#BlogElul – Day 1 – Prepare

As I did it last year, I will participate into the daily blogging activities of the month of Elul.

Elul is the last month before the Jewish New Year, a time to reflect and to do some soul cleansing, in order to prepare for the solemnity of the Days of Awe that start the Jewish year with serious liturgy. The days of “judgement” that lead to the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) are serious business for synagogue staff and clergy. There is a lot of preparation involved.

I like to prepare with check lists and calendars, colors and binders. I like to read what I have gathered through years of going through the same cycle, and notice the growth as doing so.

This year, again, I can sense the trepidation, and mostly the importance for me of going through the process, as it is a time of such fragility with life, that I do not want to miss the essential.