Thursday, April 15, 2021

Counting the Omer 2021 - Day Thirteen

Day Thirteen


Begin by reciting the 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 שלשה-עשר יום שהם שבוע אחד וששה ימים לעמר

Hayom shloshah-asar yom, sh'hem shavua echad v'shishah yamim la'omer.
Today is the thirteenth day, making one week and six days of the Omer.
Psalm 67:  (NKJV)
God be merciful to us and bless us, And cause His face to shine upon us. Selah. That Your way may be known on earth, Your salvation among all nations.  Let the peoples praise You, O God; Let all the peoples praise You.  Oh, let the nations be glad and sing for joy! For You shall judge the people righteously, And govern the nations on earth. Selah  Let the peoples praise You, O God; Let all the peoples praise You.  Then the earth shall yield her increase; God, our own God, shall bless us.  God shall bless us, And all the ends of the earth shall fear Him. 

Psalm 119:97-104     מ          Mem
Oh, how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day. You, through Your commandments, make me wiser than my enemies; For they are ever with me. I have more understanding than all my teachers, For Your testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the ancients, Because I keep Your precepts. I have restrained my feet from every evil way, That I may keep Your word. I have not departed from Your judgments, For You Yourself have taught me.  How sweet are Your words to my taste, Sweeter than honey to my mouth! Through Your precepts I get understanding; Therefore I hate every false way.  
Prayer for Day 13: 
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 called by your holy Name. Strengthen us! Give us courage to stand against the evil powers of this world and forces of darkness. Heal our land that has been defiled by the shedding of innocent blood and help our nation to turn back to you. 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 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 thirteenth day of the counting of the omer, I (we) remember your bountiful kindness how after you delivered your children from bondage in Egypt, you brought them to an oasis of fountains and palm trees where they rested in comfort and became complacent.  I (We) humbly ask that You keep us from growing complacent in your provision of all we need, and that You accept our heartfelt thanks for all the blessings we daily receive. Amen.

After reciting the prayer, continue to pray and meditate on how on the thirteenth day after their deliverance from Egypt the Israelites remained at Elim and rested from their perilous journey. And how, more than 1500 years later Yeshua continued to appear to the twelve and to over 500 others as He prepared them for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit that was soon to come.

Suggested selections for further reading: Deut 8:10-14; John 17:20-26 

The Sefirot for Day thirteen is: Yesod of Gevurah: Bonding in Discipline. For discipline to be effective it must be coupled with commitment and human bonding. Both in disciplining yourself and others there has to be a sense that the discipline is important for developing a stronger bond.

Suggested activity for today: Demonstrate how discipline can be an expression of intensifying your bond and commitment to one another. 

Suggested reading from the weekly Torah portion ad related selections: Tazria/Metzora – 6th reading: Lev 14:33-15:15; Haftarah Reading: II Kings 4:42 - 5:19 Ps 91:9-10; Prov 3:33; Heb 13:4

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