READINGS FOR OMER COUNT – DAY 45
Behold, I am about to fulfill the affirmative precept of the counting of the Omer, as it is written in the Torah:
“And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the Shabbath, from the day that ye brought the Omer of the wave-offering, seven complete weeks they shall be; until the morrow of the seventh Shabbath shall ye number fifty days.”
Blessed art Thou YHWH, our Elohym, King of the universe, who hast set us apart by Thy commandments and hast given us command concerning the counting of the Omer.
This is the forty-fifth day, making six weeks and three days of the Omer.
May the All Merciful restore the service of the Temple to its place. May it be Thy will, YHWH our Elohym and Elohym of our fathers, that the Temple be speedily rebuilt in our days, and grant our portion in Thy Torah. And there we will serve Thee with awe, as in the days of old and as in ancient years.
May Elohym be favorable unto us and bless us. That Thy way may be known upon the earth, Thy salvation among all nations. Let the peoples give thanks unto Thee, Elohym; let all the peoples give thanks unto Thee. Let the nations rejoice and exult: for Thou wilt judge the peoples with equity and lead the nations upon the earth. Let the peoples give thanks unto Thee, Elohym; let all the peoples give thanks unto Thee. The earth hath yielded her increase: Elohym, even our Elohym, shall bless us. Elohym shall bless us; and all the ends of the earth shall fear Him.
READINGS: TEHILLAH 120
In my distress I cried to YHWH, And He answered me.
YHWH, deliver my being from false lips, From a treacherous tongue.
What would one give to you, Or what would one do to you, O treacherous tongue?
Sharp arrows of a mighty man, With coals of the broom-wood!
Woe to me for I have sojourned in Mesheḵ, I have dwelt among the tents of Qěḏar!
My being has dwelt too long With him who hates peace.
I am for peace; But when I speak, they are for fighting.
READINGS: TEHILLAH 121
I lift up my eyes to the hills; Where does my help come from?
My help comes from YHWH, Maker of the heavens and earth.
He does not allow your foot to be moved; He who watches over you does not slumber.
See, He who is guarding Yisra’ěl Neither slumbers nor sleeps.
YHWH is your guard; YHWH is your shade at your right hand.
The sun does not strike you by day, Nor the moon by night.
YHWH guards you from all evil; He guards your being.
YHWH guards your going out and your coming in Now and forever.
READINGS: TEHILLAH 122
I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go into the House of YHWH.”
Our feet have been standing Within your gates, O Yerushalayim!
Yerushalayim is built As a city that is bound together, Where the tribes have come up, The tribes of Yah, A witness to Yisra’ěl, To give thanks to the Name of YHWH.
For there the thrones of judgment were set, The thrones of the house of Dawiḏ.
Pray for the peace of Yerushalayim, Let those who love You be at rest.
Peace be within your walls, Rest in your citadels.
For the sake of my brothers and companions, I say, “Peace be within you.”
For the sake of the House of YHWH our Elohim I seek your excellence.
READINGS: TEHILLAH 123
I shall lift up my eyes Unto You who dwell in the heavens.
See, as the eyes of servants Are toward the hand of their masters, As the eyes of a female servant Are toward the hand of her mistress, So are our eyes toward YHWH our Elohim, Until He shows favor to us.
Show favor to us, O YHWH, show favor to us! For we are exceedingly filled with mockery.
Our being is exceedingly filled With the scoffing of those who are at ease, With the mockery of the proud.
READINGS: TEHILLAH 124
“If it had not been YHWH who was on our side,” Let Yisra’ěl now say; “If it had not been YHWH who was on our side, When men rose up against us, “Then they would have swallowed us alive, In their burning rage against us; “Then the waters would have overwhelmed us, The stream would have gone over our being; “Then the proud waters Would have gone over our being.”
Blessed be YHWH, Who did not give us as prey to their teeth.
Our being has escaped like a bird From the snare of the trappers; The snare was broken, and we have escaped.
Our help is in the Name of YHWH, Maker of the heavens and earth.
READINGS: TEHILLAH 125
Those who trust in YHWH Are like Mount Tsiyon – It is not shaken, it remains forever.
As the mountains surround Yerushalayim, So YHWH surrounds His people, Now and forever.
For the sceptre of wrongness shall not rest On the land allotted to the righteous, Lest the righteous stretch forth their hands to unrighteousness.
Do excellence, O YHWH, to those who are excellent, And to those who are upright in their hearts.
But those who turn aside to their crooked ways, YHWH shall lead them away With the workers of wickedness. Peace be upon Yisra’ěl!
