Shoftim, Deuteronomy
16:18 - 21:9
When my alarm clock went off this past Wednesday, my first thought was “WooHoo, it is another exciting day at Camp Kefli!” My second thought was “Oh my, they’re really coming...On Wednesday, we entered into the Hebrew month of Elul. This month preceding the High Holy Days is designated as a time for both physical and mental preparation for these holidays. The time span of forty days from the 1st of Elul to Yom Kippur is one of the most profound spiritual periods in our Jewish calendar. During this time we are encouraged to reflect on our lives during the previous year, seek ways to change our behaviors and begin to embrace the future. Rabbi Andrea Weiss teaches that the month of Elul serves as a special transitional moment, reflecting the traditional image of bein hashamashot, literally “between the suns.” She suggests that Elul is “a bridge between summer and fall, between long sunny days and crisp afternoons full of color and wind...etween who we are and what we want to be; between regret and repentance, guilt and renewal; between the frustration of accepted patterns and the promise to change.” (Preparing Your Heart for the High Holy Days, Olitzky and Sabath)
This year I encourage each of you to begin your process of self-reflection and spiritual renewal not on Erev Rosh Hashanah, but rather at the beginning of Elul. Our tradition compares the forty days between the 1st of Elul and Yom Kippur (10th of Tishre) to the forty days after the incident with the golden calf. After witnessing the golden calf, Moses broke the first set of tablets with the Ten Commandments and then went back up Mt. Sinai to seek God’s forgiveness for the Israelites’ wrong doing. God forgave the Israelites and provided a second set of tablets. How will you use these forty days to reflect on the past year, seek forgiveness and mend your ways? Here are a few questions and suggestions to help you begin this process:
How will you reflect on the past year?
Will you write in your journal? Will you make time for yourself to be alone, away from your family and job responsibilities in order to have quality time to reflect? Will you attend services regularly to prepare yourself for the high holy days?
I will reflect on the past year by ...
How will you seek forgiveness?
Will you be honest with yourself and approach the people who really need your apology? Will you forgive yourself for the mistakes you’ve made, but you will not let go? Will you accept the apologies of those who come to seek your forgiveness?
I will seek forgiveness by…
I will forgive myself for…
I will accept the apology of...because…
How will you mend your ways?
What changes would you like to make in the coming year? What are some accepted patterns that you would like to change? What do you regret not doing, but would like to do in the coming year?
I will mend my ways by…
Each day during the month of Elul it is traditional to sound the shofar. Its sound serves as an alarm clock reminding us that this is the time for change. On Rosh Hodesh Elul, the first Shofar blast of the season was sounded. May its resonance wake us up and lead us on the reflective journey towards the High Holy Days.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Alissa Forrest
Back