Last year I mentioned (a bit late) a wonderful commentary on Psalm 27 which can be used as a guide to self-examination during the month of Ellul. You don't have to be Jewish, or even religious, to find this moving and useful. Read the whole thing and bookmark it.
The Psalms are the earliest prayerbook of the People Israel. Its offerings, which combine the best of poetry, petition, and song, have survived the ages because of their depth of meaning and spiritual artistry. They continue to speak to us but it grows more difficult to hear their message, the more separated we are by time, culture, and language. When we come to understand them, however, they take on a magical power because they allow us to articulate thoughts which we often find difficult to say ourselves.We are now in Week One of Elul - the theme is Responsibility.
I find the psalms exquisitely powerful and valuable. I want to share that transforming power with you. What I have written here is a commentary/guide to the Twenty-seventh Psalm, which is added to the evening and morning liturgy from Rosh Chodesh Elul through Hoshanah Rabbah. I have divided Psalm 27 into four sections with the thought in mind that you might like to concentrate on one section during each of the four weeks of Elul, as you prepare for your own teshuvah. I have correlated these four sections to four steps of repentance. The Rambam [Moses Maimonides, 12th century] wrote in his Hilkhot Teshuvah (Laws of Repentance) of three steps: Regret, Rejection, and Resolution. I have added one more, which I place first: Responsibility.
UPDATE: Wednesday night there was a 2-hr. wait to get to the three telescopes on the roof of Pupin Hall, but the lines were much shorter last night and the sky was clearer too. Unfortunately various tall buildings in the vicinity were sending up heat waves from their rooftop A/C units, so Mars was only intermittantly clear. But I did get to see the polar ice cap and even a few criss-crossy lines on the surface.
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