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“A Sliver of Possibility,” Rabbi Zecher’s Shabbat Awakenings

August 18, 2023 | 1 Elul 5783

Today has extraordinary significance.

Today the moon is new, fresh, preparing us with an opening in the space it will soon occupy. We use the lunar calendar in Judaism with a reference to the sun because Passover, according to the Torah, must occur in the spring. Every few years we add a month to ensure Passover’s proper placement in the calendar. It is the reason, as they say, that Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are either early or late, but are never on time.

But the Hebrew month that began last night will last four weeks. The moon will not only return to the same shaped sliver because of the new month as it is now, it will also usher in the new year, Rosh Hashanah.

The month we have just entered is called Elul. We consider it a month of spiritual preparation. Just as the moon waxes and wanes, the lunar cycle of the moon reminds us of the possibility of renewal and growth. The work of t’shuvah calls upon us to enter into deep reflection to rediscover our humanity and the best that is within us. Just as we prepare for a race or a test, this month warms us up from the inside out to engage our muscles of return and repair. We start to hear the sound of the shofar in Elul. Tonight, the shofar blast will summon us as a wake up call to focus our attention and efforts to this month of spiritual preparation. Moses Maimonides, the 12th century philosopher and commentator, regarded the blasts of the shofar as a message:

Awake, you sleepers, from your sleep!
Rouse yourselves from your slumber.
Examine your deeds and return to God.
Remember your Creator — you who are caught up in the daily routine,
losing sight of eternal truth;
you who waste your years in vain pursuits that neither profit nor save.
Look to your souls.
Improve your ways and your deeds.
(Mishneh Torah, Repentance 3:4)

With this new moon, we enter into a different kind of time zone. It calls upon us to pay attention to ourselves and the way we behave. How might we realize and recognize where and when we may have done wrong? What do we need to do to alter those patterns of behavior? To whom do we owe sincere and thoughtful apologies? How can we rectify and make amends with those we have hurt? How will we change?

The month of Elul affords us the possibility to respond to these questions and to enter in the new year refocused, reframed, and ready to repair.

Watch the moon as much as you watch yourself. The moon will be full before you know it and then start its waning days toward the new year. Will you be ready?

Shabbat Shalom!

I continue to value the many comments you exchange with me through these Shabbat Awakenings. Share with me what you think. Your email goes directly to me!

  • We gather at 6:00 p.m. for Qabbalat Shabbat onsite INSIDE or on Zoom, Facebook Live, or stream on our website. We begin our review and study of our Congregational Read, On Repentance and Repair by Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg. You don’t need to have read it yet.
  • Torah Study gathers onsite or online at 9:00 a.m.
  • Gather online to say goodbye to Shabbat with a lay-led Havdalah on Zoom at 8:00 p.m.

Rabbi Elaine Zecher