News Brief

(IsraelNN.com) Monday is the 29th day of the counting of the Omer, the measure of barley that was harvested in ancient times at the beginning of the 49-day counting period and brought to the Holy Temple as a sacrifice. The end of the counting period coincides with the evening before Shavuot, the festival of the first fruits, that also marks the handing down of the Torah on Har (Mount) Sinai.

This week of the counting is considered one of humility, explains Rabbi Simon Jacobson. He has written, "There are seven basic emotions that make up the spectrum of human experience. At the root of all forms of enslavement, is a distortion of these emotions. Each of the seven weeks between Passover and Shavuot is dedicated to examining and refining one of them."

The seven emotional attributes are Chesed (loving-kindness), Gevurah (justice and discipline), Tiferet (harmony and compassion), Netzach (endurance), Hod (humility), Yesod (bonding) and Malchut (sovereignty, leadership).