When we can’t identify the strivings of our souls, the siddur identifies them and gives them words
How is it that we have an entire Elul to prepare and yet Rosh Hashanah seems to spring up on us? That happens every year, but this year I feel more unprepared than ever.
The last few months have been difficult for everyone, but all I seem to have felt are my inadequacies. I’d love to say that I used the challenges to strengthen my emunah and invest in my family, but honestly, I just struggled through it.
And now another year is on the threshold and my disappointment in myself is reflected in the way I feel about the impending Yom tov, and in my davening. How can I even try to come close to Hashem when I feel so empty?
An old Chinese tale tells of an emperor who loved flowers. To choose a successor, he distributed seeds to all the children of his realm. Whoever grows a beautiful plant will become the next emperor, he told them. The children lined up excitedly, including one little boy with green fingers. The boy tried everything to make his flower grow, but no matter what he did, he could not coax the seed to life.
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