The heart, to be sure, always has something to say about what is to come, to him who heeds it. But what does the heart know?
Only a little of what has already happened.
I promessi sposi, chapter viii
As Elul, the final month in the Jewish calendar, begins, I find myself looking forward and looking back. I dare not face the Day of Judgement on Rosh Hashana without repairing mistakes of the past. I cannot face Rosh Hashana without looking forward to the future with excitement over all the potential of the coming year.
It is my heart that speaks to me of what is to come. I still my mind to hear the quiet voice of my heart speak to me of what I can do and what I must. While my brain is noisily considering what I must do, my immediate challenges and goals, it is my heart that speaks of what I can do, my promise, prospects, and possibilities.
What does the heart know? "Only a little of what has already happened." Even as I look forward with my heart, I must look back with my heart to better inform my future. This is a higher form of Teshuva; looking back not only to repair the past, but to better inform my future so I can celebrate even before the future is now.
I fear that all the talk I hear and read of Teshuva as repair can pull us into a trap of regret and guilt. We all make mistakes. We can read through the confessions of Yom Kippur and find examples of where we went wrong. The Teshuva of Elul is not a time of confession, but of looking back to capture sparks of potential, moments of possibility, and hints of promise. We are sprinters, stepping back, in order to run and leap ahead. Elul is a celebration of the future, informing our hearts, and then quietly listening for what they say to us of what is to come.
We will have ample opportunity to confess. Let's use the next few weeks to, yes, look back, but not with a critical eye, but a discerning heart that will quietly share all it can about what is to come.
We celebrate our 100th newsletter by sharing this milestone with Jonathan and Shuni Geiss, and the entire remarkable Geiss family, as they celebrate the birth of Shayli Aliza, of whom our hearts sing, will rise above Mazal Tov, and live a life of infinite potential and promise.
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Simcha L. Weinberg
President
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