Pearls of Elul 5786 - Day Twenty-Four

September 5 | 23 Elul

Did You Conduct Your Life with Integrity?

Talmudic question: נשאת ונתת באמונה - Nasata v'natata be'emunah

The first question the Talmud imagines being asked in heaven is surprisingly ordinary. Did you conduct your business dealings honestly? The rabbis don't begin with prayer or ritual. They begin with the way we behave in the everyday transactions of life. That feels particularly appropriate as we approach Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, when we recite Al Chet and confess the ways we have failed one another. The High Holy Days remind us that holiness is not confined to the synagogue. It is revealed in how we speak, how we treat people, whether we keep our promises, and whether our private behavior matches the values we proclaim publicly. The word emunah can mean faith, but here it carries the sense of trustworthiness and integrity. The question is therefore larger than whether we cheated someone in a business transaction.

The questions for Elul are:

Can the people in my life trust me?

And perhaps even more deeply:

Am I the same person when no one is watching as I am when everyone is watching?