READINGS: TEHILLAH 126
When YHWH turns back the captivity of Tsiyon, We shall be like dreamers.
Then our mouth shall be filled with laughter, And our tongue with singing, Then shall they say among the nations, “YHWH has done great deeds for them.”
YHWH shall do great deeds for us, We shall be glad.
Turn back our captivity, O YHWH, Like the streams in the South.
Those sowing in tears, shall reap with songs of joy.
He who goes on and weeps, Bearing seed for sowing, Shall indeed come in with rejoicing, Bearing his sheaves.
READINGS: TEHILLAH 127
If YHWH does not build the house, Its builders have labored in vain. If YHWH does not guard the city, The watchman has stayed awake in vain.
In vain do you rise up early, To sit up late, to eat the bread of toil; So He gives His beloved sleep.
Look, children are an inheritance from YHWH, The fruit of the womb is the reward.
As arrows in the hand of a mighty man, So are the children of one’s youth.
Blessed is the man Who has filled his quiver with them. They are not ashamed, When they speak with their enemies in the gate.
READINGS: TEHILLAH 128
Blessed are all who fear YHWH, Who walk in His ways.
You shall eat the labor of your hands. Be blessed, and let it be well with you.
Let your wife be As a fruit-bearing vine within your house, Your sons like olive plants all around your table.
Look, so shall the man be blessed Who fears YHWH.
YHWH shall bless you out of Tsiyon, And let you see the excellence of Yerushalayim All the days of your life, And let you see your children’s children! Peace be upon Yisra’ěl!
READINGS: TEHILLAH 129
“Often they have distressed me from my youth.” Let Yisra’ěl now say, “Often they have distressed me from my youth, But they have not overcome me.
“The ploughers ploughed on my back, They made their furrows long.”
YHWH is righteous, He has cut the cords of the wrong in two.
Let all those who hate Tsiyon Be put to shame and turned back.
Let them be as the grass on the house-tops, Which withers before it grows up, That shall not fill the reaper’s hand, Nor the sheaves fill the binder’s bosom.
And those who pass by shall not say, “The blessing of YHWH be upon you; We have blessed you in the Name of YHWH!”
READINGS: TEHILLAH 130
Out of the depths I have cried to You, O YHWH.
O YHWH, hear my voice! Let Your ears be attentive To the voice of my prayers.
O Yah, if You should watch crookednesses, O YHWH, who would stand?
But with You there is forgiveness, That You might be feared.
I looked to YHWH, My being has looked, And for His word I have waited.
My being looks to YHWH More than those watching for morning, watching for morning.
O Yisra’ěl, wait for YHWH; For with YHWH there is mercy. And with Him is much redemption, For He shall redeem Yisra’ěl From all his crookednesses.
READINGS: TEHILLAH 131
O YHWH, my heart has not been proud, Nor have my eyes been haughty. Neither have I concerned myself with great matters, Nor with those too wondrous for me.
Have I not calmed, and kept my being silent, Like one weaned by its mother? My being is like one weaned.
O Yisra’ěl, wait for YHWH, Now and forever.
READINGS: TEHILLAH 132
O YHWH, remember Dawiḏ, All his afflictions; How he swore to YHWH, Vowed to the Mighty One of Ya‛aqoḇ:
“Not to enter into my dwelling-house, Not to get into my bed, “Not to give sleep to my eyes, Or slumber to my eyelids, “Until I find a place for YHWH, A dwelling place for the Mighty One of Ya‛aqoḇ.”
See, we heard of it in Ephrathah; We found it in the fields of the forest.
Let us go into His dwelling places; Let us bow ourselves at His footstool.
Arise, O YHWH, to Your place of rest, You and the ark of Your strength.
Let Your kohenim put on righteousness, And Your merciful ones shout for joy.
For the sake of Your servant Dawiḏ, Do not turn away the face of Your Anointed One.
YHWH has sworn in truth to Dawiḏ; He does not turn from it, “Of the fruit of your body I set upon your throne.
“If your sons guard My covenant And My witnesses that I teach them, Their sons shall sit upon your throne forever.”
For YHWH has chosen Tsiyon, He has desired it for His dwelling:
“This is My place of rest forever; Here I dwell, for I have desired it.
“I greatly bless her provision, I satisfy her poor with bread.
“And I put deliverance on her kohenim, And her merciful ones sing for joy.
“There I make the horn of Dawiḏ grow; I shall set up a lamp for My Anointed One.
“I put shame on his enemies, While on Him His diadem shall shine.”
