Rabbi's Week in Review Blog

This past week truly felt like the dog days of summer. Notwithstanding how the pandemic has made a mishmash of our sense of calendar and time, I have sensed a modicum of malaise. I will even admit to feeling a bit of the doldrums.

Yet our Jewish calendar still provides us with a sense of purpose, always leading us to whatever comes next. As part of our weekday-morning 15 minutes of a little prayer and a little study, we have been introducing Rabbi Jill Hammer’s Jewish Book of Days. It provides a reflection for each day on the calendar, as well as essays on our seasons and times of transition during the year.

At this time of year, we have been in transition from the despair reflected on Tisha B’Av to the day of love found on Tu B’Av. We look forward from the most hopeless times in our history to a time of meaningful relationship, a time of consolation for whatever ills we have suffered, and a time for meaningful self-reflection. The latter piece leads us toward the High Holy Days, a time for more intense self- and communal reflection, a time for Cheshbon HaNefesh, an accounting of our souls.

Affording ourselves this time to look inward should not be seen so much as an obligation; rather, we can see it as a gift.  The opportunity to connect with our better selves is what gives our lives meaning and purpose.