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Friday 1 Elul 5786

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Today begins the month of Elul. While every month in the Hebrew calendar contains some special occasion (even the month of Cheshvan, normally devoid of holidays, this year features Yom Aliya - celebrating new citizens of Israel, on 7 Heshvan - and Election Day on 16 Cheshvan) Elul has no commemorations whatsoever. And yet, I would suggest that Elul is the single most important month of the year. As the final month, Elul sits uniquely between 5786 and 5787, looking over its shoulder at the past, while looking ahead to the days to come. Elul is not only meant for review; more importantly, it is meant for repair, as we "balance our books" prior to setting our sights on Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur and the entire year ahead. Proper preparation is always the key to success. I do my research, organize my thoughts and carefully consider my message before I actually write an article. Chefs buy all the ingredients, simmer the sauce and carefully set the table before serving those who have come to the meal. Couples plan the wedding, rehearse the ceremony, seat the guests before they actually tie the knot. The opinion piece, the dinner, the nuptials may take just a few minutes to read, eat or carry out, but the prep starts well before and needs considerable time and effort to prove successful. Teshuva – repentance, or redemption – may be the ultimate goal, but it does not occur instantly. While fasting and praying, crying and confessing are valid means of seeking atonement from God during the days of penitence, the mending of inter-personal relations does not come so easily. We must first seek the forgiveness of our fellow human beings on an individual, personal level, humbling ourselves by admitting our errors and pleading for reconciliation long before the Shofar sounds or before the Kol Nidre is uttered. This is what the month of Elul is all about, and it ain't easy. Saying "I'm sorry" may be just two little words, but admitting you were wrong and saying it out loud - and sincerely – can fill you with fear and trepidation. Facing the ones we have wronged, and seeking to right a relationship that went sour, requires gathering up all our courage and unabashedly showing our humility and humanity. When King David, after the affair with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband Uriah, drops his excuses and takes full accountability - "I acknowledged my sin and did not cover up my iniquity... I will confess my transgressions to the LORD." (Psalm 32:5) – he is setting the paradigm for even the haughtiest potentate to bare his soul and appeal to others for mercy. So, as yet another Israeli election fast approaches – this time coming shortly after the Jewish holidays – I ask our government, if it truly seeks our support, to "fess up" and acknowledge the errors it has made, errors that have impacted, often disastrously, upon every one of our citizens. *Apologize for continuing a seemingly-endless conflict that shows no sign of abating. Yes, Hamas in Gaza needed to be hit, and hit hard. But was the stated objective of "wiping out Hamas completely, taking away their weapons and rehabilitating the Gaza Strip" ever feasible, or was it just a boastful, unattainable goal that has resulted in the death of more than a thousand of our finest young people, with no end in sight? Joshua could not eradicate the Gazans, nor could Samson or Kings David and Solomon. Did you really think you could accomplish what they could not? Or was this audacious hubris at work? *Apologize for forging and maintaining a coalition that has split the country literally in two, routinely disenfranchising half the people for the sake of the other half. Even in Israel – where every person has at least two opinions – you have presided over a population that never achieves consensus, even on the gravest issues of life and death. Just watch – if you have the stomach - any Knesset meeting, where compromise is met by arrogant dismissal and respectful dialogue is an impossible dream. *Apologize for empowering one particular community at the expense of all the others, allowing them to escape their rightful responsibilities by creating a "state within a state" – thus endangering everyone else's security – so that your regime could sustain power and carry out yet another term. *Apologize and take responsibility for the drastic decline in global support – let alone admiration – for Israel. Under your administration, there isn't a single country of significance whose citizenry now has a positive opinion of the Jewish state, or takes our side in the Arab-Israeli conflict. What future have you forged for our children and grandchildren? Shortly after our son Ari fell in battle against Hamas, a delegation of army officers came to our home to present the official report of the circumstances leading to his death. They were led by Major General (Res.) Noam Tibon, then commander of the Nachal Brigade, where Ari served. Gen. Tibon openly admitted to us that certain errors had been made in the course of the mission. He detailed those errors and apologized profusely on behalf of the IDF, telling us that we could pursue the matter in military court, should we so desire. There was no attempt at obfuscation or evading the truth, just an honest admission that even the best-planned operation can have its faults. Susie and I accepted the report, and pledged our absolute loyalty to the army, which has never left our side in all these 24 years. Imagine the respect – even admiration – that we as a country would have for our civil leaders if they would show their human side, acknowledge their failings and seek reconciliation via the "Elul Effect," when less-than-perfect performance is openly admitted, and honest apologies break down the barriers of rage and resentment. No, it does not replace the actual change in policies that must take place, or the full, independent review of October 7 that is long overdue, but it is at least a start and the affirmation of the others' worth. "Teshuva" has a dual meaning in Hebrew: "repentance" and "answer." To put this country right, and unite, rather than divide the nation, Teshuva is the answer.
The Month of Elul
The Month of Elul
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