The Hebrew month of Elul is the last month of the Jewish year. As such, it is considered a month of spiritual preparation for the High Holy Days. Special meditations are added to the daily service for some, known as S’lichot, or penitential prayers. (*The Saturday before Rosh Hashanah is also known as S’lichot, and it is used as a night of contemplation and study.) For several years, a group of Reform clergy and educators has collaborated on a series of Elul Thoughts, shared with our congregations in a daily email.
It is with great honor and wonderful blessing that we once again bring Elul Thoughts to our congregations across the United States and Canada this year. We have been sending Elul Thoughts to our congregations since 2008 when I worked with Rabbi Alan Litwak at Temple Sinai in North Miami Beach, FL. This project was his brainchild then, and it has taken on a renewed life again and again as we connect with colleagues and friends who want to contribute. Every year we invite cantors, rabbis, and educators. Some years we invite congregants or teachers from other areas of expertise. This year a wide swath of invitations were sent, but only rabbis responded. So for the first time in many years we are able to present an all-rabbi Elul Thoughts for you.
This year’s Elul Thoughts include contributions from:
Rabbi Michael Birnholz, Temple Beth Shalom, Vero Beach, FL
Rabbi Erin Boxt, Temple Beth El, Knoxville, TN
Rabbi Alan Cook, Sinai Temple, Champaign, IL
Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker, Congregation Beth Israel, Colleyville, TX
Rabbi Ben David, Adath Emanu-El, Mt. Laurel, NJ
Rabbi Daniel Fink, Congregation Ahavath Beth Israel, Boise, ID
Rabbi Neal Katz, Congregation Beth El, Tyler, TX
Rabbi Brad Levenberg, Temple Sinai, Atlanta, GA
Rabbi Eric Linder, Congregation Children of Israel, Athens, GA
Rabbi Alan E. Litwak, Temple Sinai, North Miami Beach, FL
Rabbi Laurence Malinger, Temple Shalom, Aberdeen, NJ
Rabbi Harry Rosenfeld, Congregation Albert, Albuquerque, NM (ret)
Rabbi Andrew Rosenkranz, Temple Beth Torah, Wellington, FL
Rabbi Benjamin Sharff, The Reform Temple of Rockland, Upper Nyack, NY
Rabbi Simone Schicker, Temple B'nai Israel, Kalamazoo, MI
Rabbi Stephen Wise, Shaarei-Beth El Congregation, Oakville, ON, Canada
Rabbi David N. Young, Congregation B’nai Tzedek, Fountain Valley, CA
You can follow any of us on Facebook or Twitter.
If you have missed any of these daily emails or want to go back and remember something from earlier in Elul, feel free to read them all at https://tinyurl.com/elulthoughts.
Elul 1, 5781/August 9, 2021
Rabbi David N. Young
Welcome to Elul Thoughts 5781!
This year our High Holy Day celebrations will look different from any other. Last year we were all watching and leading from our own homes or from empty synagogues. This year some of us will be home, some of us will be in our sanctuaries. Perhaps it could be phrased, “Who by live shul and who by Zoom?”
Wherever we will be, we can be sure that it will not be the same as it was in 2019, and not quite as isolated as it was in 2020. 2021 will be something different, something perhaps temporary, something that might inspire new practices or may even teach us what we hope to never do again. No matter what our services look like, we acknowledge that we are in transition this year. As such, this Elul (which is often a time of spiritual transition) we have gathered 18 rabbis to offer our thoughts on transitions: an auspicious number that will hopefully imbue our year with life! We hope that you find meaning, comfort, and inspiration from our teachings, and we all wish you a very safe, happy, and healthy last month of 5781.
No comments:
Post a Comment