14 Elul 5773 By Dr. Martin Graffman The days of Elul are a time for questions and reflections that often unsettle, sting and provoke us. What if God – not Michelangelo’s deity or the whirlwind or the voice of the turtle – is simply the “real,” the reality, the truth of what is or “Is” from […]
Archive | Echoes of Elul
How to be a Good Person – Day 13
13 Elul 5773 By Halia Lindauer Your responsibility and attitude can take you a long way. If you do it correctly, that is. You should take your responsibilities seriously. For example, when you’re in school and your teacher gives you an assignment, and you take your time and turn it in feeling confident about what […]
Watching the Oven – Day 12
12 Elul 5773 By Nancy Silverman Below is a poem that I wrote in honor of my grandmother, a Russian immigrant with only a grade school education who taught herself to read and write English. Her minimal English skills did not stop her from writing weekly letters to her son. My sister and I enjoyed […]
L’Dor V’dor – Day 11
11 Elul 5773 By Lynn Matassarin From generation to generation these sacred words are said, Sh’ma Yis’ra’eil Echoing the hundreds of familiar voices inside my head, Adonai Eloheinu Softly, sweetly they leave my lips, Adonai Echad And I am at peace!
Israel: Sea to Sea (ים אל ים) – Day 10
10 Elul 5773 By Jerry Rothblum Israel… that far off place that we talk about and pray for… the land, the people and the history that we connect ourselves to through our Judaism. For many, “next year in Jerusalem” are the final words of prayer we hope to realize sometime within our busy lives of […]
Letter to God – Day 9
9 Elul 5773 By Lisa Ackerman Dear God, I have been searching for what seems to be too long. Searching for you, to find you, to know you, to take comfort in your existence, to complain, to beg and plead, to negotiate, to express my gratitude, to question, to love. Sometimes, I am conscious of […]
A Photographic Reflection – Day 8
8 Elul 5773 By Susan Silberman
Lost Reflections – Day 7
7 Elul 5773 By Scott Friedman During the month of Elul, while other Jews are searching their souls in preparation for Rosh Hashanah (Judgment) and Yom Kippur (Atonement), I do not search my soul. While other Jews are thinking about granting and asking for forgiveness, I have no thoughts of forgiveness whatsoever. I am certain […]
Listen to the Sounds – Day 6
6 Elul 5773 By Yoni Cohen Press play below to listen to my original song I wrote this Shema on my first BJE Shabbaton weekend at Camp Hess Kramer in Malibu. During Shabbat we took a walk to the beach. The counselors asked us to sit quietly and listen to all the sounds around us. […]
Being Counted – Day 5
5 Elul 5773 By Stacy Nagel In the Torah portion, B’midbar (Numbers 1:1 – 4:20), a census is taken in the wilderness. Thirteen months have passed since the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt and G-d commands Moses to take a tribe-by-tribe census of all the Israelite males over the age of twenty. Some Jewish theologists believe […]