Elul for me marks the turn of the wheel – the next cycle as one year turns into another. As I work in education, it coincides with the new year professionally, but it is the true New Year – rather than Jan. 1. It is when I take stock as in years past and ask the tough questions. One of the challenges, but also one of the beauties of this season is the requirement that we dig deep and ask the tough questions, so we can better ourselves, and better the world – Tikkun Olam. And this year, I ask the tough questions both of myself in this world.
On a personal level, I will take stock of accomplishments and failures (mostly the failures) so I can remember how I can improve as a person and hopefully do better. But since religion is meant take stock of how we communally live, and not made to make one feel better, I ask myself – but also in the first person plural – Will we be a better community, a better humanity for all? I ask, as I did last year, if the quite frankly lousy year of 5785 will be a better or worse 5786 for humanity, and not just for “us”. Will I, and by extension, we, stand silently by, paralyzed as we stare agape at the internet’s blare? Numbed by the torrent of horrors and lacking in rahmones? Will we do what we can to end the cycle of destruction, vengeance, environmental degradation, ethnic superiority and greed? The need to change course, to turn the wheel and go in a better direction as a community, this is the core of Elul and leading into Tishrei, and beyond. So I bring these thoughts forward which I hope spring into action.
