It always struck me as a bit odd that the month of Elul, coming right before the High Holidays, should be an acronym for such a seemingly romantic sentiment. My beloved? It was enough to convince my wife and me to be married in the month of Elul, and to have an opportunity to reflect a bit on holy union.And then it all began to make sense. The purity with which we are supposed to come to our wedding – after a day of fasting, and, for the man, in the pure white robe, or kittel – is the same purity we are to bring to stand before God on Yom Kippur or, finally, to the grave. These ritualistic tokens of purity are not about suffering or atonement; they are about coming to a lover with a pure heart, uncomplicated by ulterior motives or worldly concerns. We are learning how not to get in the way of whatever our beloved may want or need of us. We make our self an offering. Indeed, we are our beloved’s. We surrender to our mate, as to our God, in a pure expression of love. So why not spend a day with your loved ones, bringing no expectations, no history, and no baggage along with you? Just one day, from morning to night, as if you were born for no other reason than to belong to your beloved?
Douglas Rushkoff is the author of twelve books, including Nothing Sacred: The Truth about Judaism. www.rushkoff.com
