Elul Reflections 4 – August 26

Rabbi Alan E. Litwak : Happy Birthday!

The expression “shouting into the wind” connotes the act of trying to communicate, fruitlessly. When someone shouts into the wind, the idea is that no one can hear you and you are wasting time and energy to no avail. It is similar to “talking to a brick wall.”  Why bother doing it?

We do it – or should do it – because if enough people do it enough, the situation changes.  Perhaps the wind that threatens to drown us out dies down.  Perhaps enough people join us and our message is amplified over the noise.  

Our trouble is that we believe that we are powerless against the wind, or that we can only be successful when the time is right.  The truth is that we have far more power than we give ourselves credit.  Imagine how much we could change if we actually spoke up, said “yes”, or acknowledged that “this is my responsibility.”

Elul is our time to reflect on what is most important to us and to start shouting.  Don’t be afraid – there will always be wind; but anything worth shouting about is worth shouting into the wind.