Thursday April 20, 2023 30 Nisan 5783 Fifteenth Night of the Omer  Rosh Hodeshהַיּוֹם חֲמִשָּׁה עָשָׂר יוֹם שֶׁהֵם שְׁנֵי שָׁבוּעוֹת וְיוֹם  אֶחָד בָּעֹֽמֶר   

We start counting our children's ages by the day. Their first day, their second. Soon it's the weeks. We transition to months by week 8, or so. Then we're in it by months. This is the stage I'm in. As I count the months, my daughter grows and changes. And so do I. May we grow and strengthen as time goes on, we know our children will.  

~Seth Golob, Incoming JRS Director 

Friday April 21, 2023 1 Iyar 5783 Sixteenth Night of the Omer Rosh Hodesh הַיּוֹם שִׁשָּׁה עָשָׂר יוֹם שֶׁהֵם שְׁנֵי שָׁבוּעוֹת וּשְׁנֵי יָמִים בָּעֹֽמֶר

1) We count the significant events in our lives.

2) We should count and perform some form of Mitzvah every day. Need not be money- a kind word, etc.

3) We can count the causes that have meaning to us.

~Fred Molod

Saturday April 22, 2023 2 Iyar 5783 Seventeenth Night of the Omer  הַיּוֹם שִׁבְעָה עָשָׂר יוֹם שֶׁהֵם שְׁנֵי שָׁבוּעוֹת וּשְׁלשָׁה יָמִים בָּעֹֽמֶר

I count the cute little toe pads on my dog Alf's feet!

~Cantor Malachi Kanfer, Cantor, Sutton Place Synagogue

Sunday April 23, 2023 3  Iyar 5783 Eighteenth Night of the Omer הַיּוֹם שְׁמוֹנָה עָשָׂר יוֹם שֶׁהֵם שְׁנֵי שָׁבוּעוֹת וְאַרְבָּעָה יָמִים בָּעֹֽמֶר

"Since I moved to the US with my family, I started counting many things I didn't before.

I started counting time: years since I came to NYC, the time that it took my kids to become fluent in English, the days it will take for Dani to come back from his trips, and the months and days that are left for me to visit Buenos Aires and hug and kiss my family and friends. Being away from my family and friends is not easy, to say the least, but after almost 6 years I know New York (and SPS) is my home.

I also count shows I attend, which is one of my favorite activities in this awesome city: jazz clubs, musicals, theater shows, concerts, operas. I even started a new tradition: I collect all Playbills and take a picture at the end of the season. This counting also helps me being grateful for what I have and the great people I share these shows with, and I feel blessed of having such amazing people in my life."

~Karina Tabacinic

Monday April 24, 2023 4 Iyar 5783 Nineteenth Night of the Omer Yom Hazikaron הַיּוֹם תִּשְׁעָה עָשָׂר יוֹם שֶׁהֵם שְׁנֵי שָׁבוּעוֹת וַחֲמִשָּׁה יָמִים בָּעֹֽמֶר

This year my family is counting in weeks.  The number of weeks in a pregnancy since Steven and Sarah will become parents in July.  Mark and I will become grandparents for the first time.  David will be an uncle and, my mom, Estelle Midoneck will be a great-grandmother for the third time.  So, I guess you can say we are counting generations as well.  When the baby arrives, we will have 4 generations of our family at SPS.  

This is a time of great joy, anticipation and excitement for what lies ahead.  I guess the baby is like the Torah.  Both bring joy by looking at their beauty, listening to their sounds and learning from their stories as we shower them with kisses. 

~Shari Pochapin

Tuesday April 25, 2023 5 Iyar 5783 Twentieth Night of the Omer Yom Ha’Atzmaut  הַיּוֹם עֶשְׂרִים יוֹם שֶׁהֵם שְׁנֵי שָׁבוּעוֹת וְשִׁשָּׁה יָמִים בָּעֹֽמֶר

I've been lucky to witness two incredible NBA records broken in the last year: Steph Curry breaking Ray Allen's all time 3 pointer record, and LeBron James breaking Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's all time points record. When each record was broken, the action of the game was put on temporary pause, each player had special "passing of the torch" embraces with the former record holder and high fives with their teammates... and then the game resumed. And each would continue to pad their record with each new bucket. It was very moving to me to witness a count that actually had no ceiling. After obsessing over every tally to get them to the top of the mountain, it was cool to see that the mountain actually had no real peak.

~Benjy Forester, SPS Rabbinic Intern

Wednesday April 26, 2023 6 Iyar 5783 Twenty-first Night of the Omer  הַיּוֹם אֶחָד וְעֶשְׂרִים יוֹם שֶׁהֵם שְׁלשָׁה שָׁבוּעוֹת בָּעֹֽמֶר

When we first got a puppy this summer, I counted our walks as time taken away from me - time where I could be doing something else. And as I’ve grown to love him I realized my perspective shifted; now I count it as time that is giving me so much. In the mornings on weekdays, I walk him through the park while I think about my day - what meetings I have, emails I need to send, what I’m looking forward to. In the evening, I walk him and chat on the phone with my mom or a long distance friend. And right before bed, I walk him one more time and then he joyously bounds down the hallway to greet Shirel who waits for us at the door of our apartment. On the weekends, we take long walks all over Williamsburg - to the bookstore, the coffee shop, the pharmacy, down by the water. We’ve made friends on our walks - people I see daily or weekly now who I’ve gotten to know. I used to say that the best way to turn an anonymous NYC series of streets into a neighborhood was to join a synagogue. Now, I’ll add that that you should most certainly join a synagogue, but getting a dog might not hurt either. 

~Abby Johnson, SPS Director of Membership and Community Advancement