Forty-two days of the Omer 5777

Today is forty-two days, which is six weeks, of the Omer.Shechinah / Malchut of Yesod, Indwelling / Kingdom of Bonding.

Can youfeel the spark of holiness the illuminates your personality? Do you try tocultivate your connection to your higher self, the part of you beyond the ego'swants and needs?

This isalso the combination of the sephirot most closely connected to gender andsexuality. I think about the conversations I've had recently about creatingspiritual spaces that are welcoming to non-binary expressions of gender.Judaism, like many religions, was created within a binary framework. Our sacredlanguage, Hebrew, is gendered. Yet, can we truly reach our full potentialwithin binary constructions? Many people see the social construction of genderand sexuality far too constricting.

However you define your gender and sexuality, does itcontribute to your feeling of holiness and wholeness? Is it a source of trauma,bliss, or an amalgamation of the two? Do you separate your experience ofsexuality from spirituality? Are you able to see your body as a temple, aperfect vessel for holiness -- despite all of the cultural noise about the needto improve yourself? Advertising for diets, gyms, abnormally sized models --all contribute to doubting the holiness and perfection of your body right now.Not to mention the difficulty in seeing your body as perfect if you suffer froma chronic illness, particularly a life-threatening one.

IndwellingBonding to the Divine. It exists within your cells. You are a source of good.You are attached to The Source of Good. May you take time today to honor thesacred bond of all that you are to all that will be.