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
For although my mother and father
have forsaken me, Adonai will lift me up (Ps. 27:10)
The Kohelet writes, “every time
and season under heaven are known my all” (my translation of Ecc. 3:1). Our mothers and fathers will pass from this
earth and leave us as orphans. In fact
the mourners Kaddish is called the “kaddish yatom,” literally the Orphans
Kaddish. This might sound strange to many
folks who certainly know the following, but we always need to remind ourselves
that with our parents gone we are responsible for our own choices. But that is the case in general as we grow
from a young person right up till adulthood even when mom and dad are still
alive. Now we can turn to God as a
parent figure, and many people in every theistic religion do, but it is more
than that. Elul is asking us to take stock, be responsible, rise up and embrace
the meaning of this time in our calendar cycle. Per the words of Talmud, this time is to
reflect since our “impulse renews itself every day, it grows in strength
each day and seeks to slay you” (BT Sukkah 52b). God does not forsake us even if sometimes it
feels that way (I know, this is another conversation). The ethics of God
reflected in Torah set a bar for living that is right and pure. That is the energy which is birthed from our self-responsibility
and with the help of God we can gain (or regain) the control needed to reach
where we aim.
As we become adults, we encounter
our parents with new understandings
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