Dear Friends,
Someone ever tell you “Make it a great day!”?
If we were to Jewish-ify that, we would say “Make it a shining day”! (Always a little different, those Jews :))
How do you make your day a shining one? By making each day count or count each day.
Let’s explain: In Hebrew the word to count is Lisph(f)or. Notice the root of the word sphor which also means sapphire. In Hebrew the two words (to count and sapphire) share almost all of the letters. They are also related to the word for shining just as a sapphire shines.
It is very evident that if you make each day count and meaningful then your days will shine.
How does one do this?
For that we have yet another word in Hebrew with the same root -Sipur, which means a story or to tell a story.
Picture yourself at the end of the day taking a few moments to recount your story - the events of the day. The things you did and didn't do. The things you wished you had done and the things you wished you hadn't.
Now picture yourself telling tomorrow's story, how do you want it to be? What are the things you want to be proud of in tomorrow's accomplishments? What are the things you hope to avoid tomorrow? Who are the people you want to be with tomorrow? What are the personal struggles you hope to be victorious over tomorrow?
Why I am telling you this now? It has to do with where we find ourselves in the Jewish calendar now.
From the second day of Pesach (Passover) until the holiday of Shavout, we count the Omer, a total of 49 days. In Hebrew Sefirat Ha'Omer - counting of the Omer (notice the root word here Sefira). This counting is a personal journey from Passover to Shavout, a journey of counting and rewriting or writing our story.
Try this for the next 31 days until Shavout - each evening count the number of days that have passed. Count the number and then recount the events of the day. Then take another moment and write your story for tomorrow.
See what a difference it will make in your life. Click here to learn more. (Thank you to my friend Rabbi Eliyahu Shusterman for sharing this with me)
Shabbat Shalom!
Rabbi Yitzi Hein