Elul Thoughts from Rabbi Rebecca Lillian

One of the hearts that the group “Together for Lund” placed on the synagogue proclaims, “I believe in love without borders,” but I respectfully disagree with this kind soul. I believe in love despite borders. This is even harder to achieve, but it creates a much stronger foundation. Borders do exist, but they can be traversed with respect and mutual understanding. I honour these boundaries… for example, between we Jews and our friends of other faiths; and between those of us who identify with a religion, and those of us who do not. Between those of us who were born and raised here in Skåne, and we newcomers. This diversity among us enriches one another and it is an asset for our entire society.

All we need are the tools, the vocabulary and the meeting spaces needed to bridge the gaps between us. Then we can embark upon becoming a unified Malmö, based upon a celebration of diversity and a desire to learn about one another; about what we have in common, and even about where we respectfully disagree. Or perhaps especially where we disagree.

Rabbi Rebecca Lillian

Elul Thoughts

Elul is a month given to us to reflect and prepare for the High Holy Days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. It is a month where we try to take account of our lives, so that we might make the most of this powerful time of renewal, regeneration, fresh starts and healing.

This year our daily Elul Thoughts are taken from ‘Terror, Trauma and Tragedy’, edited by Rabbi Dr Jonathan Romain and Rabbi David Mitchell. Each is a short extract of a larger piece designed to help us find meaning, comfort or perhaps more questions in the aftermath of horrific events, which have seemed all too frequent this year. The horror of such atrocities can leave us in confusion, depression and fear. As we move into a new year we hope these pieces might variously offer some solace, be a tool of self-reflection, and encourage us to continue working for a better world.