Elul 9/August 24

Holding on to Hope

“K’veh el Adonai.  Hope in Adonai-be strong and of good courage, hope in Adonai.”  This is the conclusion of Psalm 27, the psalm that is traditionally read each day of the month of Elul.  If I could name this season, I would call it “Y’mei Tikvah. The Days of Hope.”  If I lacked hope, what would be the point.  I recently learned that the Hebrew word for hope, tikvah, comes from the Hebrew word for kav, which means thread.  To have hope is to live in a world in which our thread is tied to something and not blowing loosely in the wind.  Hope is different than being an optimist.  To be an optimist is to always see the good or positive side of a situation.  Hope is different, it is based in an outcome that, has a pathway leading to it.  Even if that path may lead us up a steep climb or have obstacles along the way, it is a path with a destination.  The psalm reminds us that hope is rooted in strength and courage.  When our lives are in turmoil and we face obstacles hope is a difficult thing to hold onto.  Hope, however, can be found when we realize that others may have crossed the road we are traveling in the past. Knowing that others found a pathway across gives us hope.  To hold onto hope is a choice we make.  We can look at our situation and see the obstacles in our way as insurmountable.  We could also choose to say that there is another way or we might even have to choose to recalibrate and attach our string to a different outcome.  We remember that we are a people of hope.  Without hope what do we have left?  The choice is ours to make.  In this season we choose hope.