This Sunday evening, August 24th, we begin the Hebrew month of Elul, the month that gently but firmly ushers us toward the Yamim Nora’im, the Days of Awe. Elul is not just a page on the calendar. It is a spiritual invitation. The very letters that form the word Elul (אלול) are understood to be an acronym for the words from the biblical book Song of Songs: "Ani l’dodi v’dodi li - I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine” (Song of Songs 6:3).
This phrase reminds us that our relationships with God, with one another, and with our innermost selves are rooted in the concept of love. The work of Elul is not merely about repentence, apology, or forgiveness, although these are essential. This sacred work is also about deepening intimacy, nurturing connection, and listening for the still, small voice that speaks in the language of love, the language of relationship.
Each day of Elul calls us to mindfulness. The shofar is sounded each morning as if to say: “Wake up! Pay attention! Do not sleepwalk through your life.” (Traditionally, beginning on the first day of Elul, the shofar is blown every morning during the weekday service.) We recite Psalm 27 focusing on a different verse each day, reminding ourselves to seek God’s presence. (See below for a wonderful book to help guide you in this practice). We speak the words of selichot, prayers of forgiveness. (In the Sephardic custom, selichot are recited throughout the entire month of Elul, while in the Ashkenazic custom, selichot are recited beginning the Shabbat that immediately precedes Rosh Hashanah, with the caveat that there have to be at least four days between that Shabbat and Rosh Hashanah). We pause for silence and reflection, seeking to uncover what lies hidden in our hearts.
Elul, however, asks something more of us. It asks us to become eloquent listeners. Not only with our ears, but with our souls. To listen so deeply that we begin to hear God in the silence between the words, in the spaces between the breaths. To listen so attentively that we can discern the sigh of a lover, the meaning behind the cry of an infant, the quiet plea of a lonely soul, the unspoken grief of a breaking heart, the echoes of joy in the light of the eyes of one who is experiencing a celebratory event.
When we cultivate the ability to listen in this way, we are better able to respond with compassion, with presence, with love. When we respond to those around us with this type of open spirit, it becomes what philosopher Martin Buber describes as the most beautiful, perfect loving relationship, the “I-Thou” relationship. This “I-Thou” relationship then opens us more fully to turn toward others in our lives with compassion, as well as opening ourselves more deeply to finding God, so that our community may be strengthened and renewed as well. This is why the rabbis of old chose the acronym “Ani l’dodi v’dodi li” for Elul. It reminds us that when we turn toward God in love, God then turns toward us. When we open our hearts to one another, we create the possibility for healing and renewal. This is the essence of this month.
There are many ways to use this upcoming month to begin to prepare for the Days of Awe. Here are just a few ideas to help begin this process:
• Join with our congregational community for Erev Shabbat and Shabbat morning worship each week. Shabbat morning you can also join Torah study at 9 am to discuss the Torah portion of the week.
• Join my once/month Adult Education course: From Time to Time – Journeys in the Jewish Calendar , particularly the session on Tishrei (pre-registration required).
• The Ritual and Adult Education Committees are planning a beautiful multi-faceted Selichot program and service Saturday, September 13th at 6:30 PM. The power of community, prayer and music has the ability to nurture and transform one’s spirit and soul.
• Subscribe to Craig Taubman’s “Jewels of Elul” . These are short, inspirational insights on the theme of the upcoming High Holy Days written by different people, both well-known and not-so-well known: Jewels of Elul.
• Do some preparatory background reading. A few suggestions:
1. Enter These Gates: Meditations for the Days of Awe , Alden Solovy, CCAR Press, 2024.
2. Open Your Heart with Psalm 27: A Spiritual Practice for the Jewish New Year , Rabbi Debra J. Robbins, CCAR Press.
3. This is Real and You are Completely Unprepared: The Days of Awe as a Journey of Transformation, Alan Lew, Little, Brown and Co., 2003.
4. Saying No and Letting Go: Jewish Wisdom on Making Room for What Matters Most, Rabbi Edwin Goldberg, Jewish Lights Publishing, 2013.
5. Rosh Hashanah (or/and) Yom Kippur Inspiration, Contemplation, edited by Rabbi Dov Peretz Elkins, Jewish Lights Publishing.
6. Golden: The Power of Silence in a World of Noise, by Justin Zorn and Leigh Marz
7. On Repentance and Repair: Making Amends in an Unapologetic World, by Danya Ruttenberg
8. Explore and contemplate some of the beautiful readings, poetry, commentary, and study texts from our High Holy Day machzor (prayerbook), Mishkan Hanefesh (available for purchase as a two-volume set) HERE
May this Elul guide us to listen with love to one another, to nurture our community with compassion, and to open our hearts so we may find God’s presence in our lives. Then we will truly embody the words: “Ani l’dodi v’dodi li - I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine.”
Shabbat Shalom!
Rabbi Sharon L. Sobel
Interim Rabbi
Temple Beth Or
rabbisobel@tboraleigh.org
