Elul 12-13 5781

 Elul 12-13, 5781/August 20-21, 2021

Every Friday we offer a double portion of Elul Thoughts so that those who choose not to be on the internet over Shabbat can read Saturday’s offering in advance. Shabbat Shalom!

Rabbi David N. Young

Dr. Betsy Stone, retired psychologist and adjunct lecturer at Hebrew Union College, reminds us that dealing with the past year has had the same effect on our minds and bodies as any other trauma. According to Dr. Stone at a lecture I attended in June, adults have gained an average of 13 lbs in the past year; Americans have bought more junk food, alcohol, and firearms during the last year than any other prior year on record; addiction is on the rise--to alcohol, drugs, food, and technology.

Every year on the High Holy Days we have the opportunity to take stock and work on fixing our bad habits from the past. This year it seems very likely we have picked up some extra bad habits along the way. The process of Tshuvah is more difficult some years than others, and this year more difficult than most. So as we move from a traumatic year to a year that is still unknown, it is important to forgive the most important people we should have on our list--ourselves.

Try looking in the mirror, right into your own eyes, and say, “I forgive you.” Say it out loud or silently, but mean it. Once we forgive ourselves, transitioning to forgiving others can be much easier.

Rabbi Erin Boxt

Transitions, 5781

It may have seemed like we were traversing in the desert, or BaMidbar. As we have moved from one day to the next, from one month to the next, we have been faced with decisions regarding our health, our safety and what the new normal would look like or feel like.  As more and more people have become vaccinated, many of us have felt confused, unsure, or just terrified of what it would mean to gather again outside.  And, yet some are overjoyed to take their lives back into their own hands and move forward, never looking back.  As our ancestors traveled from Egypt to Eretz Yisrael, they had their own transitions to work through.  There were many decisions that had to be made to ensure the Children of Israel would have a future and that future generations would prosper.  Each and every day of Elul, the month leading up to our yearly Transition, the High Holy Days, we must look back upon the previous year, reflect on who we were and where we came from.  We move forward each day by learning from any mistakes we made along the way.  Each step takes us further into BaMidbar and also one step closer to Eretz Yisrael.  The changes we make today will lead us to a better and newer tomorrow; do not forget the past…live in the present and make room for the future.