Scissor-tailed Flycatchers : Relationships and Foundation

These are Scissor-tailed Flycatchers. The little nestlings are communicating to papa in a way that hardly requires a degree in ornithology to understand. I want. I need. This photo was taken during a whole series of trips up-and-back, each with a little morsel for the brood. Papa knows his role too. I give. I’m here. The best photos tell a story, taking a micro-glimpse of time and positing it in just such a way that the before and after can be inferred. The viewer is invited - almost compelled - to be part of the narrative.

This is the penultimate week of the Omer, Week Six, in which the Sages explore Yesod or “Foundation.” Interpretations can be complex, but at root, Yesod comes to say that while the previous weeks’ attributes are about an individual’s feelings toward others, now we are truly bound together in relationship. Devotion and commitment fuse us together in a way that allows these prior weeks’ attributes to be fully realized. It is our committed relationships, then, that form the foundation from which we manifest our better selves.

This photo is clear, and the message it conveys is obvious. Our relationships often are neither. If the Omer is about “doing the work” to improve our spiritual selves, then this Week Six, focused on relationships with others, is exponentially more challenging than prior weeks that require introspection-only. And yet. As we go deeper, we realize we can live (diminished) without the Omer’s teachings. But without Foundation? No. From the first to the last Mitzvah, we are commanded to be in relationship. Joyfully envy the Scissortails and the clear beauty of their foundation.