Elul 5772

Elul comes after the dark month of Av and still keeps the shades of the suffering and distress.

A short overview of the events that took place in the month of Elul shows how before the change many dramatic changes could take place.

And only if I try to think about some of the events of the last days, according to the media news, I cannot stop thinking about the difficult beginning that stays before us:

The anti-semitic attack on the college campus in the US. As usual, it is still difficult to see American as a hotbed of hate, but the zahav medina for Jews was only in my imagination. A couple of seconds ago I've read that the Orthodox Rabbi of Berlin was charged for defending circumcisions.

A recent anti-semitic attack in Berlin, a place where the Jews discussed a lot lately about what the meaning of a circumcision ban.

The news of the inevitable eviction of Migron

In between many other news and dangers. The challenges aren't new, the opportunities change always.

Traditions of the selichot

The sense and history

Basic questions and answers

The Chabad perspective and the prayers

Selichot for iPhone

Thoughts before Elul

Image via Wikipedia//Time to think about the past and the future

Tonight we are entering the last month of the Jewish year, Elul, a month of evaluation, consideration, teshuva but also joy.

Life is always with ups and downs, tears and smiles. Happiness and unhappiness aren't permanent status and we are lucky enough to be able to alternate and becoming wise enough to find the proper solutions for sometimes difficult problems.

Recently, I was faced with a complicate situation: I found out that somebody very close to my heart did something wrong and I went extremely angry - without being disappointed. Crying and making a scene are not a solution but on the spot I didn't see any other easy possibilities for overcoming this difficult situation without a direct effect on me. Fortunately enough, I was alone without the possibility to contact the person for the next hours. I decided to make a big mug of coffee, watch a movie (a bit strange, but dark enough to annihilate my dark thoughts), think about the lunch, go to the library to pick up new books. I got some fresh air, saw different persons and the tension was decreasing.

This change of ambiance helped me to take a decision: I should tell the person that I know about the whole incident because I need to prevent a repetition. I have to create a very relaxed and neutral narrative, outlining the hilarious aspects - not lecturing but making a terrible fun of the attitude, actors and other aspects. I am talking about a person with a simple sense of humour for whom my opinion matters a lot and who will never do something to hurt me. With a smiling face and a sweet voice, we had a wonderful and relaxed dialogue about human mistakes without openly recognizing the mistakes or accusing each other - one persons knows too much, the other is too naive. The whole setting worked admirably, although at the end of the experiment I was feeling extremely exhausted psychically because of the pressure of finding the best diplomatic solution without creating tensions or conflict.

And this could be a good beginning for thinking about life, relationships and human appreciation.

Chodesh tov!