A Sacred Time – Elul #4
Rebbe Nachman, z”l, reveals that every lost opportunity, every missed mitzvah, must be recovered. These missed opportunities for connection with God keep us distant from Him until we find some way to revive them. Elul, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are the main times to seek out what we have neglected throughout the year. The yearning that we feel to bring back those lost potential connections has the power to resurrect them. In recognizing where the gaps are, the longing to fill them itself helps to fill them.
This is the meaning of the verse, “I have strayed like a lost sheep, seek out Your servant.” Like a sheep that has strayed from its shepherd but still recognizes the distinct call of its guide, we need to remain attuned to God’s continuous call and heed the special summons of these days. The shofar blasts that we hear every day throughout Elul is God’s way of reaching out to us, to wake us up enough so that we will find our way back. Sadly, some fall so far that they are like a sheep that forgets where it belongs. This is what happens when one completely forgets that we were put here to fulfill a mission, not just kill time.
Dear G-d! Please help me heed the shofar blast during Elul and Rosh Hashanah. Wake me up to Your summons so I can recover the lost moments, my holy sparks of time and energy of that were spent on foolishness. Please help me fix everything by seeking what I have lost.
