Dear Friends,
You can feel the shift happening.
Kids are returning from summer camp. Back to school shopping has begun. Teachers and educators are turning their minds to their classrooms; rabbis to their High Holy Day sermons. Families are leaving town, taking advantage of their last opportunity to get away, while college students are savoring their last couple of weeks at home before going off to school.
[This is an especially emotional period for those students leaving for college for the first time, not to mention their parents! I would like to invite all students who are about to start college to come to Temple for Shabbat services next Friday, August 16, at 6:30 p.m. for a special “going away to college blessing.” Oneg begins at 6:00. Please email me to let me know if you plan to come.]
On the Jewish calendar we find things shifting at this time as well. We have just entered the month of Elul. Elul is different from all of the other months on the Jewish calendar. It is the month that precedes Rosh Hashanah and the Ten Days of Repentance. As such is considered a time to begin reflecting on where we are in our lives, what we have done during the past year, things we would like to change. Our tradition indicates that we are to do a “cheshbon ha’nefesh,” an “accounting of the soul” during this period. The goals are to begin to put our lives in order and come closer to God. According to tradition on the first day of Elul Moses went up to Mt Sinai to receive the second set of tablets of the 10 commandments, coming close to God and reestablishing a close relationship after the sin of the Golden Calf. The Hebrew letters that make up the name of the month Elul were understood by our rabbis of old as an acronym for the famous verse from the biblical book, Song of Songs: Ani l'dodi v'dodi li (I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine), which highlights the loving relationship between God and the Jewish people.
How do we accomplish these goals? There are many things that we can do. To get started, I suggest going to the web site of the Reform Movement, to the following links:
Of course, coming to Shabbat services and Torah study at Temple Sinai during this period is something simple that you can do with me to help in this spiritually valuable and venerable practice.
If you are looking for books or other spiritual pointers, don’t hesitate to contact me.
Shabbat Shalom and L’Shanah Tovah!
Jordan
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