READINGS: TEHILLAH 133
See how excellent and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity – Like the precious oil on the head, Running down on the beard, The beard of Aharon, Running down on the collar of his robes – Like the dew of Ḥermon, That comes down on the mountains of Tsiyon. For there YHWH commanded the blessing, Life forever!
READINGS: TEHILLAH 134
Come, bless YHWH, All you servants of YHWH, Who are standing in the House of YHWH by night!
Lift up your hands in the set-apart place, And bless YHWH.
YHWH, Maker of the heavens and earth, Does bless you from Tsiyon!
READINGS: MISHLE 27:1-27
Do not boast of tomorrow, For you do not know what a day brings forth.
Let another man praise you, And not your own mouth – A stranger, and not your own lips.
A stone is heavy and sand is weighty, But a fool’s wrath is heavier than both.
Wrath is cruel and displeasure overwhelming, But who is able to stand before jealousy?
Open reproof is better than hidden love.
The wounds of a loved one are true, But the kisses of an enemy are profuse.
One satisfied loathes the honeycomb, But to a hungry one any bitter food is sweet.
Like a bird that wanders from its nest, So is a man who wanders from his place.
Ointment and perfume gladden the heart, So one’s counsel is sweet to his friend.
Do not forsake your own friend or your father’s friend, And do not go into your brother’s house In the day of your calamity – Better is a neighbor nearby than a brother far away.
My son, be wise, and gladden my heart, That I might have a word for him who reproaches me.
A clever man foresees calamity, hides himself; The simple shall go on, they are punished.
Take the garment of him who is guarantor for a stranger, And for a strange woman pledge it.
He who greets his friend loudly early in the morning, Shall have it reckoned to him as a curse.
Drops that never cease on a very rainy day And a contentious woman are alike; Whoever represses her represses the wind, And his right hand encounters oil.
Iron is sharpened by iron, And a man sharpens the face of his friend.
He who tends the fig tree eats its fruit; And he who guards his master is esteemed.
As in water face reflects face, So a man’s heart reflects a man.
She’ol and destruction are not satisfied; So the eyes of man are not satisfied.
A refining pot is for silver and a furnace for gold, So a man is tried by his praise.
Even if you pound a fool in a mortar with a pestle Along with crushed grain, His folly shall not leave him.
Know well the state of your flocks; Set your heart to your herds; For riches are not forever, Nor a diadem to all generations.
Grass vanishes, and new grass appears, And the vegetation of the mountains is gathered in.
The lambs are for your garments, And the goats for the price of a field; And goats’ milk enough for your food, For the food of your household, And sustenance for your girls.
READINGS: AVOTH 6:1-3
Rabbi Me’iyr said, whosoever labors in the Torah for its own sake, merits many things; and not only so, but the whole world is indebted to him: he is called friend, beloved, a lover of the Temple, a lover of mankind; it clothes him in meekness and reverence; it fits him to become just, pious, upright and faithful; it keeps him far from sin, and brings him near to virtue; through him the world enjoys counsel and sound knowledge, understanding and strength (as it is said, counsel is Mine, and sound knowledge; I am understanding; I have strength); and it gives him kingty and dominion and discerning judgment. To him the secrets of the Torah are revealed; he is made like a never-failing fountain, and like a river that flows on with ever-sustained vigour; he becomes modest, patient, and forgiving of insults; and it magnifies and exalts him above all things.
Rabbi Y’hoshua ben Levy said, every day a Bath-Qol goes forth from Mount Sinai proclaiming these words: woe to mankind for contempt of the Torah, for whoever does not labor in the Torah is said to be under the divine censure; as it is said, as a ring of gold in a swine’s snout, so is a fair woman who turneth aside from discretion. And it says, and the tables were the work of Elohym, and the writing was the writing of Elohym, graven upon the tables. Read not charuth (graven), but cheruth (freedom); for no man is free but he who labors in the Torah. But, whosoever labors in the Torah, behold he shall be exalted; as it is said, and from Mattanah to Nachliel, and from Nachliel to Bamoth.
He who learns from his fellow a single chapter, a single rule, a single verse, a single expression, or even a single letter, ought to pay him honor; for so we find with David, King of Yisrael, who learnt only two things from Achithophel, and yet regarded him as his master, his guide and his familiar friend; as it is said, but it was thou, a man, mine equal, my guide, and my familiar friend. Now, is it not an argument from minor to major? If David, the King of Yisrael, who learned only two things from Achithophel, regarded him as his master, guide and familiar friend, how much more ought one who learns from his fellow a chapter, rule, verse, expression, or even a single letter, to pay him honor? And honor is nothing but Torah; as it is said, the wise shall inherit honor, and the perfect shall inherit excellence. And excellence is nothing but Torah; as it is said, for I give you excellent doctrine, forsake ye not My Torah.
