Join Rabbi Marc Margolius for a podcast on the period of S’firat HaOmer – counting the Omer – a period marking our spiritual journey from Egypt to Sinai – moving from breaking the bonds of slavery on Pessach to developing our capacity to open ourselves to the divine on Shavuot. Marc’s offering includes a teaching and meditation the holiday of Shavuot and divine compassion (chesed), directed to and from each of us and one another. The renewed covenant between God and the people – after the giving of the Ten Commandments, the golden calf and shattering of the tablets – is forged in the crucible of human failure and divine compassion.
The essential ingredient sustaining the covenant between God and Israel is chesed – compassion formed in unconditional love, compassion that does not need to be earned or justified. Marc concludes with a blessing that our journey through the Omer open us to the possibility of real transformation – to a spirituality which includes and embraces human imperfection as the starting point for healing and justice. As we approach Shavuot, may we cultivate chesed so we may stand together at Sinai in justice, wholeness and peace.
