Month of Elul: Cheshbon Hanefesh

Dear Congregation Shalom,

It has been a hard year.

Collectively, we find ourselves in the midst of a pandemic, the likes of which none of us have ever experienced.

As a result our lives have been upended. As a community, as a congregation, we have suffered from loneliness and boredom. We worry because we have lost our income. We are exhausted from giving and giving of ourselves, at work and at home. Small decisions that we must make -- "can I go to work, to the store, can my children have a playdate?" now weigh heavily on our minds, as nobody has the right answers as to how to keep each other and ourselves safe. This pandemic has exposed the deep injustices in our society, we realize now that we have more work to do than we might have once thought. And, worst of all, we have suffered from sickness and death. And in that suffering, we suffer more because we cannot reach out and hold each other's hands, or embrace each other with a hug, or come together in prayer.

Our burden is a heavy one to bear.

I was recently asked the question, "Rabbi, will Rosh Hashanah happen this year?"

The answer is, of course it will. Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are not canceled. We will just mark them differently.

Now more than ever, we need a chance to start again. Now more than ever, we need to return to what is important in each of our lives. Now more than ever we need the High Holy Days, for they provide us with the opportunity to find our centers. They give us the chance to ground ourselves and also to reach toward the Eternal.

The High Holy Days have the potential to transform our lives. But we have to do the work in order for that potential to be realized.

The Hebrew month of Elul, the month preceding Rosh Hashanah is traditionally the time to begin that work. During this month, our tradition instructs us to engage in a process called Cheshbon Hanefesh, literally translated as spiritual accounting. This process demands that we look inward, examining our actions, our thoughts, and our souls. Where have we missed the mark? Where do we need to make amends? Where is there room to change our ways?

In order to serve as a gentle reminder to do this work, each evening during the month of Elul, your clergy will provide you with small bits of wisdom on seven themes relating to the High Holy Day season: introspection (חֶשְׁבּוֹן הַנֶפֶשׁ), transcendence, (נוֹרָא), returning again (הֲשִׁיבֵנוּ כְּקֶדֶם), repentance (תְשׁוּבָה), forgiveness (כַּפָּרָה), prayer (תְפִלָּה), and righteous giving (צְדָקָה). We invite you to take this journey with us, as we lean into our tradition, preparing our souls for this season of transformation.

To sign up for daily Elul emails, please visit https://www.cong-shalom.org/form/month-of-elul.

B'Shalom,

Rabbi Rachel