Elul reflections 1: hesed
There is some debate about the relative importance and, for lack of a better word, "relative holiness" of the many (many) Jewish holidays. But if pressed, I suspect that most Jews would identify Yom Kippur -- which is just around the corner now -- as the holiest of Jewish holy days: the day on which we seek forgiveness, reconciliation, and at-one-ment with God (however we understand Him/Her). But I propose that a lot of Jews are less aware of the holiness of the entire month that precedes the Days of Awe, the month of Elul, which is already upon us! Elul is a time for introspection and self-reflection, for a practice known as h eshbon ha-nephesh , accounting of the soul. For the four weeks of Elul, I am trying to write one blog post a week looking at values, drawn from the Jewish tradition of Mussar as interpreted by contemporary sage Alan Morinis, that I think I -- and perhaps we as a society -- need to have more of in our "soul accounts." This week: h esed (