Elul 9

A new rabbi was recently hired at the temple, and for several weeks before the High Holidays, he prepared himself for the Rosh Hashanah evening service. He practiced his cues, read, re-read, and re-re-read the Torah portion. He even went over the responsive English readings.  Being a new rabbi, he wanted everything to be perfect, and did not want to make any mistakes. He knew that everyone would be watching him.

He goes into the senior rabbi’s office a few days before Rosh Hashanah, excited to announce that he is completely prepared for the High Holidays. The rabbi shows his mentor the prayerbook, proud of himself for marking it up with cues and notes. He’s hoping to be congratulated for all of his hard work.

Instead, the senior rabbi looks at him and says, “Aaaah kinderlach, you’ve done a lot of work, but you put your efforts in the wrong place! You see, the prayers are the same as they were last year. And the year before that. And even the year before that. But you, you are different. How have you changed?! You don’t need to put the prayerbook in order. You need to put yourself in order!”

Elul 8

No definition for God is adequate or ever could be, but here is a memorable word on the subject from Martin Buber: “When two people relate to each other authentically and humanely, God is the electricity that surges between them.”

We often consider our moments of solitude when we experienced God: in the wilderness, bearing witness to some act of beauty, etc.  Consider how you were able to experience the surge of God in relationship with one other person.

Elul 7

“On the seventh day God completed the work which God had been doing…then God blessed the seventh day and called it holy, because on it God ceased from all the work of Creation.” (Genesis 1:32-33)

When reflecting on the work of creation, God chose to do this work one day at a time. At the end of it all, God rested, establishing a Sabbath as a critical and sacred pattern for healthy living – a guidepost for spiritual wellness. Torah teaches that taking a break can be holy. Shabbat is our climax of creation – let it renew your soul.  

Where are those “Shabbat moments” in your life in which you take time for yourself? Remember to carry them into your every day.

Elul 6

In every service, we sing the Mi Chamocha prayer, which is the quintessential prayer of celebration. We hearken back to the Israelites’ singing with glee as they crossed the splitting waters of the Red Sea.

There’s a midrash, however, that suggests that not everyone was celebrating during that moment of freedom from Egypt. Two guys were in the back of the marching throng, doing what Jews sometimes do best: whining.

They were complaining about the heat. They were complaining about the lack of food. They’re feet hurt. And so on. Their heads were lowered, as they were fixated only on their own negative observations.

After a few minutes of this, a neighboring Israelite couldn’t take it anymore. He yelled at them, saying. “Guys, stop complaining. Lift your heads. Look up! Look at this miracle!”

Both men stood in shock for a moment, and then looked up at the miracle of the splitting sea. It was in that moment that they too started singing Mi Chamocha.

Often, we are those Israelites - marching through life without realizing the miracles that surround us. Look up, and you might surprise yourself with a miracle.

Elul 5

Why do we hide? To be found, perhaps. There is a Hasidic tale of a Rabbi who found his child crying. When he asked what was wrong the boy said, "I was hiding and no one came to look for me." The Rabbi comforted him and mused, "You know, God makes the same complaint." Don't only hide. Seek.

Devote one hour of sacred living today to the pursuit of God, even if it means pausing from other pursuits.

Elul 4

Ben Azzai used to say: Do not despise any person and do not consider anything impossible; for there is no one who does not have his hour and there is nothing that does not have its place. [Pirkei Avot 4:2]

Living in the moment is one of the most challenging things in life to actualize. And sometimes, we get in our own way. In this passage, Ben Azzai focuses on the potential of humanity – not knowing what life will bring, we all have the potential, the capacity to live in the moment. One of my favorite pieces of writing comes from an anonymous author:

Enjoy life. This is not a dress rehearsal.

One day at a time--this is enough. Do not look back and grieve over the past for it is gone; and do not be troubled about the future, for it has not yet come. Live in the present, and make it so beautiful it will be worth remembering.

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

Live life so completely that when death comes to you like a thief in the night, there will be nothing left for him to steal.

What are those moments in your life that take your breath away?

Elul 3

The shofar is a powerful symbol.

The shofar may be likened to a spiritual alarm clock. It wakes us up from the slumber of our lives. We remember that our time is brief; tomorrow is a maybe, but the possibilities of today are right here.  There’s a midrash that teaches us that God created the very ram that Abraham would later sacrifice (the shofar is a ram’s horn) before God even created the world!

The shofar is an important instrument (pun intended) indeed.

On the High Holidays, we listen to 100 blasts of the shofar. There are four different ‘kinds’ of blasts. I want to briefly discuss two:

The Sh’varim blast comes right before we listen to the final, loud (deep breath!) blast of T’kiyah G’dolah. The first is a series of short, staccato notes. The word sh’varim means ‘broken;’ we listen to several broken sounds. The final blast, as we know, is one long sound.

These sounds are a metaphor for the High Holiday experience. We are meant to take our broken lives (akin to the separate sounds of the Sh’varim) and transform them into the wholeness of theT’kiyah G’dolah." This month of Elul provides that opportunity.