Elul Thoughts, Elul 9 (short Read)

Below is the teaching of Chaplain (soon to be Rabbi) Adam Ruditsky in conjunction with the book Preparing yourself for the High Holidays.

רפואה מן התורה

One thing I ask of the Lord, only this do I seek to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the Lord’s beauty and to frequent his temple … (Ps. 27:4)

This really does seem impractical; I mean living in the house of God every day and every moment let alone seeking God all the time.  David (assuming that he wrote the above Psalm) was a man who loved his life with the Lord, that much is clear when you read about him, and the Torah was a lamp to his feet and a light to his path as he walked with God (Ps. 119:105).  Today, the challenge in having that type of devotion (no matter the extent) is compromised given the business of our world.  But that problem also existed when Israel lost their land and temple and was exiled to Babylon and beyond after the destruction of the 2^nd Temple.  As such, we read in Perkei Avot, “I have found nothing better for my body than to sit in silence” (Avot 1:17).  Likewise, Avot also teaches that “The fence of wisdom is silence” (Avot 3:17).  God can be found in the silence and our job is to create that in the ever ending ruckus of our lives.  Elijah when seeking God did not hear the voice of the Divine in the thunder, lighting or the shaking of the earth, but in the silence of the wind.  While not easy, it is possible.

The voice of Sinai is heard in the silence