hazzan Diana Brewer was ordained through the aleph ordination program. she leads prayer services regularly at the jewish community of amherst, and is on the staff of the davvenen leadership training institute.

Day 5 הוד שבחסד

Hod SheBeChesed. What a wonderful kaleidescope is Hod! Humility, splendor, presence, determination, surrender, acknowledgement, gratitude.

I certainly come into this day with humility and with gratitude. After falling far short of my hopes for a day of Tiferet within Chesed, I was given a chance to practice inviting Eternity into my responses to life yesterday, and felt redeemed.

As I ponder the kaleidescope of ideas held within Hod, I find a thread that stitches them together. If I am present, I have the space to acknowledge what is truly happening in the moment. If I can acknowledge reality, I can surrender to WHAT IS. If I am surrendered to WHAT IS, I am in a state of humility, which can aid my determination to walk through the situation at hand. When all those things are working together, I am certainly full of gratitude, and am resplendent!

In the Recovery community, a common definition of humility is the ability to see ourselves as we truly are - no better, no worse. Also, being able to see ourselves the way G8d sees us. As I focus today on Hod within Chesed, I hope I can step back and see myself from this perspective, and also to see those around me this way.

For the abbreviated version, visit me on Twitter.

For a couple of different Omer counting guides try mishkan.org or chabad.org

Day 6 יסוד שבחסד

Day 4 נצח שבחסד