Join Elana-June Margolis & Nomy Lamm for Omer Pulses, a 9 week journey towards & through the Counting of the Omer in beloved queer/trans community. In this time of enormous shattering & unspeakable horror, we will invoke the mysterious pulsing potencies of the Omer to guide & hold us through the transformation required to meet this moment together, in service of our personal healing towards collective liberation.
The original practice of Counting the Omer referred to the barley offering made in ancient times. It later evolved into a mystical mapping of the 49 day period between Pesach, the full moon holiday of Collective Liberation, & Shavuot, the holiday of Revelation. The Omer is traditionally counted by number, with a blessing recited at the arrival of dark, upon entering a new day in the Jewish time cycle. This practice (both pre-colonial & decolonial in nature) offers us an exceptionally queer, deeply radical way of relating to time as a space for liberation to unfold.
Each day of the Omer invites us to explore one of 49 pairs of the 7 “lower” or “inner” Sephirot on the Etz Chayiim (Kabbalist Tree of Life). The Sephirot can be understood as portals through which specific qualities of the Infinite Divine flows into the known world. As we explore the Sephirot in pairs, we come to know them not as independent entities, but as bounded infinities existing within a dynamic w/hole. This relational approach increases our ability to bring these expressions of holiness into balance within ourselves, our relations, & our world, clearing our channels to allow Olam ha Ba (the World that IS Coming) to arrive through us.
This journey, beginning with Pesach (Collective Liberation) & closing with Shavuot (Revelation) is a deep internal process with communal implications. The practice mirrors a cosmic coming-out, inviting us to imagine liberation as a starting point rather than an end goal, allowing ourselves open towards the revelation that is waiting to reveal itself to us when we are present and ready to perceive it. We simultaneously cultivate spaciousness to encounter truths that might otherwise feel dangerous or threatening to our existence - (truths of climate chaos, pandemic, colonization, etc) while increasing clarity & acuity in our responsive roles in meeting these realities. Our journey together in Omer Pulses will pay particular attention to how work with the Sephirot/ Etz Chayiim through the Count of the Omer can assist us in releasing Judaism from Zionism & bolster our commitment to working in solidarity with Palestinians towards a Free Palestine & liberation for all peoples, including us.
Beyond our 49 day practice, Counting the Omer is a potent way to directly encounter the Etz Hayiim & the Sephirot as a map of Creation as an ongoing & infinite process through which all life arrives and is sustained in this world. This foundational relationship with the Etz Hayiim allows us to extend our work with the Sephirot through both daily & holy day practices, allowing us to presence the mystical dimensions of the High Holy Days (Days of Awe), Chanukah, Tu b’Shevat & beyond! Thus, these 49 days can be imagined as the first 49 days of the rest of our magical, mystical Jewish lives.
WHAT HAPPENS ON THIS JOURNEY?Weekly sessions will include artistic, somatic & meditative ritual practices, singing/ sounding, Zohar-based text study, partner-work & lively group conversation, all designed to support participants in cultivating an enlivened, meaningful practice of Counting the Omer.
Participants will have the option of being paired with a chevruta (study-buddy) to support & deepen daily practice. There will be additional opportunities to participants to self-organize connections outside of class to support in relationship/ community building.
WHAT IF I’VE NEVER COUNTED THE OMER BEFORE OR IF I’VE BEEN COUNTING FOR MANY YEARS? IS THIS JOURNEY FOR ME?Omer Pulses is designed to support participants in cultivating/ deepening their practice of Counting the Omer, whether it is your first time or your 49th time. This journey is specifically recommended for community members who wish to explore Kabbalah, the Etz Chayiim (Tree of Life) & the Sephirot through the Omer in a space facilitated by & centered around queer/trans Jewish anti-Zionists.
ACCESS INFO- Classes & transcripts will be recorded & shared within 24 hours of each session.
- Captioning will be provided via automated service.
- ASL interpretation TBD.
- Participants will be invited to turn cameras on to say hi at the start of class. After that, you are free to have your camera on or off as works for you.
- We enjoy a dynamic learning environment & will regularly invite active participation. Please know that this is an encouragement, not an expectation.
- Participants are welcome to opt out of small group work (in break-out rooms) if they do not want to participate in this way.
- Each & every session will include a spacious body-break.
