READINGS FOR OMER COUNT – DAY 37

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 thirty-seventh day, making five weeks and Two 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 103

Bless YHWH, O my being, And all that is within me, Bless His set-apart Name!

Bless YHWH, O my being, And do not forget all His dealings, Who forgives all your crookednesses, Who heals all your diseases, Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with mercy and compassion, Who satisfies your desire with excellence, Your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

YHWH is doing righteousness And judgment for all the oppressed.

He made known His ways to Mosheh, His acts to the children of Yisra’ěl.

YHWH is compassionate and showing favor, Patient, and great in mercy.

He does not always strive, nor maintain it forever.

He has not done to us according to our sins, Nor rewarded us according to our crookednesses.

For as the heavens are high above the earth, So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; As far as east is from west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us.

As a father has compassion for his children, So YHWH has compassion for those who fear Him.

For He knows how we are made; He remembers that we are dust.

A man’s days are like grass; As a flower of the field, so he flourishes.

For the wind blows over it, and it is no more, And its place no longer remembers it.

But the mercy of YHWH Is from everlasting to everlasting Upon those who fear Him, And His righteousness to children’s children, To those who guard His covenant, And to those who remember His orders to do them.

YHWH has established His throne in the heavens, And His kingdom shall rule over all.

Bless YHWH, you His messengers, Mighty in power, who do His Word, Listening to the voice of His Word.

Bless YHWH, all you His hosts, You His servants, who do His pleasure.

Bless YHWH, all His works, In all places of His rule. Bless YHWH, O my being!

READINGS: TEHILLAH 104

Bless YHWH, O my being! O YHWH my Elohim, You have been very great: You have put on excellency and splendor, Covering Yourself with light as with a garment, Stretching out the heavens like a curtain, Who is laying the beams of His upper rooms in the waters, Who is making thick clouds His chariot, Who is walking on the wings of the wind, Making His messengers the winds, His servants a flame of fire.

He established the earth on its foundations, So that it would not totter forever, You covered it with the deep as with a garment; The waters stood above the mountains.

At Your rebuke they flee; At the voice of Your thunder they hurry away.

They go up the mountains; They go down the valleys, To the place which You founded for them.

You did set a boundary, they do not pass over, They do not return to cover the earth.

Who is sending the springs into the valleys, They flow among the hills.

They give drink to every beast of the field; Wild donkeys break their thirst.

The birds of the heavens dwell beside them; They sing from between the branches.

Watering the hills from His upper rooms; The earth is satisfied with the fruit of Your works.

Causing the grass to grow for the cattle, And plants for the service of mankind, To bring forth food from the earth, And wine that makes glad the heart of man, Oil to make the face shine, And bread which sustains man’s heart.

The trees of YHWH are satisfied, The cedars of Leḇanon which He planted, Where the birds do make nests; The stork has her home in the fir trees.

The high hills are for wild goats; Rocks a refuge for rock badgers.

He made the moon for appointed times; The sun knows its going down.

You put darkness, and it is night, In it all the beasts of the forest creep.

The young lions are roaring for prey, And seeking their food from Ěl.

The sun arises – they withdraw And lie down in their dens.

Man goes out to his work, And to his labor, till evening.

O YHWH, how many have been Your works! You have made all of them in wisdom. The earth is filled with Your possessions.

There is the sea, great and wide, In which are innumerable swarms, Living creatures, small with great.

There do ships go; That Liwiathan which You made, to play there.

All of them wait for You, To give their food in due season.

You give to them, they gather in; You open Your hand, they are satisfied with excellence.

You hide Your face, they are alarmed; You take away their breath, they die and return to their dust; You send forth Your Spirit, they are created; And You renew the face of the earth.

The esteem of YHWH is forever, YHWH rejoices in His works, Who looks on the earth, and it trembles; He touches the mountains, and they smoke.

I sing to YHWH as long as I live, I sing praise to my Elohim while I exist.

My meditation on Him is sweet; I rejoice in YHWH.

Let sinners be consumed from the earth, And let the wrong be no more. Bless YHWH, O my being! Praise Yah!

READINGS: MISHLE 23:1-18

When you sit down to eat with a ruler, Look well what is before you; And put a knife to your throat If you are a man given to appetite.

Do not desire his delicacies, For that food is deceptive.

Do not labor to be rich. Cease from your own understanding!

Do you set your eyes on that which is not? For riches certainly make themselves wings; They fly away like an eagle to the heavens.

Do not eat the bread of one having an evil eye, Nor desire his delicacies; For as he reckons in his life, so is he. “Eat and drink!” he says to you, But his heart is not with you.

You vomit the piece you have eaten, And lose your sweet words.

Do not speak in the ears of a fool, For he treads on the wisdom of your words.

Do not move the ancient boundary, And do not enter the fields of the fatherless; For their Redeemer is strong; He shall plead their cause against you.

Bring your heart to discipline, And your ears to words of knowledge.

Do not withhold discipline from a child; If you strike him with a rod, he does not die.

Strike him with a rod And deliver his being from She’ol.

My son, if your heart shall be wise, My heart rejoices, even I, And my kidneys exult When your lips speak what is straight.

Do not let your heart envy sinners, But be in the fear of YHWH all day long; For certain, there is a hereafter, And let your expectancy not be cut off.

READINGS: AVOTH 4:26-27

Rabbi Yosey ben Yehudah of K'phar Habav'ly said, he who learns from the young, to what is he like? To one who eats unripe grapes, or drinks wine from the vat. And he who learns from the old, to what is he like? To one who eats ripe grapes, or drinks old wine.

Rabbi Me’iyr said, look not at the flask, but at what it contains; there may be a new flask full of old wine, and an old flask that has not even new wine in it.