By Eleanor Berger Sollod
This week’s Torah portion is Re’eh: Deuteronomy 11:26 – 16:17
Sunday, Aug. 24, and Monday, Aug. 25, are Rosh Chodesh Elul. The upcoming month, Elul, is particularly special because it is the month we prepare for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, two of the most important holidays on the Jewish calendar.
We prepare for these holidays by saying Psalm 27. Psalm 27 was written by King David.
Rabbi David Golinkin from the Schechter Institutes points out that in this psalm, David wants God to give him a break from war.
King David feels too busy and occupied with his physical tasks because he is a military leader, and he has no time to fulfill his spiritual needs.
In Psalm 27, King David asks to sit in the House of God for the rest of his life. He says:
One thing I ask of the Lord, only that do I seek: to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life. … (Psalms 27:4)
Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, a 19th-century German rabbi, states that Psalm 27 doesn’t actually mean that David, or that we, should always try to dwell in the “House of God,” such as a synagogue or a Jewish school.
Instead, we should turn every place we are into a place of God. We turn places into a House of God by practicing mitzvot.
For example, when I babysit, I can turn where I am into a house of God by practicing important Jewish values like being inclusive and sharing.
My family makes our home into a House of God by keeping kosher and observing Shabbat.
We say this psalm every day for 51 days, from Rosh Chodesh Elul to Hoshana Rabbah. It’s a meaningful psalm to say during Elul because the psalm talks about how David confronts the difficulties in his life and tries to stay on the path of God.
Show me Your way, O Lord, and lead me on a level path because of my watchful foes. (Psalms 27:11)
When I read this line, it makes me think that David is realizing his mistakes, and he wants God’s help to do better.
This relates to Elul because before we can feel the joy of repentance, we must be honest with ourselves about the things we have done wrong.
This psalm reminds us that repentance isn’t achieved by burying our troubles and closing our eyes. Instead, it is achieved through honesty and effort.
We are told to recite this psalm twice daily to be ready for repentance and to celebrate the Days of Awe with a full heart of honesty. When we get to Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, we should not be hiding anything from ourselves or from God.
This is really hard to do. The psalm reflects how we struggle to repent. Repentance should not be easy; it is a challenge to seek a deeper understanding of our faith and of ourselves.
Like David, we are usually occupied with other tasks, but we are reminded by this psalm to make time for our spiritual growth and needs.
As it says in Psalm 27: Look to the Lord; be strong and of good courage! O look to the Lord!
Eleanor Berger Sollod is a rising eighth-grade student at Krieger Schechter Day School.
