* Translation by Yehoshua Siskin (http://inthelandoftheJews.blogspot.com)
It's the 1st of September and the new school year is upon us. Yet the school year does not really begin in September; it's already in session, and has been so for two months. Summer vacation is the time of year when the most critical schooling takes place. It's the time when children receive instruction about real life through observation of their parents, seeing how they speak, work, drive the car, play with them in the park or vacation with them in a hotel. During summer vacation, our children learn by watching us how to relate to the world that exists outside of school. They study us carefully up close, and the lessons they learn from our behaviors will last a lifetime.
Clearly, summer vacation is so long that we run out of patience. In spite of this, just before we "deposit" our kids once again into the hands of their teachers (thanks to all of you!) we need to remember that the connection between parents and their children is the most significant connection of all. Even after we read at the beginning of each school year about "the best teachers," there is no doubt that, throughout the course of our lives, our most influential teachers are our parents.
Indeed, nearly every connection can be severed. A friendship can fade away, a marriage can end in divorce, a contract can be breached -- but the ties between parents and children can never be undone. Even when there are arguments and sharp words are exchanged between them, parents and children remain forever attached to one another.
This is such a strong connection, so powerful and fundamental that the Torah portion we read this week uses it as a paradigm for the connection between us and God. *"You are children of the Lord your God."* In other words, despite the occasional distance or even rift between us and our parents, or between us and God, we will always be the children of our parents, and we will always be God's children as well..
May everyone enjoy success in the school year.
And may everyone enjoy a successful month of Elul
Elul, a magnificent time for new beginnings
As we approach the launch of 5783, there are many Elul customs and halakhot. Here are a few of them.
1. *Recitation of Psalm 27.* From today until the end of the Sukkot holiday, it is customary to recite the powerful words of this psalm near the conclusion of morning and afternoon prayers. The psalm opens as follows: *"The Lord is my light and my salvation -- whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life -- whom shall I fear?"*
2. *Blowing of the shofar.* Throughout the month of Elul, on Rosh Hashanah, and at the conclusion of prayers and fasting on Yom Kippur, the shofar is blown. The shofar is associated with "shipur" (improvement) and is meant to awaken us and remind us of what is essential as opposed to nonessential, of what is eternal as opposed to temporary.
3. *Recitation of Selichot (prayers for Divine forgiveness)*. Sephardim begin to say Selichot starting tonight or early tomorrow morning, while Ashkenazim will join them in the final days before Rosh Hashanah. The focus of the biblical passages and ancient piyutim (liturgical poems) that comprise Selichot are atonement and self-purification, Divine mercy and compassion.
4. *Increase of prayers, psalms, and good wishes to one another.* It is customary to increase our prayers and reading of psalms this month and, already, to wish each other ketiva vechatima tova -- may you be inscribed and sealed (in the Book of Life). These practices are an acknowledgement of the power of our words.
5. *Focus on the "Rosh" in Rosh Hashanah.* It's the time of year to focus on the rosh or head -- that which we cannot do without. Therefore, this is a most appropriate time to check the status of tefillin and mezuzot and wish success to those who are returning to the eternally sustaining practice of Torah study. Above all, we need to attach ouselves to the essence of Elul, which is to search our souls and examine our spiritual condition just as a business is annually evaluated by examination of its gains and losses during the previous year. We do not want to live solely by ingrained habits, but rather stop and ask ourselves where we want to be in the new year.
Not to just go with the flow, but to grow. This is a month of reconciliation, closeness, and love. After the sin of the golden calf and the breaking of the Tablets of the Covenant, these are the days when Moshe Rabbeinu asked for and was granted forgiveness, ultimately returning to the people with a whole new set of Tablets on Yom Kippur. He taught us that it is always possible to rectify our sins, especially at this time of year.
Awareness is the first step to rectifying
Eating is one action where we can make the most of commonplace and essential events to see if there is room for improvement and change.
In parashat Eikev, the mitzvah of Birkat Hamazon, the prayer recited after a meal, is first mentioned: *"And you will eat and be satisfied -- and you will bless."* I once heard Rabbi Miki Yosefi suggest that the Hebrew word for food, מאכל (ma'achal), could be considered an anagram where the mem stands for "mah," the aleph stands for "eich," the kaf stands for "kama" and the lamed stands for "lama." Together, these four words can guide us toward a proper relationship with food.
*Mah* (what). What goes into our mouths? Is it kosher, healthy, and nutritious?
*Eich* (how). How do we eat? Ideally, when we are calm and sitting down, and not while we are engaged in a million other pursuits.
*Kama* (how much). How much do we eat? "And you will eat and be satisfied -- and you will bless." In other words, we need to know when to stop, before we explode -- to take control of food and not allow food to take control of us.
*Lama* (why). Anyway, why do we eat? So that our bodies will have the strength to do good things. If we have this in mind, if food gives us the energy we need to make the world a better place, then eating becomes a holy act.
Eating is just one example.
Iin every facet of our lives we must internalize and hold Torah close to our hearts
The head and the heart
According to a famous saying, the longest distance in the universe is not between planet earth and some remote galaxy but between the head and the heart. There are many things we know intellectually but have difficulty internalizing and bringing into the heart.
The dire warnings on cigarette packages are clear for all to see, but does that mean such messages necessarily influence people to stop smoking? Videos we see on TV urging caution on the roadways are of critical importance, but does that mean all of us stop looking at our cell phones while driving?
Knowledge is not enough. We need to change when we understand the truth and live in its light. This is relevant when it comes to staying on a diet or to getting up at the same time each morning; it is relevant to upholding eternal truths as well.
In lasr week's Torah portion Moshe Rabbeinu stands opposite the nation and declares: "And you shall know this day and take it into your hearts, that the Lord He is God in heaven above, and upon the earth below; there is none else."
Our commentators ask us to pay special attention to the word order in this declaration: "And you shall know this day," followed by "and take it into your heart." The first stage is to know, but the second stage is to immediately take this knowledge into the heart. To remove the barrier between knowledge and action, to succeed in living according to what we know and want. Everyone is invited to think of examples of how they would benefit from closing the gap between head and heart.