Elul 5783 (August 17, 2023)
Chodesh Tov! Happy Elul!
Elul is a month of introspection and flux. It's the final month of the civil year and we spend this time getting ready for the new beginning that comes with Rosh HaShanah and the Yamim Nora'im (days of awe).
Elul is hitting differently for me this year. Today is my fourth-to-last day at Eden Village Camp, and also the fourth-to-last day before RRC Orientation. Not only am I moving into a new Jewish year (5784), but into a completely new stage of my life.
However, just like Rosh HaShanah, it doesn't feel completely new. Philadelphia is a new city, but I'll be in the same city as my sibling again. I've never been a Rabbinical student, but I've spent 2/3 of my life as some kind of student. I'm also going back to the Reconstructionist community, which is where I grew up.
Here's an Elul prompt to think/write/draw/meditate about, and you can check out some of my popular media from Av below.
Elul Prompt
As noted above, Elul is a month of introspection. That tradition comes in part from reading "Elul" as an acrostic for "Ani L'Dodi V'Dodi Li" - aleph lamed vav lamed.
There is a hint in the verse “I am for my Beloved and my Beloved is for me” (Ani L’Dodi v’Dodi Li - Shir Hashirim) that the first letters spell Elul and the last letters have a numerical value of 40. This alludes to the forty days from the beginning of Elul until Yom Kippur for during these forty days repentance is [more readily] accepted so a person should bring their heart near to their Beloved [G!d] with repentance, and then the Beloved will be close to them to accept the repentance with love
Mishnah Beruriah 581
This explanation is very G!d-based, but what if we consider our "beloved" as ourselves? What does it mean to remind yourself to be your own?
How can you come closer to the most authentic version of yourself this month?
For more, visit linktr.ee/lfg_elul