Elul Day 9

Dear Elul Writers,

I had the honor of bringing in Rosh Hashanah last year with my nephew, Zusha. There aren’t the lines here that I would need to describe Zusha, but I will share that he is nineteen, he loves to dance, he watches too many ambulance videos on YouTube, he is wildly perceptive about other people’s emotions, he loves his family, he can put away some pumpkin ravioli, he is developmentally disabled, he adores Usher and Beyoncé and Whitney Houston, he is funny and fun and more than a little mischievous. Suffice it to say, hosting Zusha is a blast, as he is always looking for the next exciting thing to do.

As it happens, as Erev Rosh Hashanah approached, we had one of those rare moments of feeling prepared– dinner was ready, everyone was showered, the table was set and there was more than an hour before services. This might be a moment to sit back and relax or crack open a book, but Zusha wasn’t having it. He asked me if we might get in the car, play some music and cruise around the neighborhood. So, as 5784 faded into the rearview mirror and 5785 came into view, we rolled the windows down, opened the sunroof and blasted Higher Love by Whitney Houston.

Think about it, there must be higher love
Down in the heart or hidden in the stars above
Without it, life is a wasted time
Look inside your heart, I'll look inside mine

Before we knew it, we were both belting it out, “Bring me a higher love. Bring me a higher love. Bring me a higher love. Where’s that higher love, I keep thinking of?” I can’t think of a better way to approach the new year than laughing, singing and calling out for a higher love. I want every Rosh Hashanah to begin this way.

Prompt

Our sages teach that there are two types of teshuvah, a turning/returning that is compelled by fear, teshuvah m’yirah, and a turning/returning that comes from a (higher) love, teshuvah m’ahavah. As you might have suspected, the repair and repentance that we do out of fear is fine–it gets the job done, but the teshuvah that is compelled by love, that is what we aspire to. R’ Toba Spitzer describes teshuvah m’ahava as a “teshuvah that comes from a desire to make close that which has been far off, to return to a state of intimacy with all that is Godly within ourselves and the world around us.” Today, I wonder if it is possible to give voice to a desire for intimacy; to write a love poem to yourself, to the world, to the Holy One of Blessing. How can you tap into the love that is the foundation of this work? 

Take care,

Jordan