Omer Mixtape 2023 — Week One
Kabbalah (mystical) theme: Chesed//loving-kindness
Musical theme: new music from this past year that is either underrated or under the radar (in my opinion)
- Chesed within Chesed: self love (new from this past year) — All by Grouplove
- Gevurah: disciplined loving; self preservation — Flowers by Miley Cyrus
- Tiferet: balanced, compassionate love — balance b/w give + take — All My Love by Noah Kahan
- Netzach: ambitious and enduring love — Love Will Get You There by Inhaler
- Hod: humble love — vulnerability — I’m In Love With You by The 1975
- Yesod: bonding + building on loving foundation — Count on Me by Ashe
- Malkhut: love generates love — leading thru love — Anywhere With You by Maggie Rogers
Since I have you here, I’ll take a brief opportunity to explain my thesis, my theory, my “way of walking in the world,” as we spiritual leaders like to call it: I believe that pop culture, particularly music, is an inroads into connecting our life experiences with Jewish wisdom and literature. I listen to current music, it’s incredibly meaningful to me, and I take that meaning and connect it to rituals, concepts, and culture from the Jewish tradition. Hence, the Omer Mixtape was crafted. Last year, it was random songs each day, and sometimes a theme was formed. This year, it’s an intentional theme each week!
If you want an overview of where counting the Omer comes from, and the origins of my Mixtape, you can check out last year’s explanation and playlist. I also want to mention, because I unfortunately didn’t last year, that the idea of choosing songs for counting the Omer was inspired by a dear friend of mine and excellent Jewish educator, Sasha Dominguez. Thank you, Sasha!
Alright, so this year: the Kabbalah themes don’t change each year, but of course I will explain them a bit again. Each week, one of the sephirot, Divine elements, is paired with all of the others. This week, the emphasis is on the sephira of Chesed, loving-kindness. So we are meant to see each of the other elements through the lens of loving-kindness. I decided, as an act of chesed, to shed light on music from this year (released after last year’s mixtape) that I think deserves more love. This means I chose particular songs that match the day’s mystical theme, and I chose artists that I feel connected to and wanted to highlight.
Day 1 — Love doubled is love turned inward. I chose the song All by Grouplove, which was just released at the end of March. This band became a favorite of mine when I rediscovered their older music and fell in love with their new music during spring-summer 2020. They put on multiple live shows online, that felt like you were there with them, and they would welcome you into the living room after the show. This band is a community; the name is also the meaning. If you’re a fan, you’re a part of Grouplove. This song, to me, is about being honest about what you really want, even though it’s scary. Sometimes self-love is screaming and shouting about what is simultaneously terrifying and life-saving.
Day 2 — Loving-kindness coupled with Gevurah, strength or discipline, can be interpreted to mean we must be disciplined with our love, and preserve ourselves by having boundaries with our love. To me, the obvious choice was Flowers by Miley Cyrus, considering music that has come out this year. Of course, this probably doesn’t need my shout-out, because thankfully she does seem to be *ahem* getting her flowers with this record. If you haven’t heard this song, or seen the music video: Miley Cyrus is showing her side of the story, and coming up strong, preserving herself and even thriving by setting boundaries. My favorite song is Rose Colored Lenses, which didn’t fit this day as well, but deserves a mention.
Day 3 — Tiferet is balance and compassion, which pairs quite nicely with Chesed; to me, this kind of love means there is balance between give and take. The song All My Love by Noah Kahan is a song about a partnership that’s over, but the love is not lost. Maybe it’s a bit satirical; to me it has the feeling of finding compassion for the other person’s perspective, and depicts growth in the journey from one relationship to future ones. Noah Kahan has quickly become one of my favorite artists, and yes that is in large part due to him being Jewish and from New England (my native land, ah). I also describe his music as Appalachian without the twang, and seriously, every song is jam-packed with feeling and vibes.
Day 4 — Netzach is related to ambition and endurance, so we’re looking at ambitious love, love that can endure, which to me means journeying through obstacles, challenges, and using love as the guide. Love Will Get You There by Inhaler is exactly about that; using love to get you the places you need and want to go. This band is all about bringing the audience along for the ride; the fans and the band are truly in relationship with each other. So this song is about using love to get you through trying times, and to me that includes the love of listening to this music, seeing the band live, being part of the fandom — that’s one of the loves that gets me there.
Day 5 — Hod is all about vulnerability and humility; in the flow of the sephirot, the elements, it’s at the base of the side that includes the logical, intellectual aspects of the Divine. This is significant, because it suggests that humility is the foundation of knowledge. This will hopefully ring true every week, though this week I think the song is such a perfect fit, it might not be topped. I’m In Love With You by the 1975 is meant to be, quite literally, an example of the utmost vulnerability. It’s expressing true feelings for someone without cloaking it in irony, insults, existentialism, or pretension, as The 1975 (and their lead singer) typically like to do. I personally was not a part of this fandom, until their tour started taking over my TikTok, and I couldn’t help myself. I went down the The 1975 rabbit hole, and now their songs are stuck in my head and in my playlists. I can be vulnerable with my love of this music, humble with “discovering” them on their 5th album, and from social media frenzy, and still feel that love.
Day 6 — The word Yesod means foundation, as does this element. Foundation, grounding, the building blocks of yourself — and this week, foundational love, or building a foundation made of love. Count On Me by Ashe is about exactly what its title hints at — that you can count on the speaker, for whatever you need. Ashe is establishing the foundation of love in this song; the speaker is adamant that no matter what, they can be depended on, to love you. Ashe is one of my favorite artists, and I’ve turned my dad into a fan as well. She’s been through an incredible amount of trying life experiences, at a young age — highly relatable, if you ask me. She writes all of her music + lyrics (with her producer), and her voice is incredible — her sound is timeless, like someone from decades ago, but also refreshing and new. She canceled her tour, citing mental health, so I’m waiting for the day I can sing Count On Me back to her.
Day 7 — I decided to use the word Malkhut for this element, rather than Shekhina, which is the other name, to highlight the characteristic of leadership. The word malkhut means sovereignty (aka leadership), and this element is considered the representation of the Divine presence in our midst, on this plane rather than a higher one. (Hey, it’s mysticism). For this week, that means loving leadership, and to borrow a concept from the camp I grew up at: love generates love. The question, which the song choice should seek to answer, is how can you use love as a leadership tool, but also use your love to inspire love in others. Anywhere With You by Maggie Rogers encapsulates this, especially because her music exists within her artistry and conceptualization. Maggie Rogers makes her music into a community, by sharing with her fans the meaning and making of her music. This song is about using the power of loving friendships to find your voice, and to feel something, to feel free. Maggie Rogers is also an inspiration to me; because of her I consider my writing artistry.
Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for week two!
