Rabbi’s Monthly Message

My dear friend and colleague, Rabbi Darby Leigh, serves as the Rabbi in Concord, MA. He is Deaf and was the first Deaf rabbi to graduate from a major Jewish seminary when we were ordained in 2008. During our time at RRC he was my study partner, and we spent hundreds of hours together learning and exploring Jewish texts and traditions.

At one point early in our time at RRC, Darby asked me to make a recording for him of Psalm 27 – traditionally recited during the month of Elul and throughout the High Holy Days. There is a traditional melody for one of the middle verses (verse 4) that I have always found meaningful and centering. I shared the recording and did not think much of it. However, years later Darby and I were sitting together at a rabbinic conference when he mentioned to me that his family still listens to that recording! It was a reminder of the connection we share, and also a reminder of the powerful message within the Psalm. “One thing I ask of you God, to let me dwell in your house for the length of my days.”

The Psalmist writes this piece as an invitation to seek God not just in easy moments, but especially in challenging ones. Because the author knows that is when we most need to experience God’s presence alongside us. I love this text and studying it during Elul is one of my favorite Jewish rituals.

This month, I am writing with an invitation to explore this ritual of reading Psalm 27 each day during the month of Elul – the month leading into the High Holy Days. Although we will come back to the same traditional melody during our services, I would like to offer several alternatives for you to explore in addition. And so, I invite you to find a time, each day, morning or night, when you can take two or three minutes to sit quietly, silencing the mind, and opening your heart to the message of the Psalm.

https://www.sefaria.org/Psalms.27?lang=bi

https://ritualwell.org/ritual/psalm-27-counting-the-51-days-of-the-season-of-repentance/

https://ritualwell.org/ritual/poem-elul-psalm-27/

https://ritualwell.org/ritual/an-interpretive-psalm-27/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9O57sQ-5qyI

https://ravblog.ccarnet.org/2019/08/sacred-practices-with-psalm-27/

I hope that the holiday season is a meaningful one for each of us, and that we all find ourselves dwelling in the House of the Divine throughout this month and