“The depth of the silence is noisy,” quote from my dreams at Hovenweep National Monument at the start of Elul. Have you ever experienced in nature that level of silence that the air, the mountains, the trees and the stars are vibrating. Well, we did, for three nights, even the insects got the memo to silence their voices for several hours in the night. That sound- or I should say- lack of sound was hearing the profoundness of the Universe in action. My realization is that experiencing God is in the doing. Elul is the acronym, Ani L’dodi, VDodi Li- you are my beloved and my beloved is mine. We are in constant relationship.
There is a Hasidic story of a tailor who kept a tally of all their sins and went before the Master of the universe. “Here is my scrupulous list of sins I have committed. And here is a second list of all the afflictions, distresses and loses that have come to me this year. If a proper bookkeeper was to look at these two lists it is easy to see that more suffering has been given to me than I gave to others. So let’s make a deal, I will forgive You, if you forgive me, ‘L’chaim.’”
We enter into this new year, 5783, which contains in the last two letters the word ‘pag’ which among its many meanings is; unripened fig, vanish, dispel, and a premature baby to name a few. So what can this mean to us in this coming year? Easily one can see the challenges, but isn’t that what we are coming out of? We have had two years of great challenge and now we are feeling our own immaturity at life and we are working hard to grow healthier and more at peace in this coming New Year.
As a real life example, Las Vegas Jewish Community of New Mexico has an opportunity to purchase back from the Catholic diocese their synagogue, built in the mid 1800’s. For 70 years we have been exiled from this schul and now we can return. It is not an easy choice because of the economics of our times, but with the work of ELUL- working together it can happen- and is an opportunity. There is a gofundme.com site if you wish to join in this community rebuilding, every small amount has already added up to a dream coming true. CLICK TO DONATE ON GOFUNDME
My prayer for all of us this year is that we find our equanimity and peace within our selves and towards one another.
Shana Tova Metuka
Rabbi Chavah Carp