Photo Credit: Jewish Press

I am my Beloved’s and my Beloved is mine. This idea is cited so often each year in Elul that its central idea – that the Jewish people are in a love affair with G-d – may be easily overlooked. Yet, this is a fundamental principle that can change our lives: we are in a covenant, a marriage of sorts, with the Almighty: “And I will betroth you to Me forever” (Hoshea 2:21). “This concept was implied by Solomon [Song of Songs 2:5] when he stated, as a metaphor: “I am lovesick.” [Indeed,] the totality of the Song of Songs is a parable describing [this love]” (Rambam, Teshuva 10:3).

In other words, our relationship with G-d is anything but impersonal. Like a marriage, it takes body and soul, words and actions, commitments, failures, and fixing. Every marriage has rules and boundaries, aspirations and dreams, expressions of love, moments of closeness, distance, and closeness again. Each year in Elul, we think on this and we remember to approach G-d from wherever we are, near or far, and we fix our relationship and come even closer.


Share this article on WhatsApp:
Advertisement

SHARE
Previous articleWord Prompt – DODI – Adena Berkowitz
Next articleThe Day the Beepers Blew Up: How Was It Done?
Yitzchak Sprung is the Rabbi of United Orthodox Synagogues of Houston (UOSH). Visit our facebook page or UOSH.org to learn about our amazing community. Find Rabbi Sprung’s podcast, the Parsha Pick-Me-Up, wherever podcasts are found.