Embodying Love: The Divine Flow of Chesed and the Journey of the Omer

This year, as I prepared to teach the Sefirot again during the Omer, something shifted. Though I've taught these ten divine attributes many times before, a deeper current started to flow. It was sparked, in part, by a question in our WhatsApp group about the Divine Feminine and Masculine — and how they relate to the Sefirot and our moment in cosmic history. I felt a new invitation: to reapproach the Sefirot not just as ideas, but as living energies shaping our relationships, our healing, and our embodied presence.

We are in the powerful days of Sefirat HaOmer — a 49-day spiritual spiral that lifts us from the trauma of Egypt to the receiving of Torah at Sinai. Every day, and especially each week, we explore a specific divine quality. This isn’t just abstract. Each Sefirah is a spiritual DNA strand — the architecture of our soul. As it says, "Adam is made in the image of G-d," and that image is expressed through the Sefirot.

But before we could receive the Torah, we had to heal. G-d didn’t just pull us out of Egypt and say, “Here’s the Torah.” First, we were brought to the desert — a space of silence, vastness, and vulnerability — to be. To process. To prepare. To remember who we were before the pain, and who we are meant to become.

So much of this healing journey comes down to understanding the flow between masculine and feminine energies. Not gender roles, but energetic dynamics. Masculine energies (like Chochmah, Chesed, and Netzach) are giving, expansive, forward. Feminine energies (like Binah, Gevurah, Hod, and Malchut) are receptive, integrative, grounding. We each carry both — the work is finding harmony.

We explored the mystical teaching of the moon’s diminishment on the fourth day of creation. The sun, representing masculine energy, shines constantly. The moon, reflecting feminine energy, receives and reveals light in cycles. Originally equal, the moon "complained," and was diminished. But the sages teach — it was a descent for the sake of ascent. Feminine energy is rising again.

We see this in our times: a growing embrace of receptivity, mindfulness, and embodiment. Traits once overlooked are becoming essential — even in the business world, even in leadership. This is not weakness. This is balance.

In the Sefirotic Tree of Life, Chesed — the divine quality of kindness and love — is considered a masculine trait. But this love isn’t just action. Love, from a Kabbalistic lens, is a frequency. A vibration. A flow. We’re not here just to do love. We’re here to be love.

This came alive in our class through stories: one woman, sitting on the beach during Pesach, had a moment of awe — the birds, the breeze, the crashing waves — all felt like expressions of G-d’s love. Another described reclaiming her inner child as she drew faces in the sand, letting go of fear and finally feeling safe enough to play.

Water, we learned, is the element of Chesed. It’s expansive, nurturing, soft, and essential for life. No wonder so many of us feel closest to G-d near the ocean.

Takeaways:

• The Sefirot are not concepts — they are inner energies waiting to be lived.

• We all carry both masculine and feminine dynamics. Healing means understanding their flow within us.

• Chesed is more than giving. It’s being present with an open heart.

• Love is a frequency. When we slow down and feel it, we realign with our soul.

This week, try a simple practice: put your hand on your heart. Breathe. Ask yourself: Where can I soften? Where can I allow more love, not by doing more, but by being more present?