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On Fridays, we email two Elul Thoughts, out of respect for those of us who choose not to look at email on Shabbat. We wish you a blessed and restful Shabbat and hope you continue finding inspiration in our Elul Thoughts. Rabbi David Young 25 years ago today, I was walking through the Jerusalem campus of Hebrew Union College when I got a call from my mother. She told me of a terrible accident in New York at the World Trade Center as I was walking to class. A few minutes into the call she...

Rabbi Alan Litwak Perfect Enough As Elul begins, many of us quietly take inventory of our lives. We replay conversations we wish had gone differently. We think about decisions we would change if only we could. We imagine a version of ourselves that is somehow more patient, more generous, more faithful—more perfect. But perfection has never been Judaism's goal. The moment that has already passed is beyond our reach. We cannot rewrite yesterday's words or relive yesterday's choices. They are...

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...