elul etudes 5785

22 Elul: How do we (re)turn

Posted on September 15, 2025

Humanity, indoors, Blasts The AirCon; The global thermostat Rises in return. Masked, Black-uniformed, Armed, Liberty—turned inward— Demands, “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses!” The FEMA team, Turns to the crowd, Water at their knees, Hands out plastic bottles, Plastic tents, Plastic food. We keep dying of consumption. … Read the rest

21 Elul: Ki Tavo

Posted on September 14, 2025

When you go out And the waves are crashing Over the breakwater Over the tops of the walls At the edge of the land When the rain is finely misting And the wind howls Around the circle at The end of the road You can breathe deep The salt, the … Read the rest

20 Elul: Shorten the way

Posted on September 13, 2025

Rashi expresses surprise when the spies come back from the land of Israel in just forty days. After all, he points out at Number 13:25, the land is 400 by 400 parsa’ot, and it should have taken many times longer to make their way through all the land from sea … Read the rest

19 Elul: Wild Mikvah for Climate Grief

Posted on September 12, 2025

Ecological grief, or climate grief, refers to the sense of loss that arises from experiencing or learning about climate change. In this time of ecological devastation, this loss is ongoing. The work of tending to our grief is therefore continuous. This ritual is intended to be revisited, revised and performed … Read the rest

18 Elul: Despair is not an option

Posted on September 11, 2025

Despair is not an option 

There is no food down that hole,

And I like to eat.

I have children.

I have grandchildren.

So I have learned to weep,

Expelling grief on a regular basis.

Then I get back to work,

Fighting for our living world.

Judith Black is an … Read the rest

17 Elul: Healing Together

Posted on September 10, 2025

We cannot become whole until we heal the damage that we have inflicted on God’s creation which includes both the Earth and the creatures that are an integral part of the natural world. And we will not experience the healing benefits of the natural world until we have made this … Read the rest

16 Elul: HEAT

Posted on September 9, 2025

HEAT (a prose tanka)

 

We modern humans, we Homo sapiens, evolved from our primitive ancestors during the Ice Age.  With our increasing brain power we created clothing, built shelters, and learned to control fire, all to stay warm in a cold climate. Our bodies evolved to larger stockier shapes … Read the rest

15 Elul: אֱמֶת מֵאֶרֶץ תִּצְמָח וְצֶ֗דֶק מִשָּׁמַיִם נִשְׁקָף

Posted on September 8, 2025

אֱמֶת מֵאֶרֶץ תִּצְמָח וְצֶ֗דֶק מִשָּׁמַיִם נִשְׁקָף

When Truth sprouts from the earth then Justice looks down from the heavens (Psalm 85:12)

truth sprouts from the earth be quiet and still listen for her preparing to poke through the soil

wait for her keep listening do not pretend that you already … Read the rest

14 Elul: Rising Again

Posted on September 7, 2025

This summer, I haven’t been able to spend as much time as I’m used to spending at my family’s lake house on Cape Cod. After weeks away at conferences, I could feel the siren song of the lake drawing me for miles ahead of my arrival.  When I arrived, though, … Read the rest

13 Elul: The Muck

Posted on September 6, 2025

Deep down, the return, where the Mississippi flows so close to the sea. A great, miraculous journey. A turning. A deep cleansing breath in the water, here where there is an abandoned oil rig. Where journals were kept, money was made and the earth was extracted from. Where humans lived … Read the rest

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