Instant gratification is what it is all about. From “Lose 10 lbs. in 5 days” to fast-food, to 1 year online college degrees, we don’t seem to like to wait for change. And yet true change takes time. While we can quickly, almost instantaneously shift from positive to negative, happy to sad or laid-back to angry…it takes a lot more time to go uphill than downhill.

Passover is often referred to as “the time of our freedom” which it is, but that is only part of it. Yes, the Jewish people were physically taken out of Egypt after the 10^th plague, but it took significantly more time for the slave mentality to leave the Jewish people. Another way of understanding “the time of our freedom” is to read the Hebrew words as time  = freedom. Freedom is a process. It takes time. And the more time we give ourselves to grow and tap into ourselves and our abilities, the more we can become freed from our insecurities, limitations and what holds us back from who we are capable of becoming.

The trick of course is how do we become free from the prison within our minds, hearts and souls? It is during Passover itself that the 49 days period of counting the Omer begins. This is a seven-week process where every night a prayer is recited focusing on and working to improve a different emotive property.

Firstly this shows how change not only takes time but must go step-by-step. What most often can overwhelm people is realizing how much there is to fix or change and then feeling it is impossible to accomplish so giving up and not doing anything. But when every day there is a different focus, and it is a long-term commitment, we can handle the small steps and each step will bring us closer and closer to our destination.

The process of counting the Omer begins in the Hebrew month of Nissan. For about half the month the Omer is counted. Then the following month, that of Iyar, the Omer is counted every single night. And the Omer then continues during the beginning of the month of Sivan. All in all it covers three months, each with a different focus.

The word ‘Nissan’ is etymologically related to the word ‘nisayon’ which is a test or a challenge. Leaving slavery and entering freedom is clearly a challenging time. And yet the two-letter subroot of both words is ‘nes’ meaning ‘miracle.’ This teaches that embedded in every challenge and test is the possibility, the opportunity for something miraculous.

Passover however is what could be called a top-down approach. The Jewish people were taken out of Egypt. They didn’t exactly escape on their own accord. It is referred to as a miraculous redemption and one that was a gift. Yet again, that is only the beginning of the process of freedom. The rest of the process most definitively involves some bottom-up work. As Iyar then begins, every single day is dedicated to inner work, reflection and change. This is not about experiencing miracles but creating them. Yet lest it be forgotten that one is never quite alone, for the word ‘Iyar’ is an acronym for the statement: “Ani Hashem Rofecha” meaning “I am God Your Healer.” Specifically when one could feel overwhelmed with the hard work of working to improve one’s characteristics and behavior, embedded in that time is the reminder that we are not expected to do this by ourselves. We are never truly on our own.

When the month of Sivan enters in which the 49 day period culminates with the holiday of Shavuot—the giving of the Torah to the Jewish people—the name of the month also has a message. The Hebrew spelling of ‘Sivan’ contains the letters for the word ‘nes’ meaning ‘miracle’ as well. But this time it is spelled backwards. The miracle is still most definitely there, but it comes after our input, after our dedicated focus on improving and correcting our weaknesses.

The goal is to remember at all times that there are miracles around us and there are miracles within us. We just need to be able to search and find what is waiting to be revealed. The key to it all is patience and time. When we allow ourselves the time we need—each in our own way and at our own pace—to shift and change, we will tap into those miracles and become those miracles and then we will be able to truly see how by giving ourselves time, we achieved and reached freedom.

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