Elul Expedition — King in the Field
The metaphor for the space of God-connection on Rosh Hashanah is “the palace.” The “palace” is a most special experience, separate from ordinary life, a place of special holiness, a place we don’t enter casually. We prepare as best we can, physically and spiritually. We do our best to be worthy, and where we fall short, we pray for compassion and forgiveness.
Elul is different. The metaphor for the God-connection space is “the field.” During Elul, our sages teach, “the King is in the field.” The “field” is the material space where we live our ordinary lives. Teshuvah — returning. During Elul, God is doing teshuvah! Returning to us to meet us in the field.
Our challenge during Elul: to meet God’s teshuvah with our own. But where and how do we find God in the field? Is it when we take the opportunity to do an act of kindness for another person? Is it how we notice with gratitude when someone does an unexpected act of kindness for us? Is it when we see a beautiful flower, or the smile on the face of a stranger, or stop to listen to a bird sing? Is it all of the above?
So here’s our invitation: Post a Comment below, on any or every day of Elul, about your personal encounter with the King in the Field. We also invite you to check out the comments of friends who are sharing the journey, and share your personal responses to what they have said.
Most of all, we invite you to share this journey of our Torah Circle community!
