Elul gets our souls ‘warmed up’ to start fresh for the New Year.
For Elul this year, I am pleased to share with you words from some of my favorite teachers from whom I have learned a great deal over the years. Some may be familiar and some may be new to you. I will bring you selections from the Sfat Emet, Henry David Thoreau, Rabbi Jonathan Slater and more plus my commentary on them. I welcome your thoughts.
Please share brief teachings from your favourites. If you have a special text, verse, poem, or prose that has influenced you during your life, please send it to me at rabbiplumb@mishkantefila.org .
The Morning: A New Day Ahead & A New Life Ahead
Every morning in our siddur we find the following prayer. I find it helps me set my intention for the day–fill the day with good intentions, friends, inclinations and deeds.
May it be your will, Eternal One, our God, the God of my fathers, and the God of my mothers, that we will accustom ourselves to your Torah, and attach ourselves to You. Do not bring us under the influence of sin, of transgression or iniquity, of temptation, or of scorn. Do not allow our bad inclinations to control us, and keep us away from a bad person and a bad friend. Attach us to our good inclinations and to good deeds, and bend our inclinations to serve You. Grant us—today and every day—grace, loving-kindness, and compassion, in Your eyes, and in the eyes of all who see us, and bestow upon us good loving-kindness. Blessed are You, Eternal One, who bestows good loving-kindness to God’s people Israel.
Click here for the Hebrew of the morning blessings
