Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Back to Opinion

Listening in Ellul

These last weeks of summer, as the days shorten and the winter chill looms, are designated in the traditional Jewish calendar as the month of Ellul. It is the last month before the New Year, set aside as a time for reflecting and for taking stock. In a few weeks we will be called on to stand together with our neighbors and seek atonement for our sins, both individual and communal. Rams’ horns will be sounded, confessions chanted, prayers offered, breasts beaten. Ellul is the quiet before that great outpouring. It is the time to sort out the things we do — and do not — regret.

The approaching Days of Awe — the New Year and the Day of Atonement — will be marked by public declarations of failing and vows of repentance. Ellul is a time to listen, to learn how one’s actions in the past year have resonated in the world, in the shaping of events, in the eyes of our neighbors and loved ones. If we listen carefully enough, there is hope that our atonement will be true.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.