DAY 15: FIFTEEN


A hidden name of God.
    Steps ascending to the Temple,
        each with its own psalm.

Words in the blessing
    which places God's Name
        on the people, opening channels.

Morning thank-yous, each
    hinting at the Exodus:
        once, a plague of darkness --

now we see clearly. Once
    slaves forbidden to stand tall --
        now our spines are straight.

Gates we opened two weeks ago
    passing through each adorned arch
        moving from degradation to joy.

Today is the fifteenth day of the Omer, making two weeks and one day of the Omer. This is the 15th day of our 49-day journey from Pesach to Shavuot, liberation to revelation.

In Hebrew, letters also double as numbers. The simplest way to write the number fifteen spells Yah, a holy name of God. (For this reason we often write 9 and 6 instead of 10 and 5, so as not to be using that holy name in vain.) Fifteen is a number with deep significance in Jewish tradition.