Rabbi Steve Segar's message in Havurah Happenings
The newsletter of the Reconstructionist Havurah of Cleveland   September 2003

This September is a great opportunity.

We have arrived once again at that point of intersection between the Jewish and American calendar cycles at which several major shifts take place. Students are returning to begin a new year of school. The first leaves are beginning to turn and we now and then catch a scent in the air that signals a transition from summer to fall. Because of the variability in the Jewish calendar cycle, the major fall holidays can arrive within a range of about thirty days, depending on the year. (As an old saying goes, the holidays are always either "early" or "late," but never on time.)

When Rosh Hashanah comes near the beginning of September, as it did last year, it can often feel as if too many things are happening at once. It is much harder in the middle of August to do the preparation that is important, if not essential, to having a meaningful Days of Awe experience. At this point, which is really still in the midst of summer, many of us understandably remain focused on vacation and recreation rather than on assessing our moral and spiritual achievements and failures over the past year.

That is why this year presents such a great opportunity. With Rosh Hashanah not arriving until the end of September, we are getting the chance to do our Elul work during a period of time that resonates much more closely with professional and academic calendars, as well as with the cycle of the seasons. 

Therefore, I want to encourage us all to take advantage of the greater synergy that this year's calendar affords and to set aside some time for reflection and introspection during the month of Elul, which begins on August 28 and concludes on September 26. Using one of the many Elul workbooks (check with Merkaz Judaica for selection) that have become available over the past several years is a good idea for those who would like a more structured way to enter into this process. 

Another extremely useful and rewarding approach involves selecting a spiritual Hevruta (study partner) with whom to share the challenges of preparing for this upcoming new year. May we all find, in whatever way is most meaningful to each one of us, a process of preparing for the Yammim Nora'im (Days of Awe) that enables us to see ourselves with clarity and compassion and motivates us to strive towards new levels of thought and action.

Rabbi Steve