Playing capture the flag at a park near my house with friends from school. Playing catch in the backyard with my dad or brother. Riding my bike into town to get pizza and play video games. Or simply hanging out with my friends as we played pool and listened to music.
These are a few memories I have of growing up in a small town in the Bay Area. I know I dealt with challenges and stress back then, but looking back now…I don’t really remember them. Could it be that although they felt significant in the moment, upon further reflection, they really were not that big of a deal? Could it be that time has provided a broader perspective to what I experienced? Have the memories of those challenges been replaced with more recent ones? Or is it that I repressed them because they were just too painful to remember and I did not yet understand how important it was for me to learn and grow from these experiences by reflecting on them as I got older?
Later this month, we will enter Elul, the final month of our Jewish calendar year 5786.
Traditionally, this is a time that we are instructed to take some time to reflect on the year that was and begin the process of seeking forgiveness from those we may have wronged. This is one of the many things I love about Judaism; we are commanded to allocate time for ourselves to think, consider, and recalibrate (if needed) before we enter the next year.
And to get us started in this process, our soul gets awoken from the stupor it has been in for the last several months upon hearing the blast of the shofar, which is blown each morning during Elul, except on Shabbat.
Close your eyes and try to remember the last time you heard the shofar. Did you hear it recently, or do you remember feeling it as the sound entered through your ears and rattled around your entire body in a way that no other instrument’s sound could?
I have always considered the shofar to be my Jewish alarm clock. While at times I have tried to hit “snooze”, each time I hear it I am reminded that it is time to wake up, roll out of bed, and get started on the day’s work.
How did we live? Did we achieve what we had hoped to? Is our world better because of the choices we made? Because of the actions we took? Did we stand strong for what is important, and just, and honorable, or did we sit on the sidelines and let others dictate the direction of our lives and our world? Did we achieve what we wanted to achieve? Did I? Did you?
Did my actions (or inactions) adversely affect someone else? Was I kind with my words? How could I have remained calmer or handled myself differently in a particular situation? Did I use my time effectively? In essence, how could I have been a better version of myself?
These are such hard questions to answer. They require us to really look at who we are, examine our actions, and figure out what it all means.
This month, I challenge all of us to slow down, take back our time, and embrace Elul for what it was intended: a month of reflection. Be honest, figure out what is working and what is not, and let us launch our next year with renewed commitment to our goals. With renewed energy to achieve all that we hope to. And the focus to ensure that we appreciate the world around us, love our families and friends, relish in the time that we are given, take the actions needed to make our world what we want it to be, and not take our lives for granted.
Jason Moss is executive director of the Jewish Federation of the Greater
San Gabriel and Pomona Valleys.
