Counting the Omer 2021 - Day Seven

Day Seven

28th of Nisan 5781 – from sundown on April 9th to sundown on April 10th, 2021

Shabbat - Parashat Shmini 

Begin by reciting the following blessing:

ברוך אתה יהוה אלוהינו , מלך העולם , אשר קדשנו במצותי

וציונו עלי לספירת העומר

Barukh ata Adonai Eloheinu Melekh ha'Olam asher kid'shanu b'mitzvotav
v'tizivanu al sefirat ha'omer.

Blessed are you, Lord our God, King of the Universe, who has sanctified us with your commandments and commanded us to count the omer.

Recite the day of the count:

היום  שבעה ימים שהם שבוע אחד לעומר

Hayom shivah yamim, sh'hem shavua echad la'omer.

Today is seven days, which is one week of the Omer.

Psalm 67: 4-7 (NKJV 49 word Paraphrase) 

Let the peoples praise You, God; For You shall judge the people righteously, And govern all the nations on earth. Let everyone praise You, God; Let all people praise You.  Then the earth shall yield her increase; God, shall bless us, And all the earth shall fear Him. 

Psalm 119: 49-56:      ז           Zayin

Remember the word to Your servant, upon which You have caused me to hope.  This is my comfort in my affliction, for Your word has given me life.  The proud have me in great derision, yet I do not turn aside from Your law.  I remembered Your judgments of old, O Lord, and have comforted myself.  Indignation has taken hold of me because of the wicked, who forsake Your law.  Your statutes have been my songs In the house of my pilgrimage.  I remember Your name in the night, O Lord, and I keep Your law.  This has become mine, because I kept Your precepts. 

Prayer for Day 7: 

Avinu.  Our Father, we implore You, by the awesome power of Your right hand, release the captive. Accept the prayers of your people; strengthen and purify us, Awesome and Mighty King of the Universe, we beseech you, that You guard as the apple of your eye your people Israel.  Bless them, cleanse them; bestow upon them forever Your merciful righteousness. Powerful, Holy One, in Your abounding goodness, we humbly ask that You preserve and protect Your people who are mindful of Your holiness. Strengthen us to stand up for righteousness sake. And heal our land from the defilement caused by the shedding of innocent blood. Accept our supplication and hear our cry, יְהוָ֖ה  Yehovah,You who knows the secret thoughts. Blessed be the name of the glory of His kingdom forever and ever.

Almighty God, Sovereign of the universe, You have commanded us through Moses Your servant to count the days of the omer, in order to purify us from our evil and uncleanness so that the souls of your people may be cleansed from their defilement. Therefore, may it be Your will, Lord our God and God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, that in the counting of the omer which I (we) have counted today, I (we) may be purified and sanctified with your unimaginable holiness. And through my (our) obedience to your commandments, may Your abundant bounty be bestowed upon all the world. May it rectify our soul and our spirit from every baseness and defect, and may it purify and sanctify us with all your holiness.

Abba, father, on this, the seventh day and the completion of one week of the counting of the omer, I (we) remember your bountiful kindness when you delivered your children from bondage in Egypt and on the first Sabbath you brought them to Elim – a place of fountains and palm trees where they rested from their flight out of Egypt. I (We) humbly ask that You also bring us to a place of contentment and rest from all our struggles. Amen.

After reciting the prayer, continue to pray and meditate on how on the seventh day the Israelites journeyed from Egypt to Sinai, and God brought them to an oasis of palm trees and fountains where they camped by the waters and rested. Reflect on occasions when God has brought you to a place of peace and rest from all your labors and ask for help in acheiving all that He wants to change in you. 

Suggested selections for further reading include the special readings for Passover and other related selections from the Old Testament (Tanak) and New Testament writings (B'rit Hadashah): Exodus 15:27; Numbers 33:8-9; 2 Samuel 22:47-51; Isaiah 12:1-3; 41:18; John 7:37-38; Revelation 22:1-5

Suggested reading from the weekly Torah portion: Shmini – 7th reading: Leviticus 11:33-47 Haftarah Reading: II Samuel 6:1 - 7:17
Suggested reading from the Brit Hadashah: Matt 5:48; 1 Pet 1:15-16; 2 Cor 6:16-7:1; Phil 3:17

The Sefirot for Day Seven is: Malchut of Chesed or the Regal Nobility of Loving-Kindness

Suggested activity for today: Highlight an aspect in your love that has bolstered your spirit and enriched your life - and celebrate.

Go to Counting the Omer 2021 - Day Eight

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