I know you’re a big deal month on the Jewish calendar, but quite honestly, I’d like to hibernate when you show up. Okay, maybe not the second you roll around, but starting about midway through, I’d be happy to sleep right through to Sukkot.
I’m sure my lethargy has something to do with too many years of working for the Jews, or as my friend Victor likes to say, being enlisted in “HaShem’s Army.” It’s exhausting (and frequently infuriating) and, sadly, leaves me with little energy or mental bandwidth for my own holiday preparations or logistics. By the time Rosh HaShanah finally arrives, I have no patience for pews crowded with strangers – Who are all these people and if they really want to be here, why are they talking so much?! – and little inclination to tackle the spiritual heavy lifting the season demands.
This year, I’m in search of new, creative ways to embrace the High Holidays – beyond #BlogElul (which is a true gift each year). I don’t yet know what those things will be, but I’m open to ideas, suggestions, and possibilities that will offer opportunities for meaning, fulfillment, and community. They’ll make me eagerly anticipate (or at least not dread) services (and all that goes with them), and won’t make me wish I already was at the tail-end of a break-fast. Even if they can’t do all that, I’m hopeful that whatever I decide to do, it will help alleviate – even if only a smidge – my I-want-to-hibernate blues.
It’s a tall order, I know, but I’m optimistic that you (maybe in collaboration with Tishri?) are up for the challenge. What do you have for me, Elul?
Thanks,
JanetheWriter
Inspired by Ima on (and off) the Bima , this #BlogElul post is one in a series marking the days of the Hebrew month of Elul, which precede the Jewish High Holidays and traditionally serve as a time of reflection and spiritual preparation for the new year.
