Elul Reflections 7 – August 29

Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker

Reflecting on our lives, our mistakes and how to do better can be difficult. Let’s remember our faults – all the times we messed up… who wants to do that – focus in on our mistakes? Fortunately, we have a good role model when it comes to imperfections. For while it is true that the Torah teaches us that God is perfect and just (Deut. 32:4), the Torah also teaches us that God regrets, God loses God’s temper, and God kvetches… often – and far more than you would expect.  It’s no wonder that Jewish mystics envisioned a broken, shattered God for a broken world and the broken, imperfect people that live within it. Fully aware of our weakness and our flaws, they had the audacity to suggest that we, with our imperfect lives, have the capacity to heal the world, heal God, and heal ourselves in the process. And that healing begins with reflection, for how can we repair all that needs to be repaired if we fail to recognize that which is bent or broken.

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