Elul 23

What does it mean to be written into the Book of Life?

 Throughout the High Holidays, we ask God to inscribe us into the Book of Life. I have this image of God on an iPad, typing millions of names into a file: “Book. Of. Life.”

We pray for inscription because we want to live another year, to experience again the sweetness of apples and honey as we celebrate another year of life.

There’s a great quote that says: Trust in God, but tie your camel.

Is it possible that it is incumbent upon us to inscribe ourselves into the Book of Life?

We are all too aware of tragedies that befall us; rain falls on wicked and righteous alike. But nonetheless, there is a spiritual Book of Life … and you are the author of that book; not God.

The question during this period of Elul is not whether or not you will be inscribed into the Book of Life. The question is rather, what will you do in the next month to merit inscription into the Book of Life? God is waiting for you to answer.

Elul 22

The highest form of wisdom is loving-kindness (Berachot 17a).

 A critical Jewish value is chesed, loving-kindness. The rabbis have noted that to raise a child is an act of love. But to bring a foster child into your home is loving-kindness. To visit a member of your family in the hospital is an act of kindness. But to visit someone who isn’t even remotely related to you is an act of loving-kindness. Through chesed, we extend ourselves beyond the realms of normative obligation by doing what is not required of us. We obligate ourselves to that which is greater than us.

Take a moment to think about an act of chesed you did this past year, and one that you could do in 5773. 

Elul 21

At midnight I arise to praise you…

Psalm 119:62

On Saturday evening, September 8, we will gather in our congregations across the world forS’lichot.  S’lichot are penitential prayers that we recite before Rosh Hashanah.  Some people recite them every day during the month of Elul, while others begin the Saturday evening before Rosh Hashanah.

S’lichot is the kick off of the High Holy Day season.  It is a beautiful service with moving music.  It is the first service of the season where we hear Ki Anu Amecha, Ashamnu, Al Chet, and other High Holy Day blessings and melodies.  At Temple Sinai we have added an incredibly special and moving piece to the service.  After Havdalah and before S’lichot blessing begin, we allow the congregation to read through some meditations and prayers while we change the mantles the five Torah scrolls in our ark.  We remove the multi-colored mantles that protect our Torahs throughout the year, and replace them with white mantles designed for the High Holy Days. Five families are honored every year as mantle-changers, and as the Torah scrolls are being changed, the clergy change out of the black, blue, or brown suits that we wear throughout the year and don our High Holy Day white robes.  It is a visual representation of Isaiah’s injunction to allow our crimson sins to become snow white.  We physically whiten ourselves and our Torahs so that we can prepare to spiritually purify ourselves in the coming weeks.

Elul 20

A troubled woman went to see her rabbi. It was just before the High Holidays, and she was visibly distraught.

Upon sitting in the rabbi’s office, she started crying almost immediately. “Rabbi … I have done so many things wrong in my life. I’ve upset people, and have pulled away from many dear friends. I know I can do better, which makes me even more upset. I’m so very far apart from God.”

The rabbi calmly listened to her. When she was done speaking, he held out a rope.

“This length of rope represents the distance between ourselves and God. When you or I make a mistake, the connection gets severed.” The rabbi cut the rope, letting half of it fall to the ground. “But, if you perform teshuvah, if you are able to move forward in your life, learning and growing, the connection is fixed.” As he was saying this, he was tying the two pieces of the rope back together.

He held out both ropes again.  Because of the knot, the length was shorter. He said, "The life with the quickest connection to God is the life that is filled with moments of teshuvah. Our connection with God does not depend on the number of our mistakes. No … it depends on the amount of teshuvah.”

Elul 19

“A person’s pride will bring him/her low, but the one who is humble will be raised up.” (Proverbs 29:23)

In our lives, one motion demands another, as my daughter reminds me almost daily: “the wheels on the bus go up and down, up and down, up and down…” This is one of the central messages of the book of Proverbs – understanding that our self-worth is not dependent on our conceit. Rather, it is the balance of humility that comes from within, a sacred response that has the potential to draw us closer to one another, and to God.

Recall a time when you were boastful. Reflecting back, are you able to find that healthy action now that could have moved you toward humility?

Elul 18

This summer was our oldest son Gabriel’s first year at summer camp.  We sent him to URJ Camp Coleman, and of course, he had an amazing time.  He has a great deal of ruach and at camp he got an opportunity to shine.

We wrote him letters and sent emails, but at home, we were met largely with silence.  About four days into the second week, Natalie got her first “letter.”  It was a corner torn off from a piece of paper that said, “Dear Mommy, I love​Gabriel.”  (Sic)

I saw how distressed Natalie felt from getting no letters.  In her head she knew that less letters home means more fun at camp.  In her heart she missed her boy.  When he came home at the end of four weeks, all three of us cried in the airport as we hugged the air out of each other.  His first comment, “Can I go back next session?”

We know that Gabriel had a wonderful time at camp even without as much communication as we had hoped.  Letting him shine in his own element is an important part of letting him grow.During Elul we do the same with ourselves.  We consider our strengths and determine what things make us shine.  We work on our weaknesses and try to build them into positive aspects. Understanding ourselves is an important part of growing, and Elul provides us an opportunity to grow and shine.

Elul 17

Today is merely a bridge to tomorrow. (Franz Rosenzweig)

In the Book of Psalms, we learn: “Taste and see that the ways of the Lord are good.” (Psalm 34:9). There are many rabbis and sages throughout the centuries that challenge this verse by calling the probability of everything we experience to be good highly unlikely. But perhaps, the psalmist had another message in mind: the capacity to find something of value along life’s journey; committing ourselves to a reality that events and encounters in the coming year will make us stronger, wiser, more caring and compassionate human beings.

Think of a challenging, almost seemingly negative situation you were challenged with this past year. What critical value(s) can you find in the experience(s)?