Elul: Fixing ourselves, repairing the world
צֶדֶק צֶדֶק תִּרְדֹּף לְמַעַן תִּחְיֶה וְיָרַשְׁתָּ אֶת־הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר־יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ נֹתֵן לָךְ׃
Justice, justice shall you (singular) pursue, that you may thrive and occupy the land that Adonai your God is giving you. (Deuteronomy 16:20)
The first thing you notice about the familiar exhortation above if you’re a Hebrew speaker is that it’s singular. The Bible is very particular about its use of second or third person, plural or singular. It’s no accident that this sentence is directed at “you.” That is, each of us.
While the Bible imagines a vast Israelite/Jewish empire spanning territory from the Euphrates to the Nile, historians tell us that was never realized. Sure, the Israelite nation had autonomy, but for most of Jewish existence (from the days of David to our own times) Jews were either dominated by foreign powers or existed as minorities in a larger nation. There were, of course, notable, yet rare exceptions—which should allow us to recognize what a gift the modern state of Israel is to our generation!
So, the universal text above could not merely be directed at governments, nor just in the land of Israel. It is an individual responsibility to be a pursuer of justice wherever one lives. As Americans are taking to the streets to demand racial justice, the words of Deuteronomy resonate. How, during Elul and beyond, will you pursue justice? What does it mean to work together to create a society where the Jewish and American aspiration of equal justice is experienced by all?
Check out the Elul Eleven page to see what you can do.
— Rabbi Ron Stern
Take our #ElulWisely2020 challenge:
Download Here