Getting Us Ready for the High Holidays

We often think of the High Holidays as the two days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, three days presented as the holiest days of the year.  Actually, the High Holidays are a whole season of time and experiences that begin with Rosh Chodesh Elul, the start of the Jewish month of Elul, and continue all the way through Hoshana Rabah.   

Beginning with the new month of Elul, we start two rituals to begin our spiritual preparations for the High Holidays.  Every day, including Shabbat, we recite Psalm 27, the Psalm for the penitential season.  On weekdays during Elul, we also sound the shofar each morning at Shacharit, the morning service.  

We do this because the overwhelming nature of the High Holidays necessitates that we prepare spiritually and emotionally for the work of repentance required of us.  It is no easy task to seek out those we have hurt over the past year, and we need time to prepare.  Elul gives us that time. 

As a rabbi, this period of time is particularly fraught.  Each day of Elul counts down to Rosh Hashanah, reminding me not only of my spiritual preparation but also of the physical preparations, such as writing sermons, assigning honors, cleaning ritual materials, and more.  I appreciate the stress that allows me to focus on the task at hand. 

Let us use this month to organize and prepare our spiritual internal audit, making ourselves ready for the blessings of the holidays and a New Year.  

Shabbat Shalom 

Rabbi Bradley Tecktiel