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8 Elul, 5782 | September 4, 2022
Rabbi Batsheva Appel

One of the things that I like about knitting is that it is possible to fix mistakes invisibly, to carefully, stitch by stitch, undo and redo the fabric so that the repair is undetectable. That is not always possible, but when it is, it seems magical.

Kintsugi [Japanese for “golden joinery”] is the opposite approach to repairing damage. Developed centuries ago, broken ceramic vessels are repaired using lacquer and precious metals. The results are obvious, the metallic seams are visible, enhancing the beauty of the object. This process also seems magical.

Both types of repair start from the premise that what we are working with is worth repair and not something to be discarded lightly.
What does our healing look like? Are we undoing and redoing the fabric of our lives, attempting to make the results invisible to anyone who sees us? Are we picking up the shattered pieces of our lives, and bringing them together in ways that make us stronger, and also very visible to everyone we meet?

Both are possible for us. Some of the wounds that we heal are too vulnerable to share, and we need time to nurse them. Some of the breaks that we heal are so obvious that the only way to get through is to show the seams, show what were once our vulnerabilities, and are now our strengths.

What are we working on now? And how much would we be able to assist others in healing by sharing what we are doing?


9 Elul, 5782 | September 5, 2022
Rabbi Stephen Wise

What a gift to be able to spend time in the outdoors, especially at camp George on beautiful Maple Lake in Parry Sound Ontario. Earlier this summer I was working with a group of teenagers and taking advantage of the outdoors, we did a nature appreciation walk and canoe ride. I often use this prayer when in awe of the natural world, written by Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav (1772 - 1810), a great Hassidic rabbi and great-grandson of the Baal-Shem Tov.
 
Master of the universe, grant me the ability to be alone;
May it be my custom to go outdoors each day among the trees and grass;
Among all growing things – and there may I be alone, and enter into prayer,
To talk with the One to whom I belong.
 
As we moved deeper into the woods, we explored our surrounding and did a blindfold trust walk, met some inhabitants of the woods and then canoed down a narrow winding stream where all we could hear were the birds, buzzing insects and the wisps of wind. With time to breathe and relax, these rowdy rambunctious teens spent most of the time in silent appreciation. As we finished our time and headed back towards camp and started hearing the sounds of laughter and smelled dinner cooking, we all felt a sense of rejuvenation. Holding the words of Rabbi Bratslav close, sometimes healing can be found in those moments of time and space where nature gives us the scenery and backdrop to simply be and become. 

10 Elul, 5782 | September 6, 2022
Cantor Joanna Alexander

As I watch the headlines in our post Roe world, I cannot help but remember reproductive health and its consequences endanger the freedoms of those wishing not to bring life into this world and those desperately wishing for parenthood. My journey to parenthood was a painful rollercoaster and I am grateful every day for the blessings and freedoms of reproductive health granted me along my journey from 2008-2014. A brief prayer from that time:
 
Why did God command me to “p’ru urvu” be fruitful and multiply and then make it so difficult to accomplish? I learned from our Torah that infertility has been a part of life from the beginning of humanity. There was no comfort in this, for this I hated God. 
 
What choice did I have but to pray--there was too much in God’s hands. So I prayed: from doctors’ tables, from synagogue and bed, “please God help us to fulfill your commandment of p’ru urvu, that we may bring children into this world to know You, to find love in Your ways, to help us all make this world what it can be.” I prayed for God to help the doctors know the proper treatment. I prayed to a God I sometimes hated, but to my God none-the-less. 
 
This I believe: God did not cause MY infertility; it is a part of the human condition. 
This I believe: God is there in the doctor’s hands, God is there in the research that permits medical advances, and God is there in the very nature of human curiosity which leads to research and innovation. 
This I believe: life does not start at conception, only the potential for life begins there. 
We saw six fertilized eggs/dividing embryos fail due to “arrested development.” The doctors only can guess at why they do not create pregnancy, and in this I see God.

11 Elul, 5782 | September 7, 2022
Cheryl Wise

Each year we are given the gift to be able to begin anew. The High Holy Days give us the opportunity to press reset and start again; but, before that we have the days of Elul to reflect on who we want to be when we start up again. 

