Elul Day 21

Dear Elul Writers,

There is nothing quite like studying a text with an old friend. It is remarkable to witness the wisdom that has developed over time, while recognizing a thread of their approach to Torah and the world that stretches from your shared past to this present moment. So, it has been for me in the past month studying with my classmate from Hebrew College, the Jewish Studio Project’s very own R’ Adina Allen.

We decided this year, in preparation for Elul, to look at some texts from Mei Hashiloach, the great work of R’ Mordechai Yosef Leiner, peace be upon him. The chasidic master from the Ishbitz dynasty offers a vision of Torah that is living, flexible, with an emphasis on the dynamic power of interpretation. In particular, we were moved by a teaching in the Mei Hashiloach on the ten commandments. In typical fashion, the rebbe only gets one word into the text before pausing to interpret. The ten utterances begin with the word “I”, as in “I am Hashem, Your God.” R’ Mordechai Yosef points out that the word used in this moment is “anochi / אנכי” not the more common “ani / אני”. What separates these two words is just one letter– the letter kaf. This letter is the Hebrew letter that indicates an ‘approximation of’ or a ‘similarity to.’ Thus teaches the Mei Hashiloach, the first commandment is meant to remind us that we only get an estimation of what the Divine is, a fraction of that Holy Oneness. 

When, in the next commandment, we are instructed not to make graven images, the Ishbitzer teaches that “a graven image is cut according to specific dimensions; it is perfectly formed, lacking nothing.” According to the great teacher, this is exactly the danger of graven images– they represent an overconfidence, a fixed, static understanding of the Divine. When we attempt to understand God or the world with a sense of complete fixity, we have made a graven image. Needless to say this Torah resonated with me and R’ Adina. Whether a person is journaling through Elul or making art about it, there is an emergence, an unfolding that occurs. Creativity and interpretation are powerful antidotes to inflexible and rigid thinking; they offer us a way of being in relationship with tradition and with the Holy One without falling into the trap of certainty.

Prompt

We came to some of these sources by the Ishbitzer rebbe via an academic essay by Batya Hefter. In it, she quotes the sociologist, Peter Berger, who offers a paradigm that he calls “mellow certainty.” As soon as we heard that term, we knew we needed to share it here. This year (truly, every year) we would be wise to mellow out some of our certainties, to remember that we only see part of the whole, to embrace humility in our perspectives. On Day 21 of Elul, I invite you to consider where in the year to come are you hoping to escape rigid thinking? How might you cultivate more “mellow certainty?” How might such a posture allow you to live with both creativity and kindness?

Take care,
Jordan