Thursday, September 15, 2011

TIME - ELUL

It is invisible, but always with us. It can be our greatest enemy, but also our best friend. It’s always moving, yet unwavering. It can work for us or against us. It is never neutral, and it never stops.

What is it? It is Time.

The human race has conquered space. We have cleared out wildernesses and turned them into cities. Travel and telecommunications have allowed us to transcend great distances.

But time: Have we conquered time? Most people would answer that we can manage time, but never conquer it, because the clock continues to tick whether we like it or not. We cannot stop the clock nor can we turn it back.

Jewish thought however always made it a goal to conquer time. It wasn’t enough to manage time, but actually conquer it. We sanctify time – Shabbat and holidays.

Time is energy, the Zohar explains. Each moment is potent, filled with enormous power. Each moment is an opportunity, never neutral. When we utilize and actualize the energy of the moment, time becomes our ally, launching us into another dimension. If we do not use the moment, the moment “dies,” and like dead weight it contributes to the erosion of our beings, as the clock of our lives ticks down.

By filling time with meaning and spirit, we have the power to eternalize each moment in our lives.

How many moments of our day are just fleeting specks lost in the shuffle of life? But then comes that one moment – that can turn an experience that lives on forever.

Imagine if you were able to turn all your moments into eternity. This is the power and the mystery of the Jewish calendar: Each day, week and month is defined by its unique energy. Time becomes our greatest asset; a silent but powerful partner in life’s journey.

We are now about to enter a most powerful time of the year: The Hebrew month of Elul.

The days of Elul are called ‘ days of ‘compassion,’ because in this period Moshe was successful in his appeal for forgiveness from G-d, for the Golden Calf. So this month serves as the month of Divine mercy and forgiveness.

We must tap into the energy of this time and release its enormous power. Every moment is an opportunity – packed with powerful energy.

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