Sefirah: Navigating The Dichotomy Of Life

Sefirah is a very interesting time. On the one we're counting down the days until Matan Torah, the giving of the Torah. On the other hand, we don't shave, we don't listen to music. We're in mourning because of the 24,000 talmidim of Rabbi Akiva that passed away during this time period. So, which is it? Is Sefirah an exhilarating time counting down the days to Matan Torah, or is it a sad time commemorating the deaths of the students of Rabbi Akiva? You know, Sefirah is supposed to be a journey. Each day is a presentation of another midah, of another thing that we're supposed to be working on. It's a journey that by the time we count all 49 days, we're supposed to have really been perfecting ourselves. Sefirah, in effect, is the journey of life. And I think this is what symbolized by these two polar opposites. On the one hand, the exhilarating countdown to Matan Torah, and on the other hand, the mourning the deaths of Rabbi Akiva's students, which seem like two complete polar opposites. But every single one of us in our own lives, we always have these two competing opposites. It seems like they're pulling us in two different directions. On the one hand, sometimes we have these exhilarating waiting moments. On the other hand, we're being pulled down, we're being pulled away. And this is the dichotomy of life that we have to learn how to navigate. And I think that this is the message of Sefirah. To be able to go, to be able to journey, to be able to perfect ourselves despite the fact that these two opposing forces that are pulling us at all times. This is what we have to learn how to navigate. Navigating life means learning how to navigate these two different forces that are pulling us at all times.