Shofar Reflections – 1 Elul

Today is the new moon — the first day of the month of Elul — which marks the beginning of the High Holiday season. Over the course of this month, the moon will wax until it’s full, and when it disappears in the sky again, we enter the new year with Rosh HaShanah.

Take a look at the sky each night — the moon is a reminder of the sacred time we are entering. Each day over the course of this month the shofar calls us, reminding us to prepare to make the most of the coming new year.

Poet Marcia Falk wrote this reflection:

In the clearing
Where the mind flowers
And the world sprouts up at every side
Listen for the sound in the bushes behind the grass.
The shofar takes us into the self that is hidden from the self
Then returns us to the world.
In the silence between its blasts
We hear the voice of the other
We hear what has gone unheard.

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