The teaching we have used as our source and
inspiration for the Alef Bytes comes from Sefer Yetzirah which gives us the
correspondence of the Hebrew letters to our physical and spiritual existence.
Each of the months of the year has its letter through which it is formed. A
prior teaching in Sefer Yetzirah is the "book of the Mother letters" which
describes the characteristics of the three Mother letters- Alef, Mem and Shin.
Calling these three letters Mother letters implies, among other qualities, that
they give birth to the other letters of the Hebrew alphabet. The letter Mem
gives birth to the12 letters connected to the months of the year. Elsewhere we
have expounded on the nature of the letter Mem as giving birth to the letters
associated with time and explained that the Mother letter Mem, herself, reflects
the spiritual notion of "living in the present moment" throughout the diversity
of the yearly cycle of time.

The letter Vav

The letter for the month of Iyar is the letter Vav, the second "child" of the letter Mem. As a prefix the letter Vav is the Hebrew equivalent of the word "and". The word Vav (constructed of two Vavs) means a hook and implies linking one thing with another. The month of Iyar
(the letter Vav) links the months of Nissan (the freedom from slavery) and the
month of Sivan (the receiving of the Torah). At the beginning of the month we
pointed out that it might be easy to overlook the month of Iyar as a mere
transition between the month of Nissan and the month of Sivan. We also looked at
the counting of the Omer (during the whole month of Iyar) as a way of reminding
us to live in the present moment and trust in G-d, similar to the Jewish
people's relationship with the manna in the desert. If this suposition has some
merit, the letter Vav, it would appear, is just like its Mother that birthed it.
Both are concepts that illucidate the meaning of living in the present moment.
What is the difference or nuance that distinguishes Mother from child?

To bolster the question, let us examine another piece of evidence that the letter
Vav shares with the Mem: the concept of being in the present moment. The letters
of the ineffable four-letter name of G-d (Yud-Heh-Vav-Heh) can be combined to
spell Was (Heh-Yud-Heh), Is (Heh-Vav-Heh) and Will Be (Yud-Heh-Yud-Heh). These
dimensions, representing past, present, and future all coalesce in G-d's
essential Name and teach us that G-d was, is, and will be (G-d is beyond the
dimension of time). The differentiating letter that connotes the present is the
Vav.

Counting Every Day - Every Day Counts

The counting of the Omer is a unique Mitzvah in that it requires us to connect 49 consecutive days of counting without breaking the chain. While the count of the day can be proclaimed even if one missed a day, the blessing can only be recited if one has not skipped any
day of the count. We can ask, "If the Vav indeed reflects a conscioucness of the
present moment and the counting of the Omer is also a reminder (like the manna)
to focus on this day and only this day, then why must the chain of the counting
be unbroken?" In addition, the entire structure of the counting is a continuity
that is being "constructed", a count in which we reflect on the past (what was
yesterday's count?) as well as an eye to the future (especially now as we come
closer to Shavuot). In what way then is the counting of the Omer focused in the
present?

People are often perplexed when you engage them in a discussion about
living in the present moment. They often challenge the idea as reflecting
naivete of seeming to discount the past and future. Does the past not exist and
should we not have any focus on the future? Perhaps we can look to the Vav (and
the counting of the Omer) to instruct us with another perspective on the present
(moment) that is more complex than the simple and sublime nature of the Mem and
its teaching about the present moment. The Vav is that letter that informs us of
the quality, "and"- and in this context , the linking together of the past and
the present and the future. The Vav teaches us about connecting past and future
through the present moment.

To aid in our understanding let us look for a moment at ourselves as
hooks or links in the chain of Jewish history. As a
people we have a long history and well developed memory. We are also keenly
focused on the future. As a reflection of our past and future focus it is
customary to recite two "additional" prayers, the prayer of the six
rememberances and the thirteen Ani Ma'Amin (the 13 beliefs) at the conclusion of
the morning prayers. The six (Vav =6) remeberances focus our attention on the
past and the last verses of the Ani Ma'Amin focus our attention on the future-
the coming of Moshiach and the resurrection of the dead.

We only live a relatively short time. Yet the chain of the Jewish people is now unbroken for
over 3,700 years. If we are blessed with children (and granchildren...) we can
become present to the intimate linking of our lives as the hook between the
past generation(s) and the future generation(s). And herein lies an insight:
this link in the chain is only "manufactured" in the present moment! Jewish
continuity is born out of making each day count in the present, especially with
our children. This principle is a central teaching of the month of Iyar (the
letter Vav) and the counting of the Omer. As we count each day we are enjoined
to be fully present to today and only today (for that is all there is). To
remember, is to not forget the past and to learn from it for the present moment.
And the future is born out of the present and is also brought into the present.
At the most present level of awareness the future is already here. The future
emerges from our present counting. Shavuot is already here, because we are
intent on our count of bringing the future into the present day.

A Stitch in Time

The letter Vav, which looks like a crochet hook, leads us to the use of
the metaphor of crocheting, say a blanket, to further help in understanding the
emergence of the future in the present moment. If you would ask someone who is
crocheting a blanket, even at the initial stitches,"what are you doing?" they
would reply, "I am making a blanket." And yet the blanket is certainly not
discernable. If one would ask a person counting the Omer, say on the first
night, "what are you doing?" the remarkable reply would be, " I am making
Shavuot!"

The closer one gets to the appointed time, or the finshed product,
the clearer it becomes what the future held. So, too, in our longing for
Moshiach, the fabric will become clear and the hooks will form a unified whole.
Can we already see the blanket or is it still just a covering?

The Talmud teaches that we are in a process of counting, not just days and weeks but
millennium. The Christian world will be celebrating a millennium, and the next
and clarifying millennium for the Jewish people is 240 years away (the year
6000). In case that seems at a distance let us add this stich in time- for the
Zohar adds: the heel of the coming millennium is 172 years prior to the start of
the thousand year cycle (the word in Hebrew for heel is Ekev, Ayin-Kuf-Beit,
whose numerical value equals172). We know this from the start of the 4th
millennium, which started in the year 240, exactly 172 years after the
destruction of the second Temple. The heel of the 7th millennium: the year 5828
(the year 2068). A stitch in time.