Rosh Chodesh Elul- 1st Day of Elul, 5786
Dear Friends,
Wishing you a Chodesh Tov- a wonderful beginning to a very special month- the month before Rosh Hashanah. This month is given special distinction with the sounding of the Shofar following our daily services- we’ll be sounding the Shofar after our Mincha (afternoon) service every day for the next 30 days. It gets us into the mood of Teshuvah/Repentance as we prepare for the Days of Awe.
Can you think of 30 separate reasons to engage in Teshuvah/Repentance this month? 30 separate reasons that the sound of the Shofar might wake us from our complacency? A daily reason for returning to our Jewishness in a bold way?
How about dividing them up into four weeks at a time?
First week: Teshuvah/Repentance for our lapse in Jewish observance
Second week: Teshuvah/Repentance for our lapse in our relationship with God
Third week: Teshuvah/Repentance for our lapse in understanding our relationship with Israel/Zionism
Fourth week: Teshuvah/Repentance for our lapse in judgement of ourselves and those around us
Our lapse in Jewish observance is often due to convincing ourselves that whatever we do Jewishly is sufficient. There’s a saying that “everyone makes Shabbos for themselves” or, “anyone who does more ritually than I do is a fanatic, and anyone who does less is a Goy!” Let’s take this time to get over ourselves. Our New Year resolutions should include more services in our beautiful sanctuary together with our fellow Jews and fulfilling more ritual related Mitzvot to keep us Jewishly alive and vibrant.
Our lapse in holding God close to us happens when we lose sight of God and his blessings. The prayer in the middle of the Amida which is traditionally said three times a day, 365 days a year is called Modim. For most Jews who actually daven three times a day, it’s usually mumbled in Hebrew. And yet it ties us so deeply to God that it is a missed opportunity to acknowledge the Nissim- the Miracles that God does for us every single moment of every single day. That we have miraculously slept through the night and actually are alive the next morning. The miraculous ability to move, to see, to hear, to eat- it’s all a stream of miracles throughout the day that we simply take for granted. Missed opportunities every single day to thank God for all of these blessings.
Our lapse in our connection with Israel. We’re quick to criticize the government of Israel for things it does wrong. We listen as people moralize about how Israel has executed the war against Hamas or Hezbollah or Iran. And we wonder how could supposedly moral people have fallen so badly off the mark to ignore the harm Israel has done to innocent people. But only when we realize that without being there, without living in Israel we are armchair quarterbacks, picking and choosing which podcasts or news outlets we’ll listen to, or which Youtube shorts we’ll watch or which Facebook posts we’ll read and be influenced by WITHOUT REALLY KNOWING the background, the history, the complexity, and the pain and anguish of the fear, the suffering, the immense loss that the Israeli feels every single day. We must resolve to learn more about how “the other half” of the Jewish people lives in the Holy Land.
And finally, a week to seriously consider how we judge ourselves and others in our daily routine. Do we actually follow the Mishna’s directive: DAN ET KOL HA’ADAM L’CHAF ZECHUT- Judge everyone with the benefit of the doubt (Pirkei Avot 1:6) Put the brakes on your anger towards the person who is driving aggressively. You don’t know why they’re in a rush. To get to a child in the emergency room? Of course they may just be a jerk. But what does it hurt to leave the judgement to the police or perhaps to God? Before getting angry with your fellow workers or supervisor, consider what kind of day they might be having- a series of bad things that you thankfully aren’t experiencing. Think of an average day- how much of the sadness you felt was due to your assumptions about why someone said or did something to upset you? Or how often do you feel that you have let yourself down? Instead, DAN L’CHAF ZECHUT- give the benefit of the doubt and start thinking about what’s going right for you.
The month of Elul is an absolute blessing for all of us. An opportunity to take an entire month to reevaluate everything we do and try to set things right before the New Year begins. I take this opportunity to apologize to everyone that I have hurt in anyway, slighted or ignored or forgotten. I know I have done all these things, and I’d like the opportunity to apologize formally. So please contact me to remind me of it, so I can try to effect Teshuvah!
Wishing everyone a Shanah Tovah Um’tukah, may you and your family be blessed with a Year of Goodness and Sweetness!
Rabbi Larry Kaplan
