Rabbi Weinberg's Elul Thought for the Day

Friday Sept 4
Today is the fifteenth day of Elul!  We are now halfway to Rosh Hashanna.
Dr. Erica Brown in her book “Return: Daily Inspiration for the Days of Awe” says: “Teshuva is a never-ending process because we are always changing and the context of our universe is always shifting” (p.7).  I have always loved this line and found that it rings so true since we are ever-evolving and dynamic beings constantly in flux.  Each year as we think about Teshuva we are in a different place in life and able to focus on different aspects of our being and of our life-choices.  This year I find this quote even more meaningful than ever before.  This year’s upheavals of life and the “context of our universe [which] is always changing” in the times of COVID calls for a different kind of Teshuva.  This year we engage not just in a Teshuva of changing deeds and actions, but of taking a big step back and thinking about the very underpinning of life and the assumptions of our daily routines that have now been called into question.  It is a time to think about all that we have lost during this time and all that we have gained and how we wish to emerge from these challenging months into whatever new reality awaits us in the future.  In many ways, that reality will depend upon our attitudes and our perspectives and the decisions that we make right now.  May those be good ones!  Shabbat Shalom!