94 - Elul

Preparing to join a local women’s study group to _daven Rosh Chodesh Elul _and to speak to them about my writing, I have been searching the World Wide Web to learn more about the month of Elul. There are many practices and traditions that can be part of one’s observance of this final month before the New Year. Elul is the time of spiritual preparation for the Days of Awe. Tradition calls for the_ shofar_ to be blown following weekday morning prayer during Elul, a kind of warm-up for the more complete sounding on Rosh Hashanah. And a wake-up call to rouse us from end-of-summer blahs. Psalm 27 is added to the liturgy during Elul. It begins "God is my light and my helper, whom shall I fear?" In Elul we begin the self-examination that marks our return to God; we read Psalm 27’s final lines: "Wait for the Eternal; be strong and let your heart take courage. Yea, wait for the Eternal."

Ninety-Four

Elul

Fighting the languor of sultry days,
We begin the turning, back to You;
Moving against the heat of our hearts,
Against the anger inside, we turn.

Call us to begin the examination, Healing God;
Call for us to remove the garment of our deceit,
The fears that bind us away from You,
Chaffing at our tender miseries.

In the month of Elul, we begin the unlayering,
Peeling piece by piece the accumulated detritus,
Shaking it free, holding it to the hot light
To scrutinize as the year begins its ending.

In the month of Elul, we uncover our secrets,
Examining them with a truthful heart,
Counting the pulse beats of our life,
The selfish pressures we apply and resist.

Call us to the consultation of our souls,
For You are a God of healing and mercy;
Call us to begin without delay,
That Elul might draw us near to You.