September 25, 2011
Daily Reflections for Elul
The month of Elul is referred to as “the month of repentance,” “the month of mercy," and “the month of forgiveness.” Elul follows the months of Tamuz and Av, months noted for two immense historical sins of Israel, the sin of the Golden Calf and the sin of the faithless spies.
The four letters of the name
Elul are an acronym for the initial letters of the phrase in the Song of Songs (6:3): “I am to my beloved and my beloved is mine.” “I am to my beloved”, to God, in repentance and desire for
t’shuvah - repentance. “And my beloved is mine”, with God as merciful and forgiving to each of us. This is the month that says “the King is in the field.” All can approach God and experience God’s presence.
Elul is the month of preparation for the High Holy Days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur that occur in the month of
Tishrei. It is the month in which Moses ascended to Mount Sinai a third time, for a period of forty days from
Rosh Chodesh Elul (the beginning of Elul) through Yom Kippur, when he descended with the second tablets of the covenant. In this period, God reveals great mercy to the Jewish people.
Our work in the month of Elul is to be worthy of approaching God and of approaching each other in a true spirit of repentance and spiritual growth. We hope that these daily thoughts and reflections below will inspire you and stir you toward meaningful personal contemplation and action.
Elul 29 - What Are the Criteria by Which God Will Judge Your Life?
Raba said, When one is led in for Judgment he is asked,
1. Did you deal faithfully [i.e., with integrity]?
2. Did you fix times for learning?
3. Did you engage in procreation?
4. Did you hope for salvation?
5. Did you engage in the dialectics of wisdom?
6. Did you understand one thing from another? [Talmud, Shabbat 30b-31a]
Elul 28— We Choose Our Own Way
Do not imagine that character is determined at birth. We have been given free will. Any person can become as righteous as Moses or as wicked at Jereboam. We ourselves decide whether to make ourselves learned or ignorant, compassionate or cruel, generous or miserly. No one forces us; no one drags us along one path or the other. We ourselves, by our own volition, choose our own way. [Maimonides]
Elul 28— We Choose Our Own Way
Do not imagine that character is determined at birth. We have been given free will. Any person can become as righteous as Moses or as wicked at Jereboam. We ourselves decide whether to make ourselves learned or ignorant, compassionate or cruel, generous or miserly. No one forces us; no one drags us along one path or the other. We ourselves, by our own volition, choose our own way. [Maimonides]
Elul 27— Be The Change That You Hope For
Where have you spoken of changes you want to make in yourself, but have not done so?
[Mishnah]
Elul 26—Actions Speak Louder Than Words
“Friends, what does it say about the people of Nineveh? Not, ‘God saw their sackcloth and their fasting,’ but, ‘God saw their deeds—that they had turned back from their evil way.’ [Jonah 3:10] And in his admonition, the prophet says: ‘Rend your hearts, and not your garments.’” [Joel 2:13]
Elul 25—On Wisdom
Ben Zoma said: Who is wise? The one who learns from everyone. [The one who sees what is to be.]...Who is strong? The one who subdues his evil impulse...Who is rich? The one who is content with his lot...Who is honored? The one who honors others. [Pirkei Avot 4:1]
Elul 24 – Live In Each Moment
Ben Azzai used to say: Do not despise any person and do not consider anything impossible; for there is no one who does not have his hour and there is nothing that does not have its place. [Pirkei Avot 4:2]
Elul 23 – Free Will
God does not predetermine whether a person shall be righteous or wicked; that God leaves to us.” [Midrash Tanchuma, Pekudei 3]
Elul 22 – Strength In The Face of Challenge
Just as a small fire is extinguished by the storm whereas a large fire is enhanced by it, likewise a weak faith is weakened by predicament and catastrophes whereas a strong faith is strengthened by them. [Viktor Frankel]
Elul 21 – One Step At a Time
How wonderful it is that no one need wait a single moment to start to improve the world. [Anne Frank]
Elul 20 – What Is The Story Of Your Life?
Days are scrolls: write on them what you want to be remembered. [Bachya ibn Pakuda,
11th C.]
Elul 19 – A Greater Future
Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the future. [Paul]
Elul 18 – Don’t Judge Harshly
We should be lenient in our judgment, because often the mistakes of others would have been ours had we had the opportunity to make them. [Anonymous]
Elul 17 – Imperfection
Once we realize that imperfect understanding is the human condition, there is no shame in being wrong, only in failing to correct our mistakes. [George Soros]
Elul 16 - When To Speak
“Teach me, dear God, when to keep silent and when to speak; and when I speak, O God, save me from using Your wonderful gift of speech to humiliate or hurt others.” [Reb Nachman of Bratzlav]
Elul 15 - Receptivity to Repentance
Rabbi Moses of Kobrin commented: “In Psalm 90 we read: ‘You turn the human heart to contrition and say: Repent, you children.’ However, I say, ‘If You, God, turn people to despair, You cannot expect them to repent. Grant them their needs and then their hearts and minds will be receptive to return to You.’” [Chasidic]
Elul 14 – Reciprocal Forgiveness
Forgive your neighbors [their] transgressions, and then when you pray, your sins will be forgiven. [Ben Sira 28:2]
Elul 13 – The World Rests On Your Shoulders
Rabbi Meir used to say, “Great is repentance, for on account of one true penitent, the entire world is pardoned.” [Talmud Yoma 86b]
Elul 12 – Opening Our Eyes
Just as the hand, held before the eye, can hide the tallest mountain, so can the routine of everyday life keep us from seeing the vast radiance and the secret wonders that fill the world. [Chasidic saying, 18th Century]
Elul 11 – Divinity In Humanity
There is divinity in each one of us, a holy spark at our core.
Elul 10 – Regret
Don't regret what you said, regret what you didn't say when you had the chance. [Anonymous]
Elul 9 – The Depth Of Your Power
If a person were able to survey at a glance all he has done in the course of his life, what would he feel? He would be terrified at the extent of his own power. [Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel]
Elul 8 – Kindness
Constant kindness can accomplish much. As the sun makes ice melt, kindness causes misunderstanding, mistrust, and hostility to evaporate. [Albert Schweitzer]
Elul 7 – The Weightiness Of Sin
No sin is so light that it may be overlooked. No sin is so heavy that it may not be repented of. [Moses Ibn Ezra]
Elul 6 – Release All Resentment
“Anger will never disappear so long as thoughts of resentment are cherished in the mind. Anger will disappear just as soon as thoughts of resentment are forgotten.” [Buddha]
Elul 5 - A Full Life
Rabbi Eliezer said: “Repent one day before your death.” His disciples asked: “Does anyone know on what day he will die?” “All the more reason to repent today,” answered the Rabbi, “in case you die tomorrow. Thus a person’s whole life should be spent in repentance.” [Talmud, Shabbat 153a]
Elul 4 – Speak In Peace
Don't talk when people can't hear you; Rabbi Shimon ben Eleazar says: Do not appease someone in the time of their anger. [Talmud]
Elul 3 – Pardon Me
"Be assured that if you knew all, you would pardon all." [Thomas Kempis]
Elul 2 – Personal Responsibility
I am fully responsible for everything I think and do.
Elul 1 – Never Forget
Imagine someone whose business hounds them through many streets and across the market-place the livelong day. That person might almost forget that there is a Maker of the world. Only when the time for the Afternoon Prayer comes, does he remember: ‘I must pray.’ And then, from the bottom of her heart, she heaves a sigh of regret that she has spent her day on vain and idle matters. He runs into a by-street and stands there, and prays: God holds that person dear, very dear and that prayer pierces the firmament.
[Israel Baal Shem Tov—18th C.]
