The primary sound of Elul is the shofar, which we blow every morning this month to herald the coming of the New Year.
The next sound is that of Psalm 27, which we recite every morning and evening to help us with heshbon ha-nefesh.
There are two widespread melodies for the fourth verse of this Psalm, Ahat sha-alti. One is upbeat, joyous, and a bit silly. The other is somber, reflective, and pleading. What's wrong with this picture?
Is Elul a month of celebration or introspection? Joy or sadness?
Perhaps it's both. On the one hand, we are gearing up emotionally for the Aseret Yemei Teshuvah, the Ten Days of Repentance that include Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, by cautiously taking spiritual inventory, by weighing our deeds, by reviewing our behavior. On the other, we are looking forward optimistically to being given that seat in God's palace, to celebrating Sukkot, the most joyous holiday of the Jewish calendar, with abandon.
So yes, the sense is that lives hang in the balance, and so we chant with heavy hearts and minds. But we are also hoping for the best, and singing joyously about the reward - the cleansing that comes with teshuvah / repentance.
We should sing both melodies, joyous and mournful, with a full heart.
Showing posts with label sadness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sadness. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Thursday Kavvanah, 8/4/2011 - The opposite of happiness
Yesterday I discussed the unreasonable expectation, promoted by the Na Nachs (a sub-set of Breslover Hasidim), to be happy all the time. It is remarkable that the Jewish calendar has periods of "enforced" communal sadness, while it does not have similar periods of happiness.
We are in such a period right now: known as the Three Weeks, it is the period between the 17th of Tammuz and the Ninth of Av (Tish'ah Be'av). Customs vary among communities, but the more commonly-observed minhagim include not holding weddings, not cutting one's hair, and not eating meat or drinking wine other than on Shabbat or at a se'udat mitzvah (a festive meal celebrating a berit milah / circumcision or the conclusion of learning a tractate of Talmud). Another similar period is that of sefirat ha-'omer, the period of the counting of the Omer between Pesah and Shavuot.
While most of our holidays are joyous, and we are told that in the month of Adar (leading up to Purim) our happiness increases, there are no similar periods in the Jewish calendar during which we add special behaviors that make us happy. It is indeed curious that the ancient rabbis instituted periods of sadness, but not parallel periods of happiness. Were they trying to limit our joy?
Perhaps happiness is best appreciated when the opposite is occasionally mandated.
We are in such a period right now: known as the Three Weeks, it is the period between the 17th of Tammuz and the Ninth of Av (Tish'ah Be'av). Customs vary among communities, but the more commonly-observed minhagim include not holding weddings, not cutting one's hair, and not eating meat or drinking wine other than on Shabbat or at a se'udat mitzvah (a festive meal celebrating a berit milah / circumcision or the conclusion of learning a tractate of Talmud). Another similar period is that of sefirat ha-'omer, the period of the counting of the Omer between Pesah and Shavuot.
While most of our holidays are joyous, and we are told that in the month of Adar (leading up to Purim) our happiness increases, there are no similar periods in the Jewish calendar during which we add special behaviors that make us happy. It is indeed curious that the ancient rabbis instituted periods of sadness, but not parallel periods of happiness. Were they trying to limit our joy?
Perhaps happiness is best appreciated when the opposite is occasionally mandated.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Thursday Morning Kavvanah, 1/20/2011 - When Do We Need God?
When do we need God?
Certainly, we need God during our very sad times (surrounding death and remembrance of loved ones, illness, tragedy).
And of course we need God during our very happy times (weddings, births, lifecycle events).
And sometimes we need God during our quiet times, and sometimes during our stressful times. And sometimes when there's nothing particular going on at all.
We seek God through statutory prayer in mornings and evenings, as night becomes day and day becomes night.
Most of these are transitions, and these are the times that we need God, when it helps to know that we are not alone.
Certainly, we need God during our very sad times (surrounding death and remembrance of loved ones, illness, tragedy).
And of course we need God during our very happy times (weddings, births, lifecycle events).
And sometimes we need God during our quiet times, and sometimes during our stressful times. And sometimes when there's nothing particular going on at all.
We seek God through statutory prayer in mornings and evenings, as night becomes day and day becomes night.
Most of these are transitions, and these are the times that we need God, when it helps to know that we are not alone.
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