Elul 22: End

by Rebecca Einstein Schorr on 02 September 2018 @ 12:01 am

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#BlogElul 2018

#BlogElul is a monthlong exploration of themes pertaining to the High Holy Days. Created by R’ Phyllis Sommer, the #BlogElul #ElulGram project allows participants to delve into topics as a way of preparing for the season.

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Elul 21: Love

by Rebecca Einstein Schorr on 01 September 2018 @ 9:37 pm

We are loved by an unending love.

We are embraced by arms that find us
even when we are hidden from ourselves.
We are touched by fingers that soothe us
even when we are too proud for soothing.
We are counseled by voices that guide us
even when we are too embittered to hear.
We are loved by an unending love.

We are supported by hands that uplift us
even in the midst of a fall.
We are urged on by eyes that meet us
even when we are too weak for meeting.
We are loved by an unending love.

Embraced, touched, soothed, and counseled,
Ours are the arms, the fingers, the voices;
Ours are the hands, the eyes, the smiles;
We are loved by an unending love.

(Rabbi Rami Shapiro)

Unending Love.
One of my favourite ways to think about God.
A love so vast, so inclusive that it encompasses us all.
God commanded us to love our neighbour as ourselves (Lev 19:18).
But Unending Love means that we must love our neighbour even if (especially if?) they are not like ourselves.

Imagine that world…

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#BlogElul 2018

#BlogElul is a monthlong exploration of themes pertaining to the High Holy Days. Created by R’ Phyllis Sommer, the #BlogElul #ElulGram project allows participants to delve into topics as a way of preparing for the season.

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Elul 20: Fill

August 31, 2018

In my first year of rabbinical school, I was asked to provide the chazzanut for the overflow service at my seminary in Jerusalem. Though we had a cantorial school, the cantorial students were otherwise engaged in the main service, giving me an amazing opportunity. The rabbi with whom I co-led services gave me the following […]

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Elul 19: Speak

August 30, 2018

Speak Speak up. Speak out. Speak louder. God gave us one mouth and two ears. A good reminder to do less talking and more listening. But when we do speak, it should be something of substance. I’ve been thinking about speech. A lot. The words we use. The harm we do. The pain we cause. […]

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Elul 18: Ask

August 29, 2018

A Jewish grandmother and her grandson are at the beach. He’s playing in the water; she is standing on the shore not wanting to get wet. All of the sudden, a huge wave appears from nowhere and crashes directly onto the spot where the boy is wading. The water recedes and the boy is no […]

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