Pearls of Elul 5786 - Day Nine

August 21 | 8 Elul

As we make our way through the Hebrew month of Elul, we are invited to slow down, listen more deeply, and make space for reflection. This week’s Pearls of Elul will explore the power of music as a guide for the soul during this sacred season. From the melodies that stir memories to the songs that help us name what is difficult to say, music has a unique way of reaching places within us that words alone cannot. These songs have brought meaning to me over the years and I am feeling particularly drawn to them this Elul. I hope you will find them meaningful as well. As we journey together toward Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, may these songs, melodies, and moments of listening help us pause, reflect on the year that has passed, and hear more clearly the person we are becoming in the year ahead.

I have been singing this version of Lecha Dodi, a love song for Shabbat, since it came up on my Spotify playlist. Its sweet melody calms my spirit and helps me to prepare myself for the introspection of Shabbat and this season of preparing for the New Year ahead. I hope it brings you a sense of meaning and calm this Shabbat and Elul.

Lecha Dodi (Hachama), Josh Warshawsky

Rabbi Amy discusses the sounds of the High Holy Days.

View the video and its transcript below.

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/b5515c_53b59f92db6344148c0d282d9401997c/1080p/mp4/file.mp4

Shabbat Shalom and Shana Tova. My name is Rabbi Amy Hertz.

I'm one of the rabbis here at Temple Emanuel in Greensboro, North Carolina.

And we are in the second week of the Hebrew month of Elul as we prepare for the new year and the sacred High Holy Days.

And the thing that's been calling to me most over this last few weeks as we've prepared to enter this season is music.

I've been thinking a lot about the sounds of the High Holy Days.

And I was recalling that sound of hearing Kol Nidre for the first time.

And I found this beautiful poem in the book Harvest by the poet Ruth Brin.

And these words just spoke deeply to me.

She wrote in her poem entitled Kol Nidre, "turning and returning, this melody flows, calling and recalling, bringing us home."

For some of us, the High Holy Days feel overwhelming, perhaps so big.

And for others of us, it's that time to come back to our most authentic selves, who we really are in our own hearts and in our own homes.

And so it's this journey along the way of returning to ourselves, our best selves, the people that we hope to be in the new year.

And so this week of Elul, as we consider this return to home, I've selected or curated it [with] a list of songs that have been speaking to me deeply over the summer and in this season in years past.

And so I wanted to share them with you.

So I've selected a song or video for each day of this week of Elul.

And I've written a short paragraph to share with you why these melodies have been meaningful to me or helped me to be present in this season in this time.

And so I look forward to hearing from you about the melodies and sounds of the High Holy Days that are bringing you meaning right now.

And I look forward to talking with you and singing some of these very melodies with you as we come together at Temple Emanuel in just a few short weeks for the start of 5787.

Shabbat Shalom. And again, Shana Tova.