Elul
We are in the month of Elul, two weeks away from Rosh Hashanah. It is a time to take stock and to remember that standing still is never an option. The world around us will change and we must do the same along with it. I invite you to use the words below as a prompt and write whatever comes mind, a gift you can give yourself as you prepare for the new year. “Rabbi Yaakiv said: I might have thought if I sat and did nothing, I would still be blessed, so the Torah says: “in all your undertakings.”
My teacher, Rabbi Jill Hammer, has taught me the power of story and the power of action. We can say many things and do little or we can act and not say much at all. As we reflect upon our deeds this past year, may we do so with honesty and loving-kindness.
Memories of tables brimming
Food enough to feed the ever-present ghosts
Stories told, bringing them to the table
Their actions remembered
Their kindness and goodness recalled
Faded pictures in sepia tones bringing them to life
Their deeds, their actions
Spur us to move, to see, to act, to know…
We are not alone in this world and what we do makes a difference