Elul Day 10

Dear Elul Writers,

Tonight we return to the shofar, to its song and to the teaching of the Shlah Hakadosh, R’ Isaiah Horowitz. Last week we began with the full sound of tekiah and reflected on moments from this past year where we felt the “rush of the world.” Yet our journey through the sounds of the shofar continues on, and, considering the three-part sound of shevarim, we quickly recognize the cracks in our facade. 

Each of us is a multitude, we carry within us feelings and beliefs that stand in tension with each other. This is not weakness, it is being human. Don’t believe me? Here is some proof that  I found in my own journal:

I am conscientious and I am oblivious. I am brimming with life and I am utterly exhausted. I am stupidly hopeful, and sometimes it feels like I can’t imagine a way out of the morass. I feel strong in moments and powerless in others. I am empathetic and, all too often, apathetic. Often I judge people generously; other times I just judge people. I am kind. I am coarse. I’m playful. I am cynical. I am a big mixed-up mess– multifaceted and mysterious and miraculously made in the image of my mixed-up Maker.

Tekiah-Shevarim-Truah-Tekiah 

Prompt

I invite you to spend this tenth day of Elul searching out your fault lines and fissures. Where are those places that the different aspects of your identity rub up against each other? Are you generally patient, but a specific circumstance has pushed you past your limit? Are you generally pretty buttoned up, but you allowed yourself a time to completely let loose? Is there a moment from this last year where you experienced your own multifaceted nature? If it feels helpful to you as a journaling prompt, you can write “I am…” again and again on your paper and then just fill in the blanks. You are lots of things.

Shavua tov,

Jordan