We have entered the Jewish month of Elul which is the month before the Jewish new year… well one of the 4 Jewish new years.  We Jews are a bit funny that way.  We celebrate the new year on the 7th month of the year.  And then there is the new year for the trees, and the new year that actually is at the beginning of the year, and lastly a new year for the vegetables and animals.  Crazy really.

So, let’s just focus on the upcoming new year, the one we call Rosh haShannah.  These 2 Hebrew words can mean, “The head of the year.”  However, as I just pointed out, we are not at the beginning of the year.  So, maybe we should focus on another meaning of the phrase Rosh haShannah:  the head/beginning of change.

If we pay attention, we will notice that the weather is starting to change at this time of year.  The harvest is ending.  The days are noticeably shorter and there is a slight chill to the air.  This is the season for change, more than any other.  This is the time Jews make their new year’s resolutions.

How does one decide what resolutions to make?  This is always a hard question, and many people fall back on their old standbys… those standbys that are always there because they never get kept.

Jewish tradition holds that the month of Elul is a very special time.  It is the time where we start to look at who we want to be.   Amongst the orthodox Jews, I kept hearing, “While normally the king is in his palace, during the month of Elul, the king is in the field with us.”  What they were saying is that the god, the great mind/will/power behind creation is normally very inaccessible, much like a king in his palace.  However, right now, during this month, goddess is very accessible, just like a king would be if he was with us in a field.  In other words, there are no barriers between us and the divine.  This is the time to talk to god and really ask your questions, express your concerns and your thanks, share with the universe your feelings and hopes and dreams, and ask for advice and suggestions.

I look at Elul as the time of plowing the field of my life, and Rosh haShannah as the planting of who I hope to be at this time next year, when I harvest my crops (which we do 2 weeks after Rosh haShannah on the festival of Succot).

For me, this year has been a year of trial and error, a year of steps forward and back, of being overwhelmed and seeing myself not taking advantage of lulls in my business.  I think it is time to really sit down the the master of this universe and really have a deep conversation of what he wants and what I want.  The time is now and the planting is soon.  May you plant something tasty that will also nourish and sustain you over the coming year… and beyond.

About the Author

Shmuel Shalom Cohen spent 10 years studying Torah in Jerusalem. Six years ago, he started Conscious Torah to help Jews connect to their tradition in ways they didn’t think possible. Shmuel also started, and is the executive directory of Jewish Events Willamette-valley, a non-profit whose mission is to build Jewish community, pride, and learning. In his free time, Shmuel likes walks in nature, playing music, writing poetry, and time with good friends.