8 Elul

On Yom Kippur morning, many Reform synagogues read the words of Deuteronomy 29-30 in lieu of the traditional Torah reading from Leviticus, which focus on the ancient Yom Kippur sacrifices.  Regarding the Torah, Deuteronomy 30:12 teaches, “Lo bashamayim hi – It is not in Heaven,” meaning that it isn’t too far away from us that we cannot grasp it. In a beautiful Talmudic legend known as the story of the Oven of Akhnai (Bava Metzia 59b)[1], the Rabbis use this quote as justification for their authority to interpret Torah according to their own understanding.  Judaism teaches that every Jewish soul, in one way or another, stood at Mount Sinai and received the Torah.  This beautiful gift is ours to learn, ours to interpret, and ours to pass on.  How will we use this gift in the year to come?

(DNT)

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[1] An excerpted version of the story may be found at http://www.jhom.com/topics/voice/bat_kol_bab.htm

7 Elul

I always find it fitting that our Torah readings for the month of Elul come from Deuteronomy, which is basically Moses reminiscing, looking back on his life, the life of the Hebrew people, and offering insights (albeit, some in the form of threats).  This is what we do the entire month of Elul.  We look back, we measure, we evaluate and we begin to change in order to build a better future.  Many of us like to try and ignore the past, push it out of our heads.  We don’t want to deal with mistakes, confront our failings, reopen wounds.  Then we come to the month of Elul.  Elul reminds us that if we want our future to be different than our past, we have to reflect, no matter how uncomfortable we feel, we need to take a long and hard look at our choices, learn from our mistakes and commit to not making them again. Looking back is not being stuck in the past; it is what ensures that the past remain there, and not follow us into our present.

(RGG)

6 Elul

From Rabbi David Wolpe

Everything is temporary and everything is reborn: the grass withers and the flower fades but in time there are budding blades and fresh flowers. Monday morning: set aside what was, for today the world is made anew.

(BGL)

5 Elul

Ben Folds sings a song called, “Best Imitation of Myself,” in which he defends his personality and style against an apparent critic who wants him to be someone else.  During the bridge he seems to wonder if the critic is right, singing, “Maybe I’m thinking myself in a hole, wondering who I am when I ought to know.”  This is probably something we all wonder from time to time, if we are being true to ourselves.  A relatively well-known Hasidic teaching has a rabbi named Zusya being asked by his students on his deathbed if he worries God will ask him why he was not more like Moses.  He responds, “No, I will worry that God will ask me why I was not more like Zusya” (Martin Buber, Tales of the Hasidim).

The month of Elul gives us the opportunity to explore who we are when we ought to know, so that when the High Holy Days arrive and we come to our Day of Judgment we can easily say, “This year I will be more like me.”

(DNY)

3/4 Elul

In the interest of not posting on Shabbat, here are the Elul Thoughts for Friday and Saturday:

3 Elul/August 9

A quote often attributed to David Mamet: The difference between a good person and everyone else can be summed up like this: a good person, when walking down the street and glimpsing a house on fire, hopes it is his/her own.  How have you been good in 5773?  How do you aspire not to do good but to be good in 5774?

(BGL)

4 Elul/August 10

On the exterior wall of the synagogue where I grew up in Queens, NY, a quote from the prophet Micah was emblazoned in a beautiful mosaic, “It has been told to you, oh human, what is good and what God requires of you.  Only that you do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8)  These words were also carved into the façade of the old UAHC offices on 5^th Avenue in New York City, now a multi-million dollar apartment building.  In the Talmud (Makkot 23b-24a) it is quoted as one of the summaries of all Jewish teaching, encompassing all of Judaism’s obligations for how we act in our world.  Each of the three exhortations is open to our own individual interpretations.  How would you define these three commandments?  Do you practice them in some form?  How might you incorporate them into your daily life?

(DNT)

2 Elul

Do you play a musical instrument? Do you like playing sports or are you a gym nut?

I ask because all of these take preparation. Before running a 5k, you warm-up, walking briskly to get your muscles prepared for the jaunt ahead. Before a concert, you play scales on your instrument, tuning it and going over some riffs before the conductor raises the baton.

This month of Elul is our warmup.

Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur can be likened to the race, or the concert. They are the events we are training for. These 30 days of Elul help us to spiritually warm ourselves up so that we will be ready.

The High Holidays are meant to be the culminating days of an experiencing that starts now.

Let us remember to do our spiritual stretches on each of these days of Elul.

(EGL)

1 Elul 5773/Aug. 7 2013

The month of Elul precedes the High Holidays. Its 28 days are meant as a time for introspection, learning and growth. Judaism teaches that we don’t just walk into the Rosh Hashanah service, all ready to go. Elul is a ‘warm-up’ time, allowing us to spiritually stretch ourselves to prepare for the intensity (and joy) of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.  For the last few years, some colleagues and I have collaborated on a project that we call “Elul Thoughts.”  As I mentioned in the August bulletin, every day during the Hebrew month of Elul you will receive a brief message in your inbox from me with one of these thoughts.  The purpose of these messages is to get us ready for the High Holy Days, just as Elul provides this readiness for the Jewish people all over the world.

This year’s Elul Thoughts represent a compilation of brief teachings from Rabbi Rachel G. Greengrass from Temple Beth Am in Miami, Florida; Rabbi Bradley G. Levenberg from Temple Sinai in Atlanta, Georgia; Rabbi Eric G. Linder from Temple Israel in Athens, Georgia; Rabbi Alan E. Litwak from Temple Sinai in North Miami Beach, Florida; Rabbi Daniel N. Treiser from Temple B’nai Israel in Clearwater, Florida; and Rabbi David N. Young from Congregation B’nai Tzedek in Fountain Valley, California. 

 

Observant Jews:

When the Jewish community talks about Jews being "observant," it usually means that they follow the mitzvot - those sacred obligations that define us as Jews.  One of the rabbis that I studied with this summer made the following play on words: "Most American Jews are observant . . . all they do is observe, not participate." 

The month of Elul is a time to reassess who we are and what we are doing.  This can mean repairing our interpersonal relationships.  We can use the month to evaluate our work situation.  You can skip the December/January rush and not just make some new resolutions, but actually accomplish them.  You can find deep meaning in living a Jewish life.  The key to all of this is participation; not standing by the sidelines watching others do it.

(AEL)