95 - Full Moon Elul: Ani l'Dodi v'Dodi Li

August 25, 1999

The skies were clear last week when we were in Washington, DC, and unusual for me, I was out every night. So the waxing of the moon, especially as it rose above the familiar monuments and buildings was unavoidable. Traveling through Elul, the month of soul preparation, I watched the growing moon and pondered the sanctity of these days and the monuments we humans have built to honor and remember. There are waist-high concrete cylinders, spaced at intervals all along the streets surrounding the White House and Congress, reminders of tragedy and near-tragedy, reminders of the loss of control and respect, of guns and violence.

The word Elul is an acrostic for a phrase most often associated with weddings: "Ani l’dodi v’dodi li" – "I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine." But it is also symbolic of the love of the Creator for humankind and the love of people for God. Elul reminds us to recapture that relationship. Elul reminds us to re-examine, to prepare and to make amends, to work for the world’s repair as well as the repair of our own souls, making all kinds of barricades unnecessary.

Ninety-Five

Full Moon Elul: Ani l'Dodi v'Dodi Li

Here at Elul's center, bright lovers' moon
Casts shadows on our rain clouds of doubt,
Filling the air with sighs of longing,
Sighs of regretting, sighs of grief.

We fill this half-dark with swarming thoughts,
Itching uncertainties that we must soothe
With a letting go, an arms-opening welcome
To Your presence in our days and nights.

You fill the sky with Your light,
Chasing away the dark terror of our souls
Even as we long for You in Elul's center,
Even as we seek You in our hearts' center.

Croon us melodies of confidence, Beloved One,
Tender melodies that pull us back to You;
Let us rest against Your strong love for us,
Finding the Source of our searching.

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