Over here on Jewish time, we’re in the middle of counting the Omer, the seven week time between Passover and our next major holiday, Shavuot.
Let's have a look, from a few angles?
Agriculturally, it's about counting down from the barley harvest to the wheat harvest (Omer can be translated as “sheaf;” back in the day, barley would be brought to the Temple as an offering during this time.)
Theologically, it’s a time of wandering, fear and uncertainty—the time between leaving the (terrible, but familiar) Egypt but before receiving Torah and getting clarity about what moving forward might be.
And, even more directly, the Omer is considered a time of mourning; during this time, Jewish law prohibits things (weddings, haircuts, listening to music etc) that are usually only forbidden to those who are in mourning.
The Talmud says that it’s because thousands of the sage Rabbi Akiva’s students died of a plague during this period.
The Omer is a time of suffering and loss and pain and fear. Of profound destabilization.
But it’s also possible that the loss we mourn during this time has a different dimension as well.