It all started in Uman, when I was visiting the grave of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov. I approached the grave without expectation of what might arise within me, and there it was in plain sight: shame. Shame gets in the way of our ability to be the authentic, connected, and present people we are designed to be.

I decided to devote myself to studying and understanding shame, focusing on the writings of Rebbe Nachman and Brené Brown. Through my research, I saw how much the two had in common. It became a conversation between the two across time and space.

This Omer ritual is a synthesis of my research in 49 hitbodedut prompts, designed to help a person develop (as Brene Brown calls it) shame resilience in the 49 days of the Omer.

Happy counting!