Omer Calendar for the Shmita Year
Asher Edes
About Asher Edes
I need Shmita in my life because capitalism and ableism have wormed their way into my heart and I want to resist them through collaboration, rest, and imagination. This year, I’m excited to be creating a project with Alexander Vickery for Shmita “resting pods”/”hives” to explore spirals of time. It’s called Shmita Hives, participation is free, and everyone is invited. Find out more at www.tinyurl.com/ShmitaHives. Apart from that project, I work in dance and performance on Dakhóta land in Minneapolis, Minnesota. I participate in the TRCSTR arts and organizing training, and study in ALEPH’s Earth-Based Judaism Program.
About Omer Calendar for the Shmita Year
You could count the Omer by placing a small object, such as a pebble, on the picture of that night’s moon, and reflecting on what that day means. You could also bring friends together to discuss or dream about how to activate these qualities in the Shmita year. Inspired by the kabbalistic association of the Omer with seven sephirot, this calendar offers an alternative for the Shmita year: seven cycles of Shmita themes. Each day and week is associated with a Shmita theme — Rest, Abolition, Liberation, Trust, Reparations, Land Back, and Mutual Aid — symbolized by colors in a spiral of time. Counting the Omer can be a moment for reflection about what permutations of these themes do or could mean.
