Thursday May 4, 2023 14 Iyar 5783 Twenty-ninth Night of the Omer הַיּוֹם תִּשְׁעָה וְעֶשְׂרִים יוֹם שֶׁהֵם אַרְבָּעָה שָׁבוּעוֹת וְיוֹם אֶחָד בָּעֹֽמֶר

I count how many sunny days there will be at the beginning of the week.

~Aniko Gomory, JRS Teacher

Friday May 5, 2023 15 Iyar 5783 Thirtieth Night of the Omer הַיּוֹם שְׁלשִׁים יוֹם שֶׁהֵם אַרְבָּעָה שָׁבוּעוֹת וּשְׁנֵי יָמִים בָּעֹֽמֶר

Ever since I learned how to read, my head was always in a book. In Elementary School I raised the most money in the RIF - Reading is Fundamental contest, a fundraiser for Multiple Sclerosis, because I read the most books. It was an exciting challenge to see I could help others by counting each book I read. When my mother was recently selling my childhood apartment, she found my lists of books I read. The lists were dated and from many different years. I now count the number of books I read electronically, on an app, which can be shared with others. I no longer raise money for each book I read, but I still am grateful to be counting the books I read and listen to each day, counting the many adventures and people I come across between the covers of the numerous books I read. I count the books I read and listen to, as companions I take along with me on this adventure and journey we call life. 

~Rabbi Ellen Wolintz-Fields, Executive Director Women’s League for Conservative Judaism

Saturday May 6, 2023 16 Iyar 5783 Thirty-first Night of the Omer הַיּוֹם אֶחָד וּשְׁלשִׁים יוֹם שֶׁהֵם אַרְבָּעָה שָׁבוּעוֹת וּשְׁלשָׁה יָמִים בָּעֹֽמֶר

I’m counting the days until my son’s wedding (May 28, 2023)…

~Mindy Blonder JRS Director

Sunday May 7, 2023 17 Iyar 5783 Thirty-second Night of the Omer הַיּוֹם שְׁנַֽיִם וּשְׁלשִׁים יוֹם שֶׁהֵם אַרְבָּעָה שָׁבוּעוֹת וְאַרְבָּעָה יָמִים בָּעֹֽמֶר

Since we moved to Manhattan, I have experienced a new phenomenon of counting in blocks -- 12 blocks to Rebecca's apartment, 35 blocks to my Mom, and, 6 blocks to SPS!

~Elissa Stein Cushman

Monday May 8, 2023 18 Iyar 5783 Thirty-third Night of the Omer- Lag Ba’Omer הַיּוֹם שְׁלשָׁה וּשְׁלשִׁים יוֹם שֶׁהֵם אַרְבָּעָה שָׁבוּעוֹת וַחֲמִשָּׁה יָמִים בָּעֹֽמֶר

I count the accomplishments of my children and grandchildren, my charitable contributions, the number of mediation and arbitration cases, and client matters I have satisfactorily resolved, my hours of private single engine airplane flying, the runs I have scored and good defensive plays I have made in Sunday morning softball, and wins and losses of the Boston Red Sox.  All of these define the values of my life, my family, my work, and my interests.  

~Evan Spelfogel

Tuesday May 9, 2023 19 Iyar 5783 Thirty-fourth Night of the Omer הַיּוֹם אַרְבָּעָה וּשְׁלשִׁים יוֹם שֶׁהֵם אַרְבָּעָה שָׁבוּעוֹת וְשִׁשָּׁה יָמִים בָּעֹֽמֶר

When thinking about counting and what I counted throughout my life, I found myself consistently returning to the theme of counting down to something. Counting down, not necessarily with a negative connotation, but with the idea that I was starting from a certain number of days, hours, minutes, and waiting to get to 0. I always loved vacations as a kid (and still do!) but I would always anticipate being sad when vacations ended. 3 more days left, 2 more days left, 1 more day... I can find myself so excited about the little things in life, like the most delicious bag of peanut M&Ms, but as I'm eating them I find myself counting down - only 4 more left, 3 more, 2 more, the bag is almost empty... And although these are just silly examples, it made me think about flipping the script in my head and starting to count up. What if instead of counting down to the last day of a 10-day vacation, I counted upwards from Day 1 to Day 10? Would it feel different? Would that dreaded last-day of vacation feel more like a grand finale? Just as we count upwards when we are counting the omer, I am going to try incorporating this new idea of counting upwards on my next vacation and see how it feels. And it just so happens that my next vacation is the Women's Trip to Israel with SPS! I'll let you know how it goes. And for all who are going on the Women's Trip, I invite you to join this counting up challenge with me!

~Rebecca Cushman

Wednesday May 10, 2023 20 Iyar 5783 Thirty-fifth Night of the Omer הַיּוֹם חֲמִשָּׁה וּשְׁלשִׁים יוֹם שֶׁהֵם חֲמִשָּׁה שָׁבוּעוֹת בָּעֹֽמֶר

About 3 years ago I decided to start exercising regularly. I hate exercising. It is the worst hour of my day. I count the minutes until it is over. Six months into my exercising journey, I purchased a Peloton bike. For those of you not in the cult, Peloton also offers other classes including strength, yoga, barre, pilates, stretching, outdoor walks and runs, and meditation. Peloton is very good at counting. It counts every class, every day you take a class, every mile you walk, bike, or run, the number of calories you burned, and every heartbeat. You earn a "blue dot" every day you do some form of exercise. 

When you hit a "milestone" class (i.e. 100, 200, 350, etc.), the instructor may "shout out" your leaderboard name during a live class. I had the thrill of my favorite instructors saying "Congrats SheGaf on X # of rides/classes" while exercising in the privacy of my own bedroom. I've also been able to take classes in the studio and get my shout-outs in person (which is definitely more exciting than in my bedroom). Peloton counts specific classes, and you can earn all sorts of "badges" when you complete specific classes or number of classes. They count if you've done the same class as your friends. It starts with the "Dynamic Duo" badge and goes up to the "Flock" badge (which is 10 friends or more who have taken the same class).

Why does Peloton do all of this counting? Quite simply, because it motivates members. I currently have a 132-week streak. I have not missed one day in a year and a half. Even during my two bouts of Covid, I did at least a meditation, stretch or yoga every day. People on Peloton Facebook groups post messages about accidentally missing their blue dot and receive sympathetic messages from hundreds of Peloton members. There is an annual accounting that counts every minute of exercise over the course of the year. I pledged in 2022 that I would hit 25K minutes (I was very disappointed when I realized that the badges stopped at 20K minutes). The counting makes people care. The counting leads to a person who truly and deeply hates exercise to spend 25.4K minutes exercising. For Peloton, counting works.

~Elyssa Gaffin