Their deeds do not permit them to return to their God. For the spirit of whoredom is within them, and they know not YHVH.
#hosea 5:4
Unrepented sin feeds on itself. The longer you let it go, the harder it becomes to fight it.
The Torah Portion reading is now up. Give it a look!
FROM THIS WEEK’S TORAH PORTION – B’HA’ALOTHKA:
And YHWH spoke to Mosheh, saying, “Take the Lewites from among the children of Yisra’el, and you shall cleanse them, and do this to them to cleanse them: Sprinkle water of sin offering on them, and they shall shave all their body, and shall wash their garments, and cleanse themselves, and shall take a young bull with its grain offering of fine flour mixed with oil, while you take another young bull as a sin offering. And you shall bring the Lewites before the Tent of Appointment, and you shall assemble all the congregation of the children of Yisra’el. And you shall bring the Lewites before YHWH, and the children of Yisra’el shall lay their hands on the Lewites, and Aharon shall wave the Lewites before YHWH, a wave offering from the children of Yisra’el – so shall they be for doing the service of YHWH. And the Lewites shall lay their hands on the heads of the young bulls. And one shall be prepared as a sin offering and the other as an ascending offering to YHWH, to make atonement for the Lewites. And you shall have the Lewites stand before Aharon and his sons, and then wave them, a wave offering to YHWH. Thus you shall separate the Lewites from among the children of Yisra’el, and the Lewites shall be Mine. Then after that the Lewites shall go in to do service in the Tent of Appointment, when you have cleansed them and waved them as a wave offering. For they are given ones, given to Me from among the children of Yisra’el. I have taken them for Myself instead of all who open the womb, the first-born of all the children of Yisra’el. For all the first-born among the children of Yisra’el are Mine, both man and beast. On the day that I struck all the first-born in the land of Mitsrayim I set them apart unto Myself. And I have taken the Lewites instead of all the first-born of the children of Yisra’el. And I have given the Lewites as a gift to Aharon and his sons from among the children of Yisra’el, to do the service of the children of Yisra’el in the Tent of Appointment, and to make atonement for the children of Yisra’el, that there be no plague among the children of Yisra’el when the children of Yisra’el come near the set-apart place.”
Thus Mosheh and Aharon and all the congregation of the children of Yisra’el did to the Lewites according to all that YHWH commanded Mosheh concerning the Lewites, so the children of Yisra’el did to them.
FROM THIS WEEK’S TORAH PORTION – B’HA’ALOTHKA:
And on the day that the Dwelling Place was raised up, the cloud covered the Dwelling Place, the Tent of the Witness. From evening until morning it was above the Dwelling Place like the appearance of fire. Thus it was continually: the cloud covered it by day, and the appearance of fire by night. And whenever the cloud was taken up from above the Tent, after that the children of Yisra’el would depart. And in the place where the cloud dwelt, there the children of Yisra’el would camp. At the mouth of YHWH the children of Yisra’el departed, and at the command of YHWH they camped.
They remained camped as long as the cloud dwelt above the Dwelling Place. Even when the cloud lingered many days above the Dwelling Place, the children of Yisra’el guarded the Charge of YHWH, and did not depart. And so it was, when the cloud was above the Dwelling Place a few days: according to the mouth of YHWH they camped, and according to the mouth of YHWH they would depart. And so it was, when the cloud dwelt only from evening until morning: when the cloud was taken up in the morning, then they departed. Whether by day or by night, whenever the cloud was taken up, they departed. Whether two days, or a new moon or a year that the cloud lingered above the Dwelling Place to dwell upon it, the children of Yisra’el camped, and did not depart. But when it was taken up, they departed. At the mouth of YHWH they camped, and at the mouth of YHWH they departed. They guarded the Charge of YHWH, at the mouth of YHWH by the hand of Moshe.
Today is day 44 of 50 days to Shavu'ot!
I will not punish your daughters when they play the whore, nor your brides when they commit adultery; for the men themselves go aside with prostitutes and sacrifice with cult prostitutes, and a people without understanding shall come to ruin.
Hosea 4:14
Two thoughts:
First, God doesn't need to punish you when the consequences of your deeds are more than sufficient.
Second, those in positions of authority will be judged more harshly by God, but their judgment will impact all below them.
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