On Thursday, September 12, Rickie Rabinowitz, well-known inspirational speaker in Yerushalayim, shared a Zoom shiur about Elul.
She began by relating that this year we have a different view of Elul. She shared an analogy of a beautiful wedding where everything is perfect, and you were the shadchan. In the middle of the wedding, you step outside and see the kallah talking intimately to another man. You walk back inside, and your head is spinning. Now, the whole wedding falls apart. That was the sin of the Golden Calf. The Jews were living in an idyllic situation, having come out of Egypt. They were ready to receive the gift of the Torah. In the middle of the “wedding,” Moshe Rabbeinu saw the Jewish people (the “kallah”) standing outside in intimate conversation with the Golden Calf. Amazingly, the “chasan,” Hashem, agreed not to back out of the wedding.
Moshe spent 40 more days in t’filah with Hashem. He asked Hashem to love us. He asked if, in spite of our infidelity, Hashem would love us again. Can we have that relationship? Hashem said yes. “That’s the miracle of t’shuvah. Moshe brought us the greatest gift to restore a relationship back to where it was before the problem. Those 40 days culminated with forgiveness on Yom Kippur. Moshe had to do the work of creating the new Luchos. There are two in a relationship and that’s the key to Elul.
During Elul, we recite S’lichos and hear the shofar.
She shared a video clip showing the contrast between Ashkenazi S’lichos and Sefardi S’lichos. The Sefardim were dancing, and the Ashkenazim were concentrating more on the seriousness and fear.
Sephardim say s’lichos with joy, love, and connecting. We can laugh and sing together because Hashem loves us.
Ashkenazim view Elul with fear as we are heading for a big “court case” in 30 days. She explained that is the dialectic of Elul. It has both these aspects to it.
Psalm 27 is different from other T’hilim. It starts out with success. It states: Hashem is my light, my savior. He is everything to me. I’m not afraid of anything. I’m confident that if I’m attacked, the attackers will be defeated. In the middle, the psalm switches: It says that I’m confident that Hashem will hide me and raise me up.
We can see that King David feels insecure, and he’s calling out to Hashem to answer him and to have mercy on him. It says don’t hide. Don’t turn away in anger from me. Don’t leave me.
Why do we have two emotions? He feels both secure and insecure. Every other psalm that begins with loneliness or abandonment ends on a high note. In Psalm 27, it’s backwards. Only the last line brings hope again.
This is our relationship with Hashem. This psalm epitomizes our year last year. It started with a beautiful Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur. We weren’t afraid of anything. We had a certain conception of our relationship with our neighbors. We went into Sukkos with confidence. We had no thought in the world of any problems. We davened Musaf on Simchas Torah. Then, BOOM!
Like it says in Psalm 27, we are crying: Hashem, hear my voice. I am crying. Don’t leave me. We found ourselves in a desperate place. We begged Hashem. It felt almost hopeless.
Hashem kept sending us a hug. She spoke about the letters that soldiers sent their parents, and how, even now, after Hersh Goldberg-Polin was murdered, his mother said she thanked Hashem for her having Hersh for 23 years. Rickie Rabinowitz said that these incredible people give us chizuk. There are people who give us chizuk during their shiv’ah for a loved one. They say to believe in Hashem and to reach out to Him.
Relationships go in waves. Sometimes we feel confident and secure, and sometimes we feel insecure. That’s human normality. You look back at the basis for your relationship to feel that connection. Hashem gave us that first set of Luchos. So, our relationship can be started again. Hashem wants one thing. He wants a relationship.
“He created us for one thing: to connect to Him and to be proud to be His people.”
We become caught in webs of confusion. We start to doubt. Doubt is insidious. You say Hashem really doesn’t care for us. The answer is in Psalm 27. In the beginning of the psalm, King David is talking about Hashem in the third person. Later, it switches to second person. He says that Hashem I’m talking to you when I’m in a place of pain.
She shared how women in Eretz Yisrael came together and baked for the soldiers. Some were nonbelievers or real left-wing. It didn’t matter. They asked for a shiur and now they are having a shiur. They asked to go to the Kosel with Rickie Rabinowitz to recite S’lichos.
We need to change the word “me” by turning the “m” upside down so it’s a “w” and the word becomes “we.” “Connection is what it’s about.”
The essence of Elul is connection and relationship.
When people feel scared and stuck, they can’t imagine life without being stuck. We get stuck in a temporary place of despair and we forget our permanent anchor. “When we go back to a place of connection, we are a different people!”
The final Al Cheit on Yom Kippur is about a state of agonizing doubt. This is how we were on Simchas Torah last year. Doubt brings us into not making sense of anything.
Our job is to gain the function that exists within us. We need to connect because it’s all about connection. We should not be willing to settle for a pareve relationship. We want connection with Hashem. We build this by connecting with one another. Become the person that someone else needs, and then you can say to Hashem: I need to exist.
At the end of Psalm 27, King David says: Hope to G-d and strengthen your heart! We ask Hashem to help us navigate the doubt with confidence.
We say to Hashem: Let whatever I do add to my connection to You. We say, I’m here. I’m not looking outside. Hashem is in the field. He is accessible to me. Say to someone who needs you: I’m here. Make this year like the beginning of Psalm 27!
This shiur was hosted by Chizuk Mission, an organization in Eretz Yisrael to help women reach their full potential: to deepen their connection to Hashem and strengthen their emunah. It was established in 2009. An integral aspect of the program’s success is to provide spiritual growth and all opportunities for women within the frum community and equip them with tools to apply these lessons in their daily lives. Thank you to the organization and to Rickie Rabinowitz for this beautiful shiur and all that you do on behalf of klal Yisrael.
By Susie Garber