MAP OF THE JOURNEY
(all sessions 8 - 10 PM ET/ 5 - 7 PM PT with the possibility of an extended session on Shavuot)
- Session 1: Tuesday, April 16th - Preparation for the Journey
- Session 2: WEDNESDAY, April 24th - Chesed
- Session 3: Tuesday,, April 30th - Gevurah
- Session 4: Tuesday, May 7th - Tifferet
- Session 5: Tuesday, May 14th - Netzach
- Session 6: Tuesday, May 21st - Hod
- Session 7: Tuesday, May 28th - Yesod
- Session 8: Tuesday, June 4th - Shechinah/ Malchut
- Session 9: Tuesday, June 11th - Shavuot (Closing Ritual)
Registration is sliding scale $180 - $720 (recommended $360) with No One Turned Away for Lack of Funds. 10% of registration fees will be redirected to Palestinian-led liberation initiatives.
Information on where to send registration shared below.
SLIDING SCALE INFORMATION:We sincerely welcome any & everyone who is called & able to sign-up for this class to join, regardless of ability to contribute financially. This choice is rooted both in a sense of ethics informed by an analysis of the impact of systems of oppression on economic realities & a personal investment in studying/ practicing in diverse community.
If you can pay more on the sliding scale, please do, & know that in doing so, you are ensuring that this work remains both accessible to a wide range of participants & sustainable for us as practitioners. If you can pay less (or nothing at all), please know that you are warmly welcomed & held in high esteem, regardless of financial contribution.
If you are wondering where to place yourself on the sliding scale, this document may offer some helpful prompts:
Sliding Scale FactorsFREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:Will recordings be provided? Yes!
Do I have to attend every session? Nope! Sessions will build on one another, thus it is encouraged that participants watch/ listen to the recordings of missed sessions to stay in the loop. It is also possible to participate entirely via recording, without ever attending a live session (though we will miss you!).
What if I need to arrive late & /or leave early? That’s OK!
Am I Jewish enough/ queer enough/ politically aligned enough/ learned enough to participate in this class?If you identify as Jewish & / or have a Jewish practice, YES you are Jewish enough, regardless of your lineage, affiliation, or level of experience with Jewish text or tradition. If you identify as queer &/or trans, you are definitely queer/trans enough, & you will probably get even queerer over the course of our study together - seriously, it's REALLY gay & REALLY gender-bent in there...
In fact, you do not need to be Jewish or queer or trans to take this course, as long as you understand that this space is centered around queer/ trans Jews & commit to being respectful of that container. No prior experience/ familiarity with Kabbalah, Jewish text or tradition is necessary for this course.
Re: political alignment, particularly in relationship to Zionism: If you are newly in a process of unlearning/ dismantling/ recovering from Zionism you are just as welcome as folks who identify solidly as anti-Zionist, non-Zionist or post-Zionist. Everyone is expected to be respectful of the container.
Do you do payment plans?Nope, but only because we don't have the capacity to manage them! That said, you are welcome to send your registration contribution in in any sum/ frequency/ rhythm that works for you.
ABOUT THE FACILITATORS: Nomy Lamm is a musician, illustrator, kohenet, and the Creative Director of
Sins Invalid, a disability justice based performance project. Nomy creates ritual tools for embodied queer Jewish feminist practice, including the
Dreaming the World to Come planner and the
Omer Oracle deck. She is dedicated to anti-colonial, anti-racist practices, and to witnessing a Free Palestine in her lifetime. They live on occupied Squaxin land in Olympia, WA, with their partner Lisa and their animal companions Dandelion, Momma, Romance, and Chanukah.
www.nomyteaches.com, @nomyteaches
Elana-June Margolis (she/they/we) is a white, queer,
femme, Ashkenazi, anti-Zionist Jewish mystic. She is an ordained Kohenet (Jewish Priestexxx), teacher, writer & artist. Her life’s work is dedicated to liberating ancestral texts & technologies in service of personal healing towards collective liberation. Elana June's teachings are rooted in abolitionism, feminism, anti-racism, queer/ trans theory & praxis, Zoharic Kabbalah & earth-based Judaism. You can learn more about her work @ https://elanajune.com or on instagram @madamfullcharge
Elana-June & Nomy have been practicing with/ teaching on the Omer separately for many years - we are thrilled to collaborate on this offering and see what blooms in the fertile space between us and welcome your wise seeds to contribute to our collective garden!
QUESTIONS?Please email Elana-June at
elana.june.margolis@gmail.com. She will do her best to respond within 48 hours.
READY TO REGISTER?Wonderful! We are SO excited to journey with you! Please fill out the form below & BE SURE to press submit when you are finished!
