This is a part of Rabbi Jenna Stein Turow’s Omer Mixtape 2022 Project.
Day 22: ChesedThere is no perfect translation, but is generally defined as “loving-kindness.” When we act with Hesed, we are doing Gemilut Hasadim. Also spelled: chesed within Netzach: (patient, kind ambition)
Treat People With Kindness by Harry Styles
Today begins the new week of ambition, endurance, goal-oriented netzach. Today is about the balance between ambition and loving-kindness. It’s about treating your goals and the people around you with patience and kindness. This song fits perfectly because the title is the thesis of the song: treat people with kindness. It’s about knowing you can achieve anything and go where you want in life as long as you lead with compassion toward others. If we treat each other kindly, it will lead to success. This song is also a motto of Harry Styles, and it turned into said song and motto because of a pin he wore that fans took as a message. He uses his platform to spread kindness, and he continues to achieve success.
Day 23: Gevurah within Netzach: (disciplined endurance)
Westside Lobby by Tones and I
This day is about being disciplined with our endurance, meaning that we are intentional with it. We have to remember the purpose of endurance, that slow and steady wins over too much too fast. It requires nurturing to stay strong, and we have to create small goals that lead to our bigger goals. This song, Westside Lobby, is about how Tones and I achieved success even in the face of many people giving her criticism and judgment. She worked her way from street performing to having a song go number one in over thirty countries, which she references in this song. (That song is Dance Monkey, which if you look up you’ll realize you’ve heard it before). Her success has come from enduring through critique and slowly achieving her goals.
Day 24: Tiferet within Netzach: (balanced, compassionate ambition)
How It Ends by Finneas
Today is about avoiding extremes and tunnel vision with our goals. We want to avoid losing sight of one aspect of our lives because of too much focus on another. Sometimes this means making sure we aren’t neglecting any aspect of our lives, and sometimes it means we have to keep negative elements beyond our control from blocking our path. We have to be compassionate with ourselves, as well as with others. This song is about not letting an obstacle become an ending point, and remembering that there is always a way to pick ourselves back up and keep going. When one thing ends, another can begin, as long as we come back to the idea that our goals should be oriented toward connection over anything tangible.
Day 25: Netzach within Netzach: (halfway point; double endurance)
Confident by Demi Lovato
This day is completely about endurance and continuously having the strength and ambition to keep going. It’s about harnessing willpower and utilizing determination to keep going and achieve your goals. This song, as is clear from the title, is all about confidence, which is a key part of endurance. Demi Lovato is singing about the kind of confidence that comes from assuredly working on yourself, focusing on what you do best, and continuing to endure through life’s trials and tribulations. They remain confident, and even become more confident, as they endure through life’s obstacles and self-doubt.
Day 26: Hod within Netzach: (humble endurance)
everything i wanted by Billie Eilish
Today is about recognizing that we cannot endure without the support of others. We have to remain humble and know that without our relationships and support systems we would not be able to achieve anything. Success, happiness, most of what is meaningful life carries that meaning because we can share it with others, and/or because others helped us get there. This song is a beautiful and haunting (like most of her songs) ode to Billie Eilish’s support system, specifically her brother Finneas (who is also featured this week back on day 24). She sings about getting everything she thought she wanted, but realizing it wasn’t meaningful or long lasting without her brother. She is wary of fame because it can make you lose your humanity, so her goals have to shift and she needs a different reason to keep going. This can be seen in the way she acts as well; Billie Eilish is known for being incredibly kind and appreciative of her fans.
Day 27: Yesod within Netzach: (ambitious bonding)
MONOPOLY by Ariana Grande and Victoria Monét
This day is about bonding with ambition and forming bonds because of mutual ambition. It’s about being a consistent and reliable friend, and using that friendship to lift each other up and bond toward achievement. This song is fittingly a duet between two powerful women in pop and R&B, who sing about not having achieved their success without each other. The song is about having a monopoly over your goals because you work hard and surround yourself with others who work hard too. Ariana Grande empowers her friends and remains true to her squad over anyone else, and they in turn are supportive of her and achieve success through her support.
Day 28: Malkhut/Shekhina within Netzach: (dignified, noble ambition)
keep lookin’ up by Kacey Musgraves
Today is the culmination of the week of ambition and endurance. It is about working toward goals that are inspiring to others, setting a good example, and being inclusive of the ambitions of your relationships. That means you seek clarity for your personal path, and that inspires and helps others to seek their own clarity. This song is about seeking that clarity. Kacey Musgraves sings about always looking up toward the metaphorical sky, seeing the big picture and the potential future. In order to keep going, we need that vision of what we’re working toward, and we need to have a dignified way of moving through life’s obstacles. Kacey Musgraves musters all of her grace and dignity to stay ambitious and keep moving forward.
