Awakening Our Souls During Elul

The new month of Elul has begun, the month prior to beginning the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah. Elul represents the spiritual alarm clock that reminds us of the period we are entering, the shift from the summer consciousness of being a little more carefree, focused on rewarding and feeding our physicality — through play, relaxation, traveling and exploration, going to the beach or the mountains, having barbeques, basically relishing the outdoors. Elul reminds us to shift our focus from the physical to the spiritual, to our inner life, our soul. 

As Jews we pay close attention to what is demanded of us with each date on the calendar. In spring we pull out our Seder plates, clean out our homes and the crevices of our spirit; in December we set up our Channukiah and celebrate, sharing light and joy with family and friends; and as Fall approaches it is time to take a closer look at our lives and our relationships, take stock of the past year with its ups and its downs, accomplishments and failures. Most particularly, to assess where we’ve strayed, the people we’ve hurt, the errors, omissions, and even the unforgiveable sins we feel we’ve perpetrated on others and God. 

Having strayed, we stand in what seems like a deep cavern, disconnected from God. Perhaps we’ve become lazy, diminishing our attention to the spiritual life, or perhaps religious life has become routine, lacking the spark it once had, or perhaps reducing conversations from our hearts to God. Being shut in, and living in close proximity with family, these last few years may have engendered less patience and more critiques as stressors have mounted. Our nerves have been stretched; we may have unintentionally said hurtful or inconsiderate words. Whether in business, family or friendships, we have not always been our best selves. 

Elul comes as a gift, an opportunity to take a deeper look at all the facets of our lives, especially our relationships and the ways we’ve behaved. Judaism offers an opportunity for ’T’shuvah,’ ‘repentance,’ which literally means to ‘return.’ Our consciousness alights with memories of precious moments in the past when we discovered release and emotional rebirth. It is a beautiful concept to know it is never over in our tradition, we always have another opportunity for change: to remake, rebuild, and renew ourselves, our actions, and our words. These preliminary “days of awe” remind us, the opportunity is still open, a chartered pathway is available once again. God’s forgiveness awaits.

The name of the month is also known by its acrostic, “Ani Dodi V’Dodi Li,” “I am my beloved and my beloved is mine.” This month represents an opportunity for reigniting the beautiful and loving relationship with the Holy One, the very model that the Song of Songs presents, not only as male and female lovers, but as we the people and the Holy One. Sinai was not only the place of creating a covenant between God and the people, it was a symbolic marriage of bride and groom under the chuppah of Torah. Elul encourages reigniting love – love of self, love of others, and love of God.

Over the next month take time to meditate, read psalms, or stand by a tree and speak to God. Rebbe Nachman’s tradition of Hitbodedut was to go out into nature, the place of God’s creation, and pour out his soul’s pain, suffering, guilt, and even anger. Find the words for your disappointments, grief, or sorrow. Identify who you must go to ask for forgiveness. Begin the healing process so you can enter the New Year softer and with more humility. Open the dialogue and ready yourself for the power of change and expansion when you come and surrender to these Days of Elul, whether seated amongst fellow congregants or at home with beautiful words and music before you on a screen. Either way, let these coming High Holy Days be an opportunity to awaken your soul to the potential for transformation. Rekindle a new spirit, new hope, and a new beginning.

Eva Robbins is a rabbi, cantor, artist and the author of “Spiritual Surgery: A Journey of Healing Mind, Body and Spirit.”