Rabbi Ashira's Reflections
September 2024
Dear Chevre,
When I sat down to write my article for this month’s bulletin, I had a moment of free association. September – the start of fall, back to school, work schedules might shift, temperatures often begin to drop, and … we enter our fall holiday cycle. Somehow all of these changes always seem to catch me a little by surprise even though they happen every year.
The Jewish calendar traditions help us ease into our fall holidays even if their approach initially surprises us. The entire month of Elul, which this year coincides with September, is considered a time of divine grace and mercy. Elul is an auspicious time when we especially should engage in cheshbon haNefesh, an accounting of ourselves, in preparation for the High Holidays and entering the new Jewish year. This process of personal accounting, reflecting on the whole of ourselves, might feel overwhelming such that we do not know how or where to begin.
My father was a certified public accountant, and I took a few accounting courses in college. One essential piece of accounting is that it is a systematic process. Jewish tradition offers several approaches for cheshbon haNefesh. One method was described by Rabbi Menachem Mendel Lefin in the 19th century. He suggested observing thirteen qualities about yourself. The thirteen qualities Lefin suggested in his approach are: Equanimity, Patience, Order with one’s actions and possessions, Decisiveness, Cleanliness of one’s self, possessions, and home, Humility, Righteousness, Frugality, Diligence in staying active and engaged, Silence, Calmness with others, Truth, and Separation from sin. For each trait, write a sentence or phrase which captures the trait’s ideal. For example, Lefin wrote about equanimity, “Rise above events that are inconsequential - both bad and good - for they are not worth disturbing my peace of mind.” Each week, you choose a trait on which to focus. In the morning, you read the sentence or phrase about the trait. In the evening, you record in a journal things that happened in the day which reveal something about the presence or absence of that trait. Over a full year, you are able to go through your list of thirteen traits a total of four times.
Although Elul is only four weeks, Lefin’s structure still can help us in the process of cheshbon haNefesh and prepare for the High Holidays. I invite you to join me in adapting his structure for the month of Elul. Let’s each of us choose four traits, one for each week of the month. For myself, I choose to notice the following traits: Patience, Order, Diligence, and Calmness. These qualities are areas where I see room for improvement and growth. For each trait, let us write a short phrase or sentence describing its ideal on something easily seen every day, such as an index card or as a note or reminder on the phone. Then let’s notice when events of the day connect to this trait. Let’s also then reflect on those events in a journal, written or spoken. At the end of the week, we can consider how our relationship to each trait has changed or how we might like it to change. I hope you will join me on this journey of cheshbon haNefesh. I would love to hear about your experience of this practice!
To further support your personal cheshbon haNefesh and the congregation, Temple Emanu-El has different opportunities to be in community with others in anticipation of the High Holidays. In addition to our Shabbat morning services and engaging discussions after, I will be offering a weekly Zentangle for Elul class via Zoom at 7:00 pm on Wednesday September 4, 11, 18, and 25. Zentangle is a meditative art requiring NO prior experience and very simple supplies of a pencil, black pen, and white paper. Through this fun and relaxing art style, we will look back over the past year, explore where we find ourselves now, and look ahead to our individual and communal futures. Each class will be standalone—attend as your schedule allows! Keep an eye on the temple website and the Shavuon for the Zoom link and for all of the upcoming programs and events.
Cheshbon haNefesh is not limited to individual personal reflection. We can engage in this spiritual accounting for our relationships with others, for our household, and for our congregation. Temple Emanu-El is and will be taking a close look at what makes our community who we are. Like in our personal cheshbon haNefesh, we as a community will need to determine which aspects of the community we cherish and wish to preserve or strength, where we might need to recalibrate or adjust, and discern who we want to become in this new year. I consider it a profound blessing to engage in this communal spiritual accounting and visioning process with you. As we journey through September and Elul together, let’s support each other as we strive to feel grounded, renewed, and re-energized to enter this new year of 5785 with blessings.
Rabbi Ashira