This week is the sixth and penultimate week of the counting the Omer. It is Yesod, which is about foundation, connection, sexuality and integrity in relationship. We also end the third book of the Torah this week, Vayikra (Leviticus), with so many laws and rituals of purity, the body and blood. A woman priest and a male rabbi reflect on some of these themes in this painfully disturbing, confusing and empowering times of #metoo and more.

This week's parsha (Emor) includes the instruction to count 50 days, the period known as Sefirat HaOmer. In the Torah, this is an agricultural ritual linking the barley harvest to the wheat harvest marking each day with a special wave offering of barley; for the rabbis it marks the journey from freedom of slavery in Egypt to accepting the covenant of the Torah at Sinai (Pesach to Shavuot); and for Kabbalists it is a period of deep spiritual refinement with each day representing a quality of profound significance. Recorded on the 31st day of counting the Omer, Tiferet of Hod, this episode reflects on the power of the fifth week of the Omer - Hod, which is admission, gratitude, splendor and transparency - getting ourselves out of the way!

This episode comes live from Jerusalem in a period that some call "the Israeli High Holidays," moving from Yom HaShoah, commemorating the Holocaust, to Yom HaZikkaron, memorial day for the fallen soldiers and victims of terror and Yom Ha'atzmaut, Israel's Independence Day. This year marks Israel's 70th birthday. Rabbi Marc's teacher and friend Reb Mimi (Rabbi Doctor Reb Mimi Feigelson) has recently moved back home to Jerusalem after 16 years living in the US. She teaches and mentors rabbinic students. Together Reb Mimi and Rabbi Marc reflect on the implications of Israel at 70 and Jerusalem in particular.

As our Jewish calendar takes us on the journey from slavery to freedom to receiving the Torah on Sinai, join a conversation at BaMidbar Wilderness Therapy with its director Jory Hanselman. BaMidbar, the nation's first Jewish wilderness therapy program, integrates Jewish learning and values into an intensive backcountry, therapeutic experience. During Passover, students embark on a physical and metaphorical journey as they explore the things that bind them, and finding a healthy pathway forward. Jory Hanselman and Rabbi Marc Soloway discuss the uniquely Jewish approach BaMidbar takes to mental health and recovery.

The process of preparation and the practice of Pesach can be intense, and is really intended to be a journey of liberation. Michael Kagan from Jerusalem is an old friend and the author of The Holisitc Haggadah (KTAV Publishing), which is a fascinating guide to the inner journey that the Pesach Seder offers us. Join Rabbi Marc and Michael as they delve into some of the mysteries of this powerful holiday.

The transition from the Book of Exodus to Leviticus can feel abrupt in its move from dramatic narrative to bloody sacrifices. It is too easy to dismiss the details of these priestly rituals as alien relics of an ancient world. Dena Weiss, head of the Beit Midrash (House of Study) at Hadar in New York, in conversation with Rabbi Marc, shares insights on contemporary resonances of the themes of the sacrificial cult.

The Book of Exodus closes with the vision of the Mishkan (Tabernacle) becoming manifest, being built and completed under the leadership of architect and builder-in-chief Betzalel. Moses has been the visionary and now needs the practical skills of the craftsmen. This relationship reminds us the importance of different skills and complimentary personalities in teams.

The Shabbat before Purim is called Shabbat Zachor, where we are reminded of the obligation to remember what our arch enemy, Amalek, did to us on our way out of Egypt. This is a reflection on the power and complexity of memory, including remembering Bev Goodman who died this week without memory and how we remember the victims of the shooting massacre in Florida.

"Let them take offerings for Me; every person whose heart is generous..." With this instruction from Parshat Trumah (Exodus 25-27), the detailed spiritual work of constructing a Mishkan (Tabernacle) and Mikdash (Sanctuary) begins and occupies many, many verses of the Torah. What does it mean to have a generous heart and how do we build sacred space?

After the ecstatic and transformative moment of revelation at Sinai, Parshat Mishpatim (Exodus 21-24) calls on us to pay close attention to the details of our lives and the impact we have on others and the world around us.