Preparing for Awe:
High Holiday Warm-ups and Stretches
On my wedding day, almost 19 years ago, my childhood rabbi,
Rabbi Andre Unger said four lovely words in his exotically thick Hungarian
accent: “ani l’dodi, v’dodi li”, “I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine”.
This is a traditional response for the bride as her brand new husband slides a
simple gold ring on her finger. I was mesmerized at the sound of it; I remember
it clearly, I remember not having any idea that it was written 2000 years
earlier, a love poem called Song of Songs, expressing the love and bond between
God and the Jewish people. I didn’t know what it meant, but felt that it said
something deep, shared, and everlasting.
We are passing into the month of Elul, a month whose name has been shaped by the beginning letters
of the phrase above – fittingly so, because we use this month to engage
ourselves in the work of deep introspection and an accounting of our actions
and relationships while we bend toward our spiritual centers and the coming
High Holidays. In ancient Aramaic, Elul means ‘search’, and as the days drop
away toward Rosh HaShanah, we consciously search back through the year that has
passed, expressing appreciation, righting wrongs, and strengthening our ties
with our community.
Just as we make vows on our wedding day, it is human nature
to make vows, or set goals at these annual beginnings. I’m sure we all have
long lists of ‘resolutions’ that seemed
worthy -- maybe promises to develop a new hobby, eat healthier, practice yoga, reconnect
with a lost friend, tap into your creative side….and the High Holy Days
reinforce that it is never too late… to repair a relationship or forgive
someone, even when that someone is yourself. In fact there is a beautiful midrash that teaches that Moses ascended
Mt Sinai on the first of Elul, receiving the Torah and 10 Commandments, during slichot, Rosh Hashanah, and descending
40 days later on Yom Kippur, when we hear the call of the shofar, celebrating a
fuller closer relationship with God.
40 days in the desert? Climbing Mt Sinai and coming down
with the Torah? Ani l’dodi v’dodi li?
What can we mere mortals do here on earth to approximate that kind of
transformation for ourselves.
We are very often asked how we ourselves prepare for these
days of awe – and truly they are huge and wonderful, both overwhelming and
magnificent in their significance as a spiritual and communal event. However,
perhaps it is easier for us, because part of our preparation is spending months
culling through our machzor, re-envisioning the prayer service, choosing just
the right music that is a balance between the familiar and what fills your
heart with glory, we are reading and writing sermons and are immersed in the
themes and values of the High Holidays – that of forgiveness, and starting anew
-- long before their actual arrival.
But still, we need tools, and this year we’d like to share
one in particular. You may have family traditions that you hold dear, a shared
meal, buying a new white dress, or calling friends to reconnect, say your
sorry, or say I love you. Continue those beautiful traditions, BUT…We would
like to invite you to deepen your spiritual preparation this year for the High
Holidays by also engaging in a spiritual writing practice.
Mondays throughout Elul, September 5, 12, 19, 26, you will
receive an email from us through our ‘constant contact’ containing a writing
prompt. It will invite you to explore your own year, your relationships, goals,
and growth. You are not alone in this pursuit, the prompts introduced will be
reflected and revisited throughout the week at morning minyan and during
Shabbat services. We do hope you’ll open the email each Monday, and simply
carve out 20 minutes for yourself to sit quietly, reflect, and engage in the
process of chesbon hanefesh. Keep
your thoughts and your personal journey logged privately in a notebook,
computer, or even dictated by voice recognition onto your iphone! Or join a
slightly more public conversation at cantoralicia.blogspot.com. Either way, we
invite you to prepare for the holidays this year in a different way, through
deep listening, writing, reflection, and growth.
We look forward to working together to arrive at the High
Holidays ready to face the days ahead, to stretch us toward a more self aware, reflective,
and meaningful year.
Shana Tovah, may
the changes you experience this year be good, fulfilling, and rich with
friendship and love.
