This is part of the on-gong series of Divrei Torah being published on the NECHAMA, Jewish Response to Disaster web site and subsequently sent to our e-mail community.
Sunday, May 8th, 2011
The seven-week period between Passover and the holiday of Shavuot (which begins the evening of June 7) is called sefirat ha-omer, the “counting of the omer.” Its source is Leviticus 23:15, “you shall count off seven weeks. They must be complete: you must count until the day after the seventh week — fifty days.” It is traditional to count each day of the omer every evening from the second day of Passover to Shavuot. During this time of the counting of the omer, I find myself counting in a very different way as well.
I have been overwhelmed during this time of counting by the number of tragic storm reports being received from across the country. From April 26-April 28 there was a major tornado outbreak — 288 tornadoes were counted during that time; 288 tornadoes that lead to the deaths of 334 people. The month of April 2011has proven to be the busiest month for tornadoes in American history. The National Weather Service counted more than 600 tornadoes in April, breaking the record of 542 tornadoes in May 2003. Every day of our counting of the omer, of our counting of these days of tornado season brings new damage, new destruction.
With these rounds of severe spring storms across our heartland, I think about the families being affected and their overturned lives. Just like the counting of the omer, the victims of disaster count the days from impact, from the time their lives changed. Day one might be spent in shock at a shelter, huddled with family and neighbors. The following days are a blur of assessing the damage during daylight hours, of picking through the rubble to retrieve the most important of possessions. As the counting continues and the days pass by, the burdens grow – dealing with insurance and government paperwork, finding a place to live temporarily, cleaning and rebuilding, re-establishing routines for everyone in the family, trying to avoid financial ruin, and maintaining physical and mental health. Organizations such as Nechama and our VOAD partners support the victims of disaster through so many of these challenges. One of the most important ways we help is just by being there, by being present with people through the counting of the long, arduous days of disaster recovery.
May the counting of the days for those affected by this spring’s disasters be as short as possible and may God grant the victims the strength and fortitude to speedily recover.
Matt Roseberg is a Rabbinical Student at American Jewish University in California and a Nechama volunteer. He can be found on Twitter at twitter.com/mrgeog