Clergy Corner: “The Tool of Elul”
I am never sure whether to say, “Hurry up, it’s August,” or “Slow down, it’s August.” Sometimes I feel a sense of urgency to prepare for the hectic pace ahead; in other moments, I am able to savor a “school’s out” attitude. I want to intentionally acknowledge that the new year is imminent and be prepared. In our Jewish tradition, this time is the month of Elul. Elul begins on August 14 and can provide us with structures for introspection, spiritual renewal, and teshuva (repentance). Elul is a time of Divine closeness.
Tradition teaches that the four letters of the month’s name are an acronym from the verse in the Song of Songs 6:3: Ani L’dodi v’dodi li,אֲנִ֤י לְדוֹדִי֙ וְדוֹדִ֣י לִ֔י, “I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine.” (The Hebrew letters that spell Elul are bold.) The Song of Songs is a text of love poetry that is an allegory of the love between God and the People of Israel. In the poetry, there is a consistent seeking for the fulfillment of love, a search through the city to find the beloved one. Therein lies its connection with the meanings of Elul: the search to grow closer to God and, as a result, closer to our truest self. When I think about being my truest self or my best self, I want to feel aligned in my beliefs and actions. I want to enjoy positive relationships, I want kindness to be my default response, and I want to approach challenges with confidence. I know I can’t accomplish these things without first taking stock of the recent past, its successes and challenges, joys and struggles. I use those tools of Elul, along with including the custom of reading Psalm 27. Here, the psalmist faces danger with confidence and describes God as light. Later in the same psalm, the psalmist now struggles and beseeches God not to leave him. In the end, he faces the fact that he has little control over external forces, and rather, it is faith in God that will help him prevail in life’s struggles. He doesn’t imagine a life without struggles; he imagines a life on a level path guided by God.
Elul is not a time when we force change upon ourselves; rather, it is a time to reclaim or rebuild the level path on which God is with us through teshuvah and introspection. You are welcome to explore these themes further in our Shabbat morning minyans, Saturday mornings at 10:30 am in the Chapel. August. Welcome back.
Rabbi Jaime Aklepi