Shabbat Iyar 17, 5703 32nd day of the Omer **
Torah Lessons (5703)	Chumash: B'har, Shevi'i with Rashi. Tehillim: 83-87. Tanya: Ch. 49. Even though (p. 255)...for the love of G-d. (p. 259).

Tzidkat'cha (p. 209) is not said.

Some recite the Sh'ma in the morning, before services, to fulfill their obligation of reciting the Sh'ma in its proper time; they should repeat (as usual in a non-communal Sh'ma reading) the three words Ani Hashem Elokeichem (p. 48), and conclude with the word Emet.

When reciting the Sh'ma with the Tefillin of Rabeinu Tam or Shimusha Raba, the three words are not repeated, but one does conclude with Emet.

On Lag Ba'Omer, about 5604 (1844), the Tzemach Tzedek related this teaching of the Baal Shem Tov:

"It is written, `For you (Israel) shall be a land of desire, says the L-rd of Hosts' [1]. Just as the greatest scientists will never discover the limits of the enormous natural resources which the A-lmighty has sunk into the land ("everything came from the earth") [2], neither will anyone ever find the limits of the great treasures which lie within Israel - G-d's `Land of desire.'"

The Baal Shem Tov concluded:

"I want to make Israel yield the kind of produce which the A-lmighty's `land of desire' is capable of yielding. [3]

   

Notes:

1. (Back to text) Malachi 3:12.

2. (Back to text) Kohelet 3:20.

3. (Back to text) See Elul 2.

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Day four of week 5

Netzach of hod

Examine the strength and endurance of your humility. Does my humility withstand challenges? Am I firm in my positions or do I waffle in the name of humility?

Humility and modesty should not cause one to feel weak and insecure. Netzach of hod underscores the fact that true humility does not make you into a "doormat" for others to step on; on the contrary, humility gives you enduring strength. Is my humility perceived as weakness? Does that cause others to take advantage of me?

Exercise for the day: Demonstrate the strength of your humility by initiating or actively participating in a good cause.

From:

A Spiritual Guide to the counting of the Omer

Forty-Nine Steps to Personal Refinement

The Forty-Nine Days of Sefirah

by Simon Jacobson

$7.95 Soft Cover

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