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Click the image below to watch a video message from 

Rabbi Dan Dorsch, Senior Rabbi, Congregation Etz Chaim, Marietta, Georgia. Then, scroll down to read an Elevating Elul message from Rabbi Jordan Gerson, Rabbi at Washington University Hillel in St. Louis, Missouri.

When Adam stood in the garden after eating from the Tree of Knowledge, God called to him asking, “Ayekah? Where are you?”  This is not just an inquiry into Adam’s physical location.  God was asking about the entirety of his being, spiritual, emotional, as well as physical.  As we progress from Av to Elul and then Tishrei, we are also being asked, “ayekeh,” through the themes that flow through our calendar.

In the Hebrew month of Av we encounter our need for geulah, redemption.  The destruction of the Holy Temples that once stood in Jerusalem call to us from the annals of history and our tradition, reminding us of the fragility of this world.  In Elul, however, we are called upon to engage in cheshbon nefesh, a soul-check, in which we explore our faults and confront our need for teshuvah or repentance.  Tishrei, the month of our High Holidays integrates the themes of the previous two months, reminding us that redemption and repentance, geulah and teshuvah, are two sides of the same coin. 

As we engage in the introspection of Elul, we are reminded of the faults in our character and of our missteps from the year gone by.  We are forced to come face to face with our imperfections and are asked to recognize just how much we have fallen short.  As a result we are left feeling vulnerable, brought low by the realization of our fallibility.  It is only after truly grasp our shortcomings that we are in a place where we can truly understand our need for geulah, redemption.

The fulfillment of this need, however, is not procured simply by asking.  It is through the work of teshuvah that we gain the redemption Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur offer.  Whether our offences are against people or God, once we recognize our deficits of character and our mistakes, we need to actually to do the work to correct and atone. We must apologize to those we have wronged, and work on ourselves to not repeat the mistakes of the past.  However, part of the work that we have to do throughout Elul and into the High Holiday season is giving forgiveness to those that come to us as they do their work of teshuvah.  In this way, we partner with God in the granting of redemption and in that act demonstrate our own worthiness of receiving this gift ourselves.

Neither repentance nor redemption is a destination.  Rather, when we engage in this work we are taking part in an ongoing process of improving upon ourselves, as well as our relationships with others and with God.  We do not embark upon this journey alone, we travel with those we have wronged and with those from whom we seek forgiveness. In working together and supporting one another in the process of teshuvah and geulah we can answer God’s call, “Ayekah,” by saying, “I am on the way!”
 
Rabbi Jordan Gerson

Rabbi Jordan Gerson is the Silk Foundation Campus Rabbi for Hillel at Washington University in St. Louis.  Rabbi Gerson, known affectionately as RJ by his students, is now entering his 6th year at WashU Hillel and oversees religious life and the educational vision for the campus organization.  Rabbi Gerson and the WashU Hillel team strive to provide rich and engaging Jewish content and leadership experiences for over 1700 Jewish students to inspire them to make an enduring commitment to Jewish life, learning, and Israel.  Rabbi Jordan lives in Creve Coeur with his wife and soon-to-be four children.