For the Erev Shabbat service,
Count the 18th day of the Omer to Honor the Earth
Make space for the diversity of life.

Blessed are You, MAKER OF THE THIRD DAY, who separates the dry land from the waters. You made Your Earth with deep oceans and shallow seas, broad plains and high mountains, to let life spring forth in all its diversity, each according to its kind. You gave some life the gift of turning light into food, so that all Your creatures might be nourished. You bring forth grasses with the sheaves of grain that nourish Your people. Blessed are You, PROVIDER, who brings forth all living things from the Earth.

Baruch atah adonai eloheinu melech haolam asher kidshanu bemitzvotav vetzivanu al sefirat ha’omer.
This is the eighteenth day, making two weeks and four days of the Omer.

When we plant our seeds and nourish our bodies, we will remember to make space for the diversity of life.