Becoming Whole: The Practice of Sefirat HaOmer
With Rabbi Ami Silver
In partnership with Pardes North America
Thursday April 25, May 2, Monday May 6, Tuesday May 14, May 21, May 28, June 4, 2024
At 10:30am - 11:45am PST / 1:30pm - 2:45pm EST / 6:30pm - 7:45pm UK / 8:30pm - 9:45pm Israel // On Zoom
*Sessions will be recorded for those who cannot make the live sessions
Cultivate the Divine qualities in a mindful journey
through Sefirat HaOmer
Sefirat HaOmer is the practice of counting the 49 days from Passover to Shavuot. As a seasonal spiritual practice, it builds a bridge between the expansive freedom we touch at the Passover Seder and the revelatory experience of receiving the Torah on Shavuot.
According to Kabbalistic and Chassidic traditions, the period of “counting the Omer” is a potent time for self-cultivation and growth. The seven weeks of the Sefirah are mirrored by the seven lower sefirot - the Divine qualities and energies that form the inner workings of Creation and provide a map of the self. The practice of Sefirat HaOmer involves cultivating these Divine qualities within ourselves to become a whole vessel, preparing us to receive the revelation of Torah.
In each session of this seven-week course we will delve into the sefirah of that particular week, deepening our understanding of each sefirah through text study and engaging in practices that support us in contacting and embodying these qualities. We will take a multi-faceted approach to the sefirot, exploring them as energies in creation, spiritual archetypes, and experiential points of contact with our inner world, our relationship with the world around us, and with the Divine.
This course is an invitation to:
Gain a deeper familiarity with the Kabbalistic Sefirot/Tree of Life
Experience these qualities through embodied, contemplative practice
Have an anchor for spiritual practice during the Omer to connect to the freedom of Passover, the openness of Shavuot, and the exploration of relating to self and Divine that this season offers
Sessions will be 75 minutes each Recordings will also be sent out weekly to allow for self-paced learning and participation. In addition to the weekly sessions, participants will also have the option to join a WhatsApp group to receive ongoing support in our practice together in between sessions.
Please note that due to the holiday schedule and other factors, the live sessions will be offered on different days on certain weeks.
Session 1 / Thursday April 25 - Chesed: Expansive Flow
In this first session, we’ll explore the fundamental template of Sefirat HaOmer as a time of building inner capacities, drawing on the liberation that Passover offers to prepare ourselves to become a vessel for the revelation on Shavuot. We’ll then focus on the sefirah of Chesed – Divine loving-kindness and expansiveness – as a primary energy in creation, a spiritual archetype, and an inner experience that brings us in touch with the flow of life.
Session 2 / Thursday May 2 - Gevurah: Boundaries and Intimacy
This session will focus on the sefirah of Gevurah, which relates to the qualities of boundaries, differentiation and particularity. We’ll explore the archetypal aspects of this sefirah, as well as dynamics related to the boundaries of the self and the experience of rich intimacy that can emerge from this.
Session 3 / Monday May 6 - Tiferet: Integral Beauty
Tiferet is the sefirah that brings balance and harmony to the system by bridging polarities and bringing a “yes and” quality throughout. We will touch on the central core energy that Tiferet embodies, together with the capacity to notice and experience beauty when we sense into a larger wholeness.
Session 4 / Tuesday May 14 - Netzach: Resilient Support
Netzach relates to a quality of eternality that underlies our ability to keep going in the face of challenges. It touches on the qualities of tenacity and overcoming, as well as the deep reservoirs of support that help us meet and move through what life brings us. This session will explore these themes with a focus on accessing the everpresent support from which resilience can emerge.
Session 5 / Tuesday May 21 - Hod: Allowing Life
Hod is a quality of meeting our experiences in a reflective posture. It relates to our capacity to allow reality to unfold, to accept and absorb life into ourselves, and the possibility of gratefulness that can emerge from that mode. This session will explore various facets of Hod and the reflective light that emerges from it.
Session 6 / Tuesday May 28 - Yesod: The Inner Foundation
Yesod means “foundation.” This sefirah relates to our ability to connect with the essence of things – within ourselves and in our relationships with the world around us. It is a point that we can return to, again and again. This session will focus on this quality of connection and offer pathways for coming into contact with it.
Session 7 / Tuesday June 4 - Malchut: Being a Vessel
Malchut is the wholeness that emerges when all the parts of ourselves can be welcomed and expressed. Its name means “majesty,” and it refers to the unique Divine quality that shines through each individual. This session will focus on the openness to our totality that Malchut invites, marking the final preparation in our path towards becoming a vessel to receive our own personal Torah on Shavuot.
Meet Your Teacher
Rabbi Ami Silver, MSW
Ami has been a devoted student of contemplative, embodied Jewish practice for the last 20 years. For more than a decade, he has taught Jewish wisdom and practice as a path of direct experience and spiritual connection. In addition to his rabbinic work, Ami is a practicing psychotherapist who supports people through mindfulness-based, somatic and experiential therapy approaches.
Choose your rate
At Or HaLev, we believe in the spirit of generosity as an essential part of practice. We also acknowledge that financial abilities differ for everyone and we strive to make this class accessible to those who wish to participate, regardless of ability to pay.
Please consider paying at the highest rate that you are able to. Your generosity will help in supporting Or HaLev's activities and in growing our community.
Supporter
Enables a scholarship for those who cannot afford the course.
Standard
Covers the actual cost
of the course.
Scholarship
A subsidized rate
of the course.
We want to make this series accessible to anyone who wishes to join it. If the scholarship rate is financially unfeasible for you, you can use this link to pay as much as you are able.
