Pearls of Elul 5786 - Day Twenty-Eight

September 9 | 27 Elul

Did You Keep Asking Questions?

Talmudic question: פלפלת בחכמה - Pilpalta b'chochmah?

The rabbis imagine being asked whether we engaged in wisdom, whether we wrestled with Torah and ideas deeply enough to sharpen our understanding. This question fits beautifully with the High Holy Days because Judaism does not ask us simply to confess. It asks us to think. The liturgy of the Days of Awe is filled with questions: Who are we? What have we done? Who have we hurt? What kind of people do we want to become? The Torah itself is a tradition built around argument, interpretation, wrestling, and questioning. Elul invites us to examine not only our behavior but also our assumptions, to consider whether we have remained open enough to learn something new about ourselves and the world. There is humility in a good question. We cannot grow if we are convinced that we already know everything.

The questions for Elul are:

Am I still curious?

Have I allowed someone else to challenge my assumptions?

Have I changed my mind when I encountered new wisdom?

Have I been willing to ask a question for which I don't yet know the answer?