This summer I have often thought  about how my involvement in Jewish life really does enhance my well-being.  Just pausing and taking time to be with family and friends to have a Shabbat meal together, to appreciate what I have and to say a blessing, this seems to move me from the frenzy of my calendar and internal thoughts to a place of more serenity, and certainly to a place of greater gratitude for what I do have.  My thoughts of what I don’t have do not disappear—you know the nagging wishes and desires for things or for people to adjust their behavior. However, I find that my pauses around Shabbat, or even around a beautiful sunset, help me focus on what really matters to me. 

I offer you these thoughts as we come to the end of the Hebrew months of Av and into Elul.  The month of Elul is often the time when we are rushing into the school year and the holidays.  This year, school and even adult autumn routines will begin first, and then in the month of October, our fall holidays will occur. This calendar provides us with opportunities to pause “Jewishly,” to appreciate what we have, to assess where and what we want to be, and to realign ourselves to head in that direction.  Elul is the path to our clean slate. Our tradition offers us this clean slate each year, if we do the work to erase our errors, our comments that hurt others, our actions that missed the mark.  A little reflection, a little rejuvenation, a little study, a little social justice action perhaps.  Be sure to check out our Beth Emet Elul programs below.  

Marci Dickman

Director of Lifelong Learning