With the approach of Passover, many Jews are planning to start counting the Omer. I caught up with author Shari Berkowitz of “Color the Omer”, illustrated by Steve Silbert, to talk about writing a book and this special mitzvah.
BookishlyJewish: Coloring the Omer is a great way to bring the mitzvah of counting the Omer into more Jewish homes. When did you first think of the idea? Was there a particular inspiration behind it?
Shari: I was taking a course on Jewish mysticism with my rabbi, David Evan Markus, early in the pandemic, and we were learning about counting the Omer. I guess I did it as a child but not with any kavanah or deeper understanding of how it maps to the kabbalistic sefirot. So I started counting for the first time for real, and I was definitely enjoying picking up this new mitzvah. But with the pandemic, I would wake up confused…did I count last night? Was today Tuesday still? I was stressing my self out! So I found a page with 7 stars of David and started coloring one point or center each day to help me focus. And it really did help! In speaking with others, I could see that they also wanted to color. I started a sketch book with very rough ideas, and then Steve picked up the actual illustration of those ideas, and R’Rachel polished it all up for publication. It was a very fast, very intense ride as we slid into production just in time for last Pesach.
BookishlyJewish: Have you tried using the book to count the omer yourself?
Shari: Yes! I colored almost every page last year, and I experimented with colored pencils, watercolor, watercolor pencils, alcohol markers and a few other media. This year, I already have a fresh copy, and I’ve been thinking about trying something new. Like could I do all black and white patterns? Or improve my blending? Or embroider some pages? I’m looking forward to coloring again and to see what others do with it this year.
BookishlyJewish: What do you hope people will take away from using the book?
Shari: I hope people will see that taking a quiet few minutes to color can be a meditative or prayerful experience, and that counting, and coloring, the Omer can be a wonderful springtime check up on how we are doing within the framework of the sefirot. Are you being too strict with loved ones? Or too generous? How about with your self? How will you seek to balance chesed and gevurah? Additionally, I feel strongly that we should all be encouraged to do something artistic as a process and not worry about the result. For those who struggle to do sit-still meditation, doing a freeform art practice is an amazing way to get into that meditative space. The coloring book provides just enough structure to allow people to tap into that silenced artist within.
BookishlyJewish: What has been the response to the book? Any fan mail or Fan ART?
Shari: One of the things I felt very strongly about was using the hashtag, #ColorTheOmer, across social media platforms, to get people sharing and talking. Now, many more people bought the book than posted, so we know not everyone wanted to share their work publicly, but those who did…WOW! We had haiku, long journal entries, transformative realizations; the book has really been a tool that people have embraced. And that’s not even mentioning the varied and incredible art that people made. I can’t wait to see what happens this year.
BookishlyJewish: What is it like collaborating with an illustrator to produce a project together? How does the process work?
Shari: It was really so amazing to work with Steve. I started with a germ of an idea, actually a long list of rough ideas and sketches, and he would find something in my ramblings that would inspire a drawing, with the understanding that it should also make a good coloring book page. Then I would go back and clean up the wording to reflect the drawing. Sometimes we had a few iterations, and sometimes one page turned into 3, or was rejected in the end. Throughout it all, R’Rachel had her hand in as well, gently editing and steering the ship. Overall, it was incredibly rewarding to work on this project. Sometimes I am still shocked that my pandemic sketchbook was the seed that grew into this book, and that the book is connecting people and helping people to tap into their creativity.
BookishlyJewish: I always end by asking – Do you have a favorite Jewish Book or author?
Shari: OK, don’t laugh. The first thing I thought of was the Rabbi Small series by Harry Kemelman z”l. You know, Friday the Rabbi Slept Late and so on. I read these as a young teen (they were already a bit dated then), and got a lot of my post-Hebrew school education this way. Rabbi Small’s congregation was Conservative, as was mine in real life; but his had changed with the times, and mine had not. He always tackled serious halachic and ethical questions with a modern eye. I’d say he was one of the best teachers I ever had, even though it was a one way street. One example I remember was that Rabbi Small said you did not have to be sure about the existence of God to be a good Jew. That one was important to me as a teen; actions being the most important thing rather than faith. The second book I thought of was The Jewish Catalog. Still on my bookshelf and still the challah recipe I use most often. The idea that you could “do Jewish” your own homegrown way was very powerful to me, then and now.