Discomfort and Responsibility in the Houses We Live In: 

A Blessing for Elul and the Opening of School 

As we wind down the summer, many feel that at a certain point, we have had enough.  Enough of the travel, enough of being out and a feeling that it is time to go home.  

In Elul, as we prepare for the chagim, we long for a spiritual return home as we recite Tehilim 27. (27:4)

  אַחַת, שָׁאַלְתִּי מֵאֵת-יְהוָה--    אוֹתָהּ אֲבַקֵּשׁ

שִׁבְתִּי בְּבֵית-יְהוָה,    כָּל-יְמֵי חַיַּי

One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: 

that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life.

As we enter into another house, the schoolhouse in the coming days, we do so with the hope that it will be a space for us for dwell in and achieve continued growth and learning.  
As we enter this house in the month of Elul, I wanted to share three brief lessons from this month. 

Elul is not the month of history, it’s the month of responsibility

In this book about the holiday experience, Rabbi Alan Lew talks about a conversation he once heard about the cause of the fall of the Temples in Jerusalem. 
After much discussion, one of the presenters pointed out “there was one reason for the fall of the Temple and one reason alone” Rome was absolutely invincible..and nothing could stop them from taking Jerusalem.”  If this is true, why did the Rabbis of the Talmud attribute the destruction to the sins of the people?  

Lew answers that “neither the rabbis nor Moses cared a fig about history...they were spiritual leaders and spiritually, the only question worth asking...is this: What is my responsibility in this?” (p. 44-45)

Pesach is the time where we tell a story of history, how the Jews emerged with the salvation of God to destroy the powerful Egyptians.  The High Holiday time is not a time for attribution--it is a time for responsibility. It is a time to focus the lens on ourselves and look at what we can do to make our lives and the world better places.
As we begin a new school year, we are all aware of the many people who are critical to the success of our students - parents, coaches, teachers, administrators and friends.  They all carry the burden of contributing to the growth of the children.  
Yet, at the same time, it is a good idea, at times, to act as if we are the sole bearers of responsibility for student success in Elul and the high holidays.

Dwell in the familiar and in the new all at the same time 

Among the many terms that Avraham Avinu, the central character in the Torah readings of Rosh HaShana, uses to identify himself is a ger v’toshav, a stranger and a citizen.  

In Lew’s book, he discusses once walking down a street where he once lived a decade before.  As he walked down he said that he was “disoriented by both the change and the familiarity.” (p. 23)  
When we approach Elul, there is a part of us that feels that we are back to something familiar - the holidays, the school and going back home.  Dwelling in those spaces give us comfort--an element we need as we enter the new year.  
Yet, the experience should not be fully comfortable. Discomfort will force us to confront the elements of our lives that need to be changed.  
Many schools have in their mission, we want to create a “safe zone for taking risks.” (Edutopia)  As we begin a new school year, we want our children to feel safe and comfortable and also challenged and uncomfortable. 

Hit the Road

And finally, probably the lesser known lesson of Elul comes from the prophet Chagai. Chagai gave a prophecy on the first of  Elul in which he told the people to wake up and get to work.  
He said “Thus says Hashem:  (1:5,7).  שִׂימוּ לְבַבְכֶם עַל-דַּרְכֵיכֶם  which literally means to “put your hearts on your paths.”  As we enter into Elul and enter into a new school year, there is only one way toward success in the world and in school--and that is to put our hearts into it.  
We all have to give our full selves to helping to reach potential.  When we put our hearts into change and hit the road, salvation becomes closer to reality.

May it be a year of the familiar and the new, of the bearing responsibility and taking the lessons from the past year and moving forward.  In this way, all our holy houses, our home spaces and our schoolhouses will be blessed.