41st Day of the Omer (Monday, 10 May)

Week of Yesod, Sixth Day

Major sefirah: Yesod/Foundation; minor sefirah: Yesod/Foundation

What’s the foundation of the Foundation, eh? Good question. I’ve discovered that quiet itself is foundational (Zohar 3:115b). When I reach that inner-stillness I feel the strength to carry out my resolutions because that inner-quietness can overpower all the outer-noise.

And that strength of my convictions gets carried by my words. I’m able to calmly persuade others how critically important it is to maintain a high standard of decency and modesty, both in private and in public.

To make sure I’m holy, I’m going to make sure I’m happy. Bad moods and gloom always invite the fantasy of quick fixes, but once the physical pleasure wears off I’m just gloomy again. Singing, I’ve noted, really does drive away the blues. And I find there’s no desire for things that aren’t mine.

When I say the Shemonah Esrei blessing Sim Shalom (Place Peace #19) I will regret having been a master of gloom and doom, of going around glowering instead of glowing. So I made the world an angry, argumentative place, delaying mankind’s redemption. Now I have to make peace with myself and with others. Amen!