Posted on April 30, 2026
By Hazzan Jacob Sandler.
Last night we counted the 28th day of the Omer, which means we’ve counted 4 complete weeks. As many of you may know, each week of the Omer corresponds to one of the lower sefirot (divine attributes of God/channels of light according to the Lurianic Kabbalastic Tree of Life). Each day we look at a particular pairing of these sefirot to see how they are interrelated and my practice has been to meditate on those themes in pursuit of a “spiritual spring cleaning” and growth.
The weekly major themes and the daily minor themes follow the same cycle: chesed (lovingkindness), gevurah (strength/discipline), tiferet (balance/harmony), netzach (endurance/ambition), hod (humility/gratitude), yesod (connection/relationships), and malchut (leadership/dignity). Those aren’t direct translations, but they are helpful focal points for each sefira based on mystical interpretations and associations.
Tonight, we begin the fifth week which gives us the opportunity to reflect on Hod (humility/gratitude). Hod, which literally means splendor, also resonates with the word “lehodot” to give thanks, and it sits as the foil for netzah. Whereas netzach draws our attention to our goals in the long term, our definitions of success, and our ambitions, hod invites us to step back and acknowledge what we already have.
When we take the opportunity to look at all we’ve accomplished, we may be tempted to take full credit and bask in the accolades. And it’s true that much of our success is a result of the effort we put in. However, so much more of our success can be attributed to hundreds of factors beyond our control. For example, our natural predisposition, our privileges, our environment, our upbringing, our resources — all these things impact who we are and what we’re able to accomplish. And down to the genetic and molecular level, our very existence is required to do anything, so at minimum we owe some gratitude to our Creator, to God, and to our parents and their parents ad infinitum for their part in anything we do – whether because of them or in spite of them.
Gratitude is the ultimate form of true humility – it acknowledges another for their part in our triumphs. And gratitude is core to any Jewish life. So much of our liturgy is made up of blessings and benedictions that thank and praise God for the manifold miracles in our lives — from the most basic of opening our eyelids each morning, to the more grandiose like sanctifying us with commandments that bring meaning and holiness to our lives. By saying blessings we acknowledge the powers beyond our own that make our lives better. That there’s food on the table, rain for the Earth, Torah to study, milestones to celebrate, knowledge, forgiveness, redemption, and so much more!
The sages teach that every person should strive to say 100 brachot each day. It sounds like a lot, but it’s very doable — especially if you come to minyan! You get quite a few built in just in those 3 services. For this week, try to increase the number of blessings you say. Or take a moment to be more mindful and grateful for the miracles – large and small – in your own life. Perhaps just saying the blessing before each meal and snack to start (Siddur Sim Shalom page 714-715. The siddur has many blessings you can thumb through on pages 708-713 for many occasions. Try a few out, and strengthen our gratitude muscles this week.
