Elul 21: Transformation as Spiritual Necessity

In his book on the High Holidays, This is Real and You Are Completely Unprepared, Rabbi Alan Lew makes the following observation:

"The great journey of transformation begins with the acknowledgement that we need to make it.  It is not something we are undertaking for amusement, nor even for the sake of convention; rather, it is a spiritual necessity."

Now and then, and at least once a year, we need to take a good, hard look at ourselves.  We need to be called upon to examine our lives closely to uncover the dips and potholes therein, so that we might at least open the door to transformation.  The Jewish calendar sets aside a few days each year for exactly that.

There are nine days until Rosh Hashanah, when the process of seeking teshuvah / repentance begins in earnest.  Get ready!  Here it comes.