Rabbi Min Kantrowitz - the "Ready, Get Set" stage before High Holidays

The fact that it’s almost Elul snuck up on me this year.  It’s probably because it’s still in the 90’s and the weather service is putting out heat advisories.  In my memory, Elul signals the High Holiday season, that time of year associated with new clothing (usually wool!), crisp mornings and the promise of warm, filling soup.  Those are just the exterior signals…the deeper, more spiritual ones are connected to the internal turnings, not the astronomical ones.

Elul is a kind of flexion point, that point in the annual spiritual journey that starts to tip the seesaw toward the future.  Our lives are at a balance point.  We came through the challenging reminders of past trauma of Tisha b’Av at the same time we are struggling to understand the current traumas of war, hostages, climate change and world governments in chaos.  And yet we turn toward the future.  Our job at this time of year is to thoughtfully reflect.

The Kabbalistic concept that everything exists on four simultaneous levels of reality gives us some tools to guide this reflection.  We examine our lives in the physical world—how are we taking care of our bodies, our families, our homes, our pets, our finances? Are we involved with trying to address the significant problems of a changing world? What are we doing to examine and recognize our relationship with our planet?  We consider our emotional realities: are our feelings in balance and centered? Are we recognizing and appreciating love and caring in our lives? Our cognitive realities, too, require examination.  Have we paid attention to our learning, to intentionally growing our wisdom, to honoring those from whom we learn? On the spiritual level, we review our connection with the Divine Source, treasuring those moments of powerful prayer, meditation or appreciation of our amazing lives, contemplating the wonder of being alive.

The work of Elul is the ‘ready, get set’ stage before the High Holiday events which propel us to go fearlessly and energetically into the New Year. 

May Elul be a time of abundant insight for all.

Nina Eydelman - The New Moon of Elul

To me the new moon of Elul is a signal to stop what I’m doing and reflect. It is a call to remember who I am and what I’ve done over the past year and, no matter how far I may have strayed from it, to start (or continue) the journey of return to my best self. Knowing that our imperfections are what make it possible for us to learn and grow allows me to cultivate compassion for myself and others. We are all doing the best we can to navigate the complexities of life.