The Omer: Week 1, Chesed (KB)

The night after the Seder, we enter a 7-week period called the "Omer": 49 days of spiritual testing during which we can earn and keep the Light that we received on Pesach. Each of these 7 weeks corresponds to one of the 7 lower Sefirot that make up the Tree of Life: Chesed (Mercy), Gevurah (Judgment), Tiferet (Beauty), Netzach (Victory), Hod (Majesty), Yesod (Foundation), and Malchut (Kindgom). These 7 Sefirot are the channels of energy through which the universe is physically manifest. One of the ways that kabbalists understand these Sefirot is through the biblical patriarchs and matriarchs who are “chariots” by which these particular cosmic energies are "drawn down" from their potential state in the metaphysical realm to an active form in our physical universe. During the course of this week we have been making our spiritual corrections on the level of Chesed. The energy of Chesed is mercy and kindness, and the patriarch who draws down this energy is Abraham. We learn from the Bible that Abraham was always ready to welcome guests into his home and the Talmud explains that this is the reason that his house had four doors. Abraham’s desire to share was so great that even after his circumcision, when he was in excruciating pain, he went out to look for people with whom he could share. Eventually, the Creator inflicted a period of unusually hot weather so that people would stay at home, giving Abraham’s time to rest and recover (Genesis 18:1). Our goal for the remainder of this week (until Saturday evening when the energy shifts), is to be like Abraham and inject mercy and kindness wherever possible into our dealings with others. Now is the time to be gentle and kind even in instances where we believe toughness and judgment is warranted. The chakra that corresponds to Chesed is the throat chakra. When this chakra is balanced, a person feels secure enough in his or her own truth to be able to have a free flowing of words, expression, and communication. Words and deeds of Chesed come easily to a person for whom this chakra is balanced because such words are the expression of the soul, whose nature is pure sharing. We can achieve a balanced throat-chakra by understanding and accepting that we are not built to be perfect. Rather, we are built to create and accomplish a particular spiritual mission—to find out who we are and what we can do to make sure that when we leave this world, it will be a better place because we lived in it. Imbalances in this chakra can give rise to uncertainty and blockages in self-expression. Other issues can include the fear of being powerless and the fear of being unable to exercise one’s power of choice. We can also use the energy that is available to us in this powerful time to correct these imbalances. One of the ways we can do this is to really focus for the next few days on showing kindness not only to others but also towards ourselves, for until the day that we can accept who we are, we will never be able to accept others around us.