Elul Day 21

Dear Elul Writers,

As ever, I am enamored by the poetry of Wislawa Szymborska. This playful (but potent) poem speaks to the uniquely human emotion of remorse, and it has a splendid title. 

In Praise of Feeling Bad About Yourself

The buzzard never says it is to blame.
The panther wouldn't know what scruples mean.
When the piranha strikes, it feels no shame. 
If snakes had hands, they'd claim their hands were clean. 

A jackal doesn't understand remorse.
Lions and lice don't waver in their course.
Why should they, when they know they're right?

Though hearts of killer whales may weigh a ton,
in every other way they're light. 

On this third planet of the sun
among the signs of bestiality
a clear conscience is Number One.

Translated by Stanislaw Baraczak and Clare Cavanagh.

Behind the cute rhymes of the poem is an important reminder–our guilt, our shame, our deep regret are all part of what it means to be a person in this world. There is not a year that goes by in which we can emerge spotless. We have hurt those we care about. We have hardened our hearts towards others. We have been unloving to ourselves. We can’t spend all of our Elul in a place of remorse, but we shouldn’t ignore it either.

Tekiah-Shevarim-Teruah-Tekiah 

Prompt:

On Day 21 of the month, as some begin the practice of reciting selichot prayers, we return to the sounds of the shofar, and the corresponding journey of teshuvah. With the staccato call of teruah, we call to mind the places where we are still in pieces. I encourage you to look back on your year and find a moment of feeling broken or ashamed. Maybe there is a definitive experience that will come to mind or perhaps you will need to search for it. In the moment, did becoming whole again even feel like a possibility? Does it feel possible yet? Let’s hold in mind that our regret is marvelous and unique and essentially human.

Shavua tov,
Jordan