#BlogBOmer: Gevurah B'Tiferet

As I was exploring the topic of Gevurah (Discipline & Restraint) and Tiferet (Compassion, Beauty, Harmony, Balance), I kept thinking about how I've been noticing new things during the Omer. As I've been working for Oregon Hillel, I now know when Rosh Chodesh falls on the calendar. Every year there will be a Rosh Chodesh during Chanukah. There will be more than one Rosh Chodesh during the Omer, the first of which happened last night (Sunday night) and started the combination of Day 16 of the Omer (theme above) with Rosh Chodesh Iyyar, the beginning of the second month of the Hebrew calendar. When it comes down to it, there's no better person to pick for a Rosh Chodesh/Omer crossover AND she's a rockstar at this particular theme. This post is inspired by and dedicated to my E2E Mentor and friend before that: Esther A!

That's MY mentor! (Jealous?)

Esther loves Rosh Chodesh. In fact, every month I get an email from Esther about the month that's coming up (or just been introduced) and what's happening in Israel that fits thematically around it. Iyyar is an interesting month with recognizable Israeli holidays: Yom HaZikaron and Yom Ha'atzmaut (which are coming up this week!). It's also the time in the Torah where G-d gave us manna from the sky and where Miriam's wells opened with enough water for all to come and drink.

But wait...what does this have to do with the theme of Gevurah within Tiferet? Oh right! Thanks for reminding me. On top of everything else, Esther is the point person for all of Hillel's Israel Programming--my first go-to on every Birthright trip that I've been on, and a constant comfort to all Hillel staff that works on one of her trips. It takes a lot of gevurah to organize a Birthright trip and stay on top of everything (discipline, organization, restraints, boundaries) in order to reach a true state of tiferet, a harmonious rakaz or satisfied staff members. Esther needs to ensure that her trip leaders, tour educators, trip organizers, and participants are all working together smoothly, and that includes following certain protocols and working within clearly set frameworks.

As a mentor, Esther is NO different! Some of our first moments in every session are about my health (sheesh, get double pnemonia once...twice and everyone worries!) and my working hours. Next up, we usually talk about my expectations for work/the year and what concrete steps I'm taking to meet those expectations (sometimes the steps are not so concrete, but that's why I have a mentor!). It's easy to see that by framing the conversations/educational moments (using gevurah as a way of setting easily defined limits and utilizing self-discipline), there will almost always be a harmonious result (tiferet as a beautiful balance in compassion and comprehension).

Either way, I can't wait to spend time learning from her in person IN ISRAEL THIS JULY!

#JULYREUNION