13/08/2021
It's been a while!...Shabbat shalom!
This Shabbat, I am thinking about the Hebrew month of Elul. Elul can be looked at as an acrostic: Ani L'Dodi V'Dodi Li, which means, I am my beloved and my beloved is mine. It is the phrase couples exchange to eachother under the chuppah, the wedding canopy.
We can look at the symbol of a chuppah as a place we stand before entering into marriage. The chuppah represents hope and promise and dreams, but of course we know that the real test of time comes after the chuppah, after the wedding celebrations.
I thought that the chuppah actually perfectly represents the Hebrew month of Elul. We are spiritually, physically, emotionally and intellectually preparing for the Yamim Noraim, the High Holy Days. We are looking at our lives introspectively thinking about how we can improve our character traits, relationships and everyday experiences. It is a time for us to reflect upon the past Jewish calendrical year and see how we might want to look at next year a little bit differently.
So if Elul represents the chuppah, then the Yamim Noraim and the rest of the year represent the marriage, our marriage to God, to ourselves, to our partner, and to our friends and family. Ani L'Dodi V'Dodi Li represents our relationships and reminds us to continuously assess each one of our relationships and actions on a daily basis.
Wishing you a shabbat shalom and a meaningful Elul!
Arielle Shimko Levy
