September 27, 2024

This Elul Things Are Different

Benjamin Mann Ed. D. Chief Planning Officer

Every year, during the month of Elul, leading up to the high holidays, Jewish people across the world add a seasonal psalm, Psalm 27, to our morning and evening prayer services.

Psalm 27:

“GOD is my light and my help; whom should I fear?
GOD is the stronghold of my life, whom should I dread?
When evildoers assail me to devour my flesh—
it is they, my foes and my enemies, who stumble and fall.
Should an army besiege me, my heart would have no fear;
should war beset me, still would I be confident.
One thing I ask of GOD, only that do I seek:
to live in GOD’s house all the days of my life,
to gaze upon GOD’s beauty, to frequent the temple.
I will be sheltered in God’s pavilion on an evil day,
granted the protection of God’s tent and raised up high upon a rock.
Now is my head high over my enemies round about;
I sacrifice in that tent with shouts of joy, singing and chanting a hymn to GOD.
Hear, O ETERNAL One, when I cry aloud;
have mercy on me, answer me.
In Your behalf my heart says: “Seek My face!”
O ETERNAL One, I seek Your face.
Do not hide Your face from me;
do not thrust aside Your servant in anger;
You have ever been my help.
Do not forsake me, do not abandon me,
O God, my deliverer.
Though my father and mother abandon me,
GOD will take me in.
Show me Your way, O ETERNAL One, and lead me on a level path because of my watchful foes.
Do not subject me to the will of my foes, for false witnesses and unjust accusers have appeared against me.
Had I not the assurance that I would enjoy GOD’s goodness in the land of the living…
Look to GOD; be strong and of good courage!
O look to GOD!” 

Most years, I read this psalm metaphorically. I didn’t think of “evildoers” and “foes” and “enemies” as actual people. Instead, during this season of self-reflection, of teshuva (repentance), I saw these as symbolic traits I wanted to overcome. Behaviors I hoped to change.

But this year is different. This year, Psalm 27 hits hard.

The events of October 7 and the continuing war have changed my interpretation of this ancient prayer. “Should an army besiege me” and “should war beset me” feel all too real. Rockets still fall on Israel, and hostages are still held in Gaza. The Psalmist’s confidence in God’s protection rings hollow with so many lives lost. “False witnesses and unjust accusers have appeared against me” hits too close, as the only Jewish state is continually maligned, in the halls of power, in the media, and on campuses.

This year, I also notice that while the psalmist claims to have faith in God’s protection, they don’t seem quite so sure. Looking closer, verse 9 fluctuates back and forth between panicked pleading, “Do not hide Your face from me; do not thrust aside Your servant in anger” to seemingly trying to convince themself that God, “You have ever been my help.”  And then back to begging, “Do not forsake me, do not abandon me.”  In moments of real fear, of actual danger, it doesn’t feel certain that we’ll be “sheltered in God’s pavilion.”   

This year, Psalm 27 really feels like a plea.

The Jewish people have faced physical threats too many times throughout history, and I suspect that this psalm was often recited as an expression of deep anxiety.  My previous, metaphorical understanding of Psalm 27 seems naïve, a reflection of privilege—of feeling so safe that I didn’t imagine enemies with faces. However, the events of 5784 have brought me back into the very real dangers that have marked Jewish history.   

And as I consider what Psalm 27 means in this moment, I admit I am scared.

In the end, the psalm reminds us to be tenacious in the face of danger, “חֲ֭זַק וְיַאֲמֵ֣ץ לִבֶּ֑ךָ (be strong and of good courage).”  Perhaps the very fact that Jews have found their fortitude in these ancient words can add to its power today. After all, through all the tragedies our people have experienced, here we are. We’re still sustaining our communities, still reciting the same liturgy, still facing enemies and accusers.  

Still fighting. 

And on some days, pushing forward with the determination called for in Psalm 27. 

May the year ahead be one of peace.  But while there is war, may Israel and the Jewish people be, in the words of Psalm 27, “granted the protection of God’s tent.” 

Wishing us all a safe new year.