* Translated by Janine Muller Sherr
“Today is the start of election season,” someone clever said to me today, with a smile. I didn’t understand what he meant at first, but then I realized: Yes, today is Rosh Chodesh Elul.
This is indeed the start of a turbulent election season, but one that takes place inside of us: *What kind of Jew will we decide to be in the coming year?* What will we decide to change and improve? And also—how much effort will we exert to follow the upcoming political season with all its surveys, commentaries, and “spins,” and how much time we will devote to our own personal “elections,” dedicating ourselves to refining our conduct and improving our character traits?
There are 40 days between Rosh Chodesh Elul and Yom Kippur. This is the time for our annual inspection test—not for our car, but for our soul. From time immemorial, this has been the season in the Jewish year for recalculating our “route” and recalibrating a spiritually healthy life balance.
Our sages teach us that the most practical way to achieve self-improvement is to focus on one area of our lives that we would like to change, something small which we would like to amend in the coming year. I invite you to consider what your own personal area of focus will be.
The month of Elul reminds us that our “votes” are not only cast once every four years in the election booth, but at every moment of our lives— in our daily behavior, our attempts to grow stronger, and in every decision that we make—from the most important to the least significant—including those decisions we hardly pay attention to at all.
I wish you a Chodesh Tov and much success in your own “election season”!
