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
The Lord is the foundation of my life,
whom shall I fear … (Ps. 27:1)
Jewish holidays aspire to set a tone and enact a
reminder – God is the foundation in life.
In the book of Ecclesiastes its
author, understood to be Shlomo ben David (Kind Solomon), says to maintain what
is of one’s youth because in later years life has the power to tarnish the ways
of people, and that is so with God. How
many times have I heard, “Yeah, well I learned that as a kid, but now …” Today I hear, “I am spiritual but not
religious” from many of those same folks, and I get that, but religion is the
clothing of the soul when understood and approached correctly. Our religion
gives us Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur (to just name two) as a way to unite with
the deepest parts of the human spirit. Elul gives us the opportunity to prepare
our humanity to approach the holiday season with the right mindset, the only
fear is our own that stops us form embracing it. .
Spiritual growth is
possible when we let go of our past in order to reclaim it.
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