“The beauty of the cyclical nature of our Hebrew calendar is that as we move through the seasons and holy days and months, we revisit universal themes each year as new people.”— Bluth

This episode of the Living Jewishly Podcasts is an episode of Sacred Time, a podcast that explores the healing art of the Hebrew calendar as it relates to our lives today. This is a replay of our Iyar episode, exploring its rituals, its agricultural origins, and the meaning we may find in it.

The month of Iyar is a time of healing, development, and growth, one marked by the 49-day ritual of counting the Omer. As we record and reflect upon our journey from Passover (celebrating our freedom from slavery) to Shavuot (when we celebrate receiving the Torah), our attention is drawn to a variety of divine characteristics, including loving-kindness, beauty, acknowledgment, and foundation.

The rich themes of the Hebrew calendar allow for fertile space in which to uncover new insights. We invite you to re-join us for our Iyar discussion with fresh eyes (and ears) and consider how the last 12 months may have changed your perspective… and how this new perspective may guide your actions throughout the next 12.

“If you actually study earth systems, it doesn’t take long to realize that we are living and breathing and speaking and talking and moving and thinking aspects of the earth… just as all living things are.”— Ganga Devi

This‌ ‌episode discusses:‌ ‌

• The deep meaning behind Shavuot and our relationship to and with the Torah
• How should we as individuals receive Torah during this sacred moment — and what should we do to prepare?
• The importance of achieving the mindset shift from “freedom from” to “freedom through” or “freedom to”

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Highlights:‌ ‌

00:50 Scared Time

01:20 Iyar & counting the Omer

02:37 Healing & growth

03:41 Agricultural rituals & offerings

04:36 Acknowledging the nourishment available to us

06:15 Spiritual energy

07:10 What are we moving toward?

09:05 What is Torah?

11:16 How can we receive Torah now?

15:07 The Aleph of the Ten Commandments

18:53 Components of the Torah

20:44 Ramadan 2021

23:13 Interdevotionalism

24:10 “Speak to the Earth and it will guide you”

30:45 Final takeaway & how to get involved

Links:‌ ‌

To get in contact or learn more about Living Jewishly:

Visit‌ ‌our ‌website: https://livingjewishly.org

Follow us on Instagram: @living.jewishly

Watch us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCO2YEegjapKpQeXG6zh6tzw

or send us an email at hello@livingjewishly.org.

Shalom!