#BlogElul Intro/Elul Day 1: Act

#BlogElul #ElulGram 2017

Every year we rabbis and cantors review the machzor to prep for the High Holy Days. And every year, we remember that while the words in the machzor don't change from year to year, in fact we change, so we are the ones we should be reviewing.

That's what #BlogElul/#ElulGram is all about. Thank you to Rabbi Phyllis Sommer for once again welcoming us to spend the month of Elul in self-reflection through her yearly initiative. Rabbi Sommer presents daily prompts, and we are invited to write, tweet, post photos, share music - every kind of expression - about the day's prompt.

For the 1st day of Elul, Rabbi Sommer suggests "Act."

There's a saying that "faith without works is dead." That's such a Jewish concept. I believe that Judaism is less concerned with what I think than with what I do. And the High Holy Days are the paradigm of placing "doing" on a higher level than "thinking."

The whole deal with teshuvah, the process of admitting, apologizing, and making amends for wrongs we've done to people (and ourselves), is just that: doing the work. It's not easy (it's not meant to be easy), but it can be liberating.

It's time to start the process. Start now. We'll do it together.

Comments

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