Last week, I told you about a daily e-mail that I've been getting for the Jewish month of Elul, called 'Jewels of Elul.' As the month leading up to the High Holidays, Elul is a time of introspection and reflection, and the
Jewels of Elul really help me do just that. Every year, these daily essays have a joint theme, linking them all together, and this year the theme is 'The Art of Welcoming.' And it's not an exclusive list! You're welcome to get the daily e-mail as well, if you sign up on their website. Earlier this week, I was reading two of these Jewels back-to-back, and they really gave me something to think about, especially in relation to this week's Torah portion AND in relation to the State of Israel.
I don't know if Craig Taubman, the Jewels-editor, put these two sequentially on purpose, but I couldn't help but think that perhaps he did. You see, on the 14th of Elul (August 20th) we were sent a piece
written by Anat Hoffman, an activist with the Women of the Wall group who are fighting for equal rights to pray at the Western Wall in Jerusalem. And on the 15th of Elul, we received an article written by Rabbi Yehoshua Fass, the co-founded of the group Nefesh b'Nefesh, which helps people make aliyah to Israel and become Israeli citizens. And though they both spoke incredibly lovingly about the State of Israel, they also live in VERY different worlds.
Our Torah portion this week, Ki Tavo, includes the oft-quoted verse, "Blessed shall you be in your comings, and blessed shall you be in your goings" (Deuteronomy, 28:6). Thirteen verses later, we see the same phrasing used again, but this time turned on its head as it describes what will happen if the Israelites DON'T follow God's commands: "Cursed shall you be in your comings, and cursed shall you be in your goings!"
I thought about these two Jewels of Elul, and how they challenge us to think about blessed comings and not-so-blessed goings. Rabbi Fass tells us the beautiful narrative we WANT to believe about life in Israel: "The Oleh [new immigrant] should feel proud of their decision, welcomed by their new neighbors, applauded for their courage, and honored for their brave and life-changing choice to come home." And I agree with Rabbi Fass. Two-and-a-half years ago, both my sister and one of my best friends made this very courageous decision to make aliyah. But it's also been eye opening - even for me, sitting all the way over here in Wallingford, PA - to see how tough it is for each of them to make a new life in Israel. By framing both the blessing and the curse in the same way, and putting them so close together, the Torah is reminding us that it can feel pretty precarious, and that the line between the two ain't as easily delineated as we might like...
And Anat Hoffman's piece - placed as close to Fass' article as the proximity between the blessings and the curses - reminds us of the complexity of Israel, and the struggles that are fought there every day. Hoffman tells us: "Reform and progressive Jews in Israel have become accustomed to living in metaphorical handcuffs... second class Jews in the eyes of the State for so long that we have learned to function this way."
Fass shows us the ideal, but (sadly) Hoffman speaks of the unfortunate reality for non-Orthodox Jews who which to express their religious identity. But we are in control! All of us have the ability to separate between blessings and curses, even when they seem so close together. This month, Elul, calls for us to search our own lives, as well as the life of our community and our people, and think about what needs to change. And Elul urges us to have the courage to MAKE that change a reality. Jewels aren't stumbled upon; they are mined and polished, and that is the work we all must do as this new year is about to begin.
Photos in this blog post:
3. Image courtesy of Rabbi Gerber, from his friend (the new oleh), Eric's wedding. Mazal Tov!!
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