Dear community,
This weekend, we welcomed the new moon of Elul, an auspicious time in our tradition, where we are charged to begin the work of chesbon hanefesh - accounting of the soul - the spiritual work that will prepare us for, and carry us through the high holiday season.
Tradition teaches that the name of the month Elul is an acronym for Ani L’dodi V’dodi Li - I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine. In the context of Elul, this biblical verse invites us to cultivate a sense of belonging and ownership in our individual relationship with the Divine. We learn that these weeks preceding the New Year offer us a unique opportunity to seek intimacy with God.
In the month of Elul, there is a custom to hear the Shofar blown each day. The blasts of the Shofar are meant to rouse us from our slumber and call us to action in the work of cheshbon hanefesh. . The Shofar blasts are sounded in a distinct pattern - moving from Tekiah, a whole note, to shevarim, three seperate distinct blasts, to Teruah, an entirely shattered blast, before returning to Tekiah and beginning the cycle again. Rabbi Isaiah Horowitz, a prominent 17th century mystic, teaches that this cycle is to remind us of the impermanence of both broken or whole states. The pattern of the shofar blasts is as if to say, “I started whole, I became broken, even splintered into fragments, but I will become whole again! I will become whole again!”
In times like these, when the brokenness of the world can feel insurmountable, I am grateful that we are given a full month to complete the work of waking up. Much like those mornings where I find myself hitting snooze two or three times, Elul offers us gentle on ramp to building the spiritual intimacy it asks of us. Over the next month, leaders and members of the Nahalat Shalom community will be offering teachings to guide us through the internal holy work of accounting what has been broken, and what is in need of repair.
Wishing you a chodesh tov - a good month. This Elul, may the cry of the shofar remind us to begin the work of gathering the pieces in need of mending, and shattering through that what is no longer serving us.
B’shalom,
Josie