#blogElul 20: Judge

When we talk about judgment with respect to the High Holy Days, we are usually talking about Divine Judgment. The Big Judge. God on High, judging us all, writing our names in the Book of Life or....the other Book.

Last year, I read those words...
who shall live
and who shall die
who by fire
and who by water
who by sword
and who by beast
who by plague....

And I get stuck.
I can't write the words.
I can't think the words.
I can't even breathe when I think about it...

The Jewish month of Elul, which precedes the High Holy Days, is traditionally a time of renewal and reflection. It offers a chance for spiritual preparation for the Days of Awe. It is traditional to begin one’s preparation for the High Holy Days during this month with the Selichot, the prayers of forgiveness. We look to begin the year with a clean slate, starting anew, refreshed. All month, along with others, I'll be blogging a thought or two for each day to help with the month of preparation... I will be blogging here, and sharing #Elulgram photos on the same themes at imabima.tumblr.com. Follow me on twitter @imabima for all the #BlogElul posts, not only mine but others' as well! This year, I'm not doing a linky or anything like that -- I'm conserving energy! So be sure to tag your posts on Twitter and Facebook so I can catch them with my alerts....