This vort is inspired by the omer section on Aish.com (its very good and worth checking out if u want a meaningful omer)
—–What is counting the Omer all about?—–
Over the 7 weeks from Pesach to Shavuot we examine and refine the 7 fundemental characteristics, which are:
1) Chesed – unreserved kindness
2) Gevurah – restraint
3) Tiferet – Harmony (between the first two)
4) Netzach – Endurance
5) Hod – Humility
6) Yesod – Creating a Bond
7) Malchut – Sovereignty/leadership
Each week is itself split up into 7 days for each seven characteristics. For example today is day 11, a day to refine the netzach aspect of gevurah.
A combination of poor time-management and leaving my work to the last minute, has resulted in me having to start & complete a 1500 word scientific report – 2 days before the deadline! What am I doing writing this then I hear u ask, well lets just say I feel it helps me focus (which it does).
Now this assignment is only worth 10% of one module, so I was faced with the choice;
(a) a late night in the library struggling through in an uncomfortable sort of way
(b) do a bit, with minimal effort and have an early night (the comfortable way)
After all its only 10%. But if I say that about this assignment, Im likely to say it about others and then it starts to become 20 and 30% and before you know it half the module.
But there is something more than this, this is an oppurtunity to work on the very important character trait of Netzach – Endurance. (aha now you see why I was rambling on about my coursework).
Yes its often more comfortable to take the route of least resistance, but this is actually quite a damaging outlook on life. Ever heard the phrase “no pain, no gain”, well there is some truth to it. If we gave up everytime it got hard, we would never push our boundaries and would never grow. For the baby who’s learning to walk alone, the first steps without his dad’s hand are traumatic, he could fall over any second. But until he tackles this problem face on and perseveres at it, he will never learn to walk.
Hang on Dan, so what your saying is, that contrary to what our instinct tells us, when things get hard and uncomfortable – this is actually a good thing?
–> Yes, this is an oppurtunity to work on the
5th character trait in the omer. May we all embrace our challenges with a sense of pride and happiness.
Keep counting
