Elul 27/September 9

Rabbi Laurence Malinger

Two and a half years ago, I went back to school to obtain my Certificate of Proficiency in Mortuary Science, as a way to enhance my rabbinate. This Elul arrives unlike any I have experienced before. Having completed both National Board Examinations in Mortuary Science and the State Jurisprudence examination, I find myself reflecting not only on professional achievement but on the deeper meaning of the work I am preparing to undertake.

Mortuary science has reinforced that every life deserves dignity, compassion, and reverence in its final chapter. Each person leaves behind a story, relationships, and a legacy worthy of honor. Elul invites a similar practice, not caring for the deceased, but engaging in cheshbon hanefesh, an honest accounting of the living soul.

As I prepare for these Days of Awe, I hear different questions than those posed on any examination. Rather than asking whether I have mastered knowledge or passed a test, this sacred season asks: Have I lived with integrity? Have I honored the Divine image in others? Have I sought forgiveness, extended compassion, and repaired what I could? Rabbi Eliezer teaches in Pirkei Avot (2:10), "Repent one day before your death." Since none of us knows when that day will come, the invitation is to live each day with intention, gratitude, and reconciliation. My career and studies have made me acutely aware of life's fragility, while Elul reminds me that such awareness is not meant to inspire fear but purpose.

May this season prepare not only my hands for a vocation of sacred service, but also my heart for a new year marked by humility, kindness, renewal, and a legacy that is shaped every day I am blessed to live.