The Ellul Moon

2010-08-17T03:50:00.000-07:00

The Elul moon

Hangs there as in a hole in the clouds

of purple

Pink, grey and white

The sky collaborates

And this six day circle yet to be

Centers us on turning and growing

Being and becoming.

Carrying the recycle bin

It calls to me as the garage door

Yawns and opens me up to new possibilities.

How simple and humble she renews herself.

Tomorrow night Elul will be one week old.

And my promises to prepare, to find self and place

Are bathed in the glow of purple, pink, grey

And white.

A Meditation and a Red Leaf

2010-08-11T19:59:00.001-07:00

I saw my first red leaf of the season this morning. I was out for a walk trying to both get my head and my body in shape. (probably a lost cause – but you got to keep trying!) And there it was – on the ground just on the edge of the trees, having fallen from one of the still green green trees of summer.

I said to myself: Fall is coming early, or this leaf does not know it is not time yet. It is still August and yet there it was. An announcement that things will not always remain the way they are, no matter what our assumptions.

Life is about change, usually when we least expect it. Things happen when they are not supposed to and we are often not in control. The Jewish calendar teaches that in a yearly cycle when the Hebrew month of Av gives way to the month of Ellul. Here we go again it says. The year is ending. A new year will be born in less than thirty days. You may not be ready to see a red leaf but there it is.

And there is the cycle and seasons of life. We are in our preparation for what is new and surprising mode. This new month of Ellul is called the month of preparation. Prepare for the birthing of a New Year. Prepare for the next cycle of life. Prepare for autumn in the middle of summer.

A red leaf and the whisper of God.

The Center For Jewish Spirituality

The Ellul Moon

A Meditation and a Red Leaf