seder tables and retell the ancient story of liberation, I want to share my prayer for Passover:
A Prayer for Passover
As we gather around the Seder table,
may each of us find meaning and purpose
in retelling the age-old story of the Exodus from Egypt.
As we journey from bondage to redemption,
may we recognize that the Haggadah holds more than history—
it is tangible connection to our heritage.
Are we not all wanderers in the desert?
Don’t we all yearn to be part of something greater than ourselves?
In a time of ongoing challenge and uncertainty,
how do we hold on to hope?
WHY IS THIS NIGHT DIFFERENT FROM ALL OTHER NIGHTS?
This night is different because we are here, together—
having chosen to remember and to recount.
May we be fully present
and open to the mysteries about to unfold.
ON THIS NIGHT
may our souls cry out against indifference,
injustice, and inequality,
and may we be inspired to work
towards understanding and enlightenment.
ON THIS NIGHT
may our hearts grow in hope and compassion,
and may we find both the courage and the ability
to bring freedom to those still enslaved.
ON THIS NIGHT
may we feel a deep connection
to one another and to community,
and may all we say and do
reflect our highest, most loving selves.
ON THIS NIGHT
may we rediscover that love is the answer.
LOVE IS ALWAYS THE ANSWER.
And may that sacred truth
fill our hearts,
our homes,
and our world—
with peace.
This week, standing at the edge of Passover and the threshold of the Omer, I find myself returning to the same simple truth:
We are called to tend the flame.
We are called to choose what is holy.
We are called to keep alive that which brings light into the world.
We are called to remember the importance of reaching out in love, gathering in community, and retelling our sacred stories.
May you enter this season of liberation with an open heart.
May your seders be filled with meaning, connection, and blessing.
May the counting of the Omer help you deepen your relationship with God, with your own soul, and with the sacred work you are here to do.
And may the fire within you
be tended with kindness,
fed by hope,
guided by wisdom,
and sustained by love.
Guided Journaling Questions
- How might a daily practice of reflection help you become more fully the person you are meant to be?
- As we move toward freedom, what parts of your personal mitzrayim are you ready to leave behind?
- What spiritual practices help you stay grounded in gratitude and trust?
- How might you be a light for someone else during this season of transformation?
Closing Blessing
May you enter Passover
ready to release what constricts your spirit
and embrace what leads toward freedom.
May you tend the holy fire within
with compassion, courage, and care.
May love guide your words,
illuminate your choices,
and deepen your connection to God.
May the journey of Counting the Omer
help you grow in awareness,
intention, and love.
And may the holy flame within you
be tended with care,
fed by hope,
and guided by the Light of the Divine.