Rabbinic Intern Elli's Message
December 2021
Happy (Gregorian) New Year!
As we turn to the new year, we think about where we want to go, what we want to change, and who we want to be in the year ahead. Certainly, that’s a theme of Rosh HaShanah, and it is also a theme now, as we consider the past year of our lives.
It can be difficult to look back. We have come from one peak of the pandemic last year to another now. Despite all we now know and how far we have come with vaccines, masking, and technology, the world is, again, folding in on itself.
If you are interested in learning more about Jewish traditions of personal growth and transformation as a part of your exploration this new year, I’d love to see you at my Introduction to Mussar class on January 10. But I also want to invite you, more generally, to continue being with yourself and asking yourself questions.
Where is my life out of balance? Do I have needs I am ignoring? Is it possible to make changes to help meet those needs and restore balance? The answer to this final question might be no, if you’re dealing with financial stress, raising children, caring for elderly family members, or facing other obligations. But I think an important question, for me at least, is always, how can I be kinder to myself this year?
May we know that light is returning on the darkest days of the year. May we care for one another deeply. And may we be compassionate to both others and ourselves.
Rabbinic Intern Elli
As we turn to the new year, we think about where we want to go, what we want to change, and who we want to be in the year ahead. Certainly, that’s a theme of Rosh HaShanah, and it is also a theme now, as we consider the past year of our lives.
It can be difficult to look back. We have come from one peak of the pandemic last year to another now. Despite all we now know and how far we have come with vaccines, masking, and technology, the world is, again, folding in on itself.
If you are interested in learning more about Jewish traditions of personal growth and transformation as a part of your exploration this new year, I’d love to see you at my Introduction to Mussar class on January 10. But I also want to invite you, more generally, to continue being with yourself and asking yourself questions.
Where is my life out of balance? Do I have needs I am ignoring? Is it possible to make changes to help meet those needs and restore balance? The answer to this final question might be no, if you’re dealing with financial stress, raising children, caring for elderly family members, or facing other obligations. But I think an important question, for me at least, is always, how can I be kinder to myself this year?
May we know that light is returning on the darkest days of the year. May we care for one another deeply. And may we be compassionate to both others and ourselves.
Rabbinic Intern Elli