Today is five days of the omer: hod she’b’hesed. I almost did Albert Pujols today, despite the fact that he tortured the Astros for years as a Cardinal — and is apparently still able to at almost 40, as recently as last year as an Angel. I do have one fond association with him, however: My grandmother, notorious for mispronouncing words, always said his name … Continue reading day 5: the hebrew hammer
Today is four days of the omer: netzach she’b’hesed. I could have chosen Gehrig, but we did the Yankees yesterday. So I’m going with another hometown hero, New York Giant Mel Ott. (This is the team that became today’s club in San Francisco, a move that didn’t inspire as much fiery, enduring ire as a certain other New York team’s decampment to a certain other California … Continue reading day 4: the master
Today is three days of the omer: tiferet she’b’hesed. Today Yankees fans can stop being mad at me (see yesterday’s post) as I honor one of their best: The Bambino, The Sultan of Swat, four-time WS winner, one of the first inaugural five HoFers, perhaps the greatest baseball player of all time, the singular Babe Ruth. (Also perhaps the player with the most nicknames of all … Continue reading day 3: the bambino
Today is two days of the omer: gevurah she’b’hesed. (Because of Shabbat, I’m posting this before the second day actually begins.) I should be writing about Derek Jeter. I know it, you know it, my blog co-authors who know only a little about baseball probably know it. My cats know it. Jeter is pretty much undisputedly the best player to ever wear the number 2. But these … Continue reading day 2: the homage
Today is one day of the omer: hesed she’b’hesed. One of the things that I like about the ritual of the omer is that we count up, which in my view downplays the number 1. The intractable pursuit of being on top can be dangerous (see, Houston Astros), and one can be a lifelong fan of a team that was never the best (see, Houston Astros). In … Continue reading day 1: the wizard
The ein sof (literally, “without end”) is understood in kabbalah as Gd before any self-manifestation. It is Gd’s act of tzimtzum (“contraction”) that allows for everything else to come into being. In particular, the ein sof is the origin of the sefirot (“emanations”), which have come to be associated with days of the omer, the seven weeks between Pesach and Shavuot. Just as primordial boundlessness gave way to a … Continue reading ein sof; or, making room for something new
Sticky post
Sports lovers rejoice! While the entire Jewish world is focused on Passover, as soon as the first day of Passover is over, we are headed to Omertime! The Omer is a 49 day period between Passover and Shavuot when it’s a mitzvah to say a blessing and count each day. This incredibly simple, two minute nightly ritual, is also deeply mystical and can be the … Continue reading We’re Going to Omertime
Omertime 