Counting of
the Omer – Week 7 – Malchut
Questions for Reflection
This Sunday we come to the end of our spiritual journey, with our consideration of the final sephira, Malchut.
Malchut is associated with sovereignty, kingdom, and also humility. It is an attribute of God, but it emanates in the world, in God's creation. It's as if the first nine are a continuous stream from God, which flows through Yesod and to us, which affect us through Malchut, and when absorbed, causes us to act in ways that reflect God's will and glory.
I. In the introductory time, I'll pose a few questions:
1. Given your past learning and experience, how would you explain malchut? What does this mean to you?
2. Let's explore this idea of kingdom or sovereignty a bit further. How do you think God intends this kingdom to operate in the real world? In it, what is the sort of sovereignty that is accorded to us and our fellows? How does it work to fulfill God's intentions? How could it go astray?
II. Our inter-inclusion questions to consider today (as a sort of final exam!):
A. Chesed of Malchut. What happens if the flow to Malchut is deficient in loving-kindness?
B. Gevurah of Malchut. What is the proper balance of strength and discipline in how we act in the world? How can extremes in discipline (both too much and too little) cause us to go astray? Examples?
C. Tiferet of Malchut. What sorts of balance must there be in our leadership and action for it to be effective? Illustrate through examples in business, politics, civic service, church life, or family.
D. Netzach of Malchut. Let's re-visit the importance of endurance. Here's the question for today: what causes us to lose the needed endurance to do what we know we should do, and what can we do to strengthen it?
E. Hod of Malchut. How do we properly appreciate all the gifts we've been given to serve God in the world? How do we use such gifts?
F. Yesod of Malchut. In what ways must there be healthy bonding in our exercise of sovereignty?
G. Malchut of Malchut. How do we sometimes and wrongly go beyond the proper boundaries of our sovereignty when we are exercising our sovereignty? What are those boundaries, and how do we stay within them?
III. Conclusion - I hope to save 10 minutes for folks to share final reflections on where this journey has taken us. How, and in what ways, are we now better prepared for Pentecost or Shavuot?
{ Audio of Class Presentation and Discussion }