Start today – use the Divine Breath to do the cleansing so that you can start to appreciate and love YOU and all the beauty that surrounds you. Today is your day to take a walk outside. Spend a few moments once you step outside to just breathe. Gather all your thoughts and judgements and frustrations and then, when you are ready, take three cleansing breaths and begin your meditative walk. Notice your breath, notice each foot touching the ground. Move out of your mind and into your body. With every few steps take notice of your breath. The divine breath is what enables you to change yourself and be the happy peaceful person you want and can be. Whatever challenges, frustrations and broken relationships you face remember that you cannot change the players involved but you can change yourself – you can return again and again to the gift of pure breath and soul, (Neshamah) that can refresh and awaken you as you prepare to press that restart button. May that divine cleansing breath that enters your heart, mind, and soul during these reflective days of Elul give you the strength, power, and confidence to press restart. It all starts with YOU.


12 Elul, 5782 | September 8, 2022
Rabbi Laurence P Malinger

Be Kind to Yourself

The dual moral and spiritual turning that each of us must do during this month of Elul is only considered complete when we find ourselves once again in the exact same scenario in which we previously “missed the mark.” That was the moment when we lost track of our blessing of the divine presence within us; the moment when we may have acted from a hardened heart and disregarded our sacred connection with one another and God.

And of course, we miss the mark. We’re humans. It’s an unavoidable and sacred part of our journey — to constantly be messing up, and constantly revising and reinventing ourselves with integrity. Elul is the time of year to be honest about our humanness. As you embark on this process, tread lightly and meet yourself with compassion. Be sweet to yourself. 

Speaking of messing up. It’s about time to ready yourself to forgive others for all their messing up too. Anger and resentment are heavy, sticky things. These feelings bind us to victimhood and tempt up to ignore our own culpability. Do yourself and the rest of the world a huge favor: act with radical compassion for yourself, and all other humans. In Elul, begin to let go of whatever you’re holding onto so tightly. The release will purify, heal, and liberate you. We promise. 
Hear that Shofar? It’s time to return to ourselves. It’s time to forgive. Let’s do it together. 

13 Elul, 5782 |September 9, 2022
Rabbi Benjamin Sharff

When it comes to the challenge of healing experts explain the need for patience. The Jewish concept of patience in savlanut. The Mussar teaches that patience is not about being calm or accepting the situation, rather it is about enduring what can often be an uncomfortable situation. 

The High Holy Days are probably the most Jewish example of this. The High Holy Days were intended to be a form of spiritual healing. However, for us to be fully engaged, means that we have to be uncomfortable. We have to be uncomfortable with our past decisions and actions. We have to be uncomfortable with our lack of engagement in our relationships. And we have to be uncomfortable in our own spiritual lives. 

The Yamim Noraiim are just a guide. Teshuvah along with tefillah and tzedakah are the spiritual physical and emotional therapy, if you will. But to do them, we have to be willing to be uncomfortable. We have to have savlanut. Healing of the soul can take just as much, if not more time than healing of the body. 

We just have to be willing to be present and willing to do the hard work. It isn’t easy. But, like when the body is fully healed from a trauma, it can feel amazing even if the scars remain. May we be blessed with savlanut as we enter into this season of healing. 

14 Elul, 5782 | September 10, 2022
Rabbi Alan Litwak

Healing At the Bottom of the Pit
In the biblical story of Joseph, he goes from reasonable comfort to rags to riches. As a young man, Joseph is doing well (wearing the latest fashionable coat of many colors). He is enjoying the favor of the boss - his father Jacob. He has unique skills; although for a guy who could interpret dreams, he certainly did not see what was coming next. Jealous of Joseph’s success and favor, his brothers throw him into a pit and sell him into slavery. Joseph goes from the top of the heap to the bottom of the pit. Most of us can resonate with this story. We find ourselves in challenging situations in which we cannot imagine a way out.

Mostly, the pit is seen as a place where one cannot escape. In fact, being in the pit is, well . . . the pits. But, let’s do a little free association. Other usages for the word, “pit”:
    Racetrack: Place to change one’s oil and tires
    Orchestra pit: where wonderful music is made
    Fruit Pit: the seed of new growth

Yes, the pit can be the place of rejuvenation, evolution, and new opportunity, if we change our way of thinking about it. We can imagine Joseph’s confusion, fear, and anger while in the pit. Yet, in their reconciliation years later, Joseph reassures his brothers; “You may have intended me harm, but God intended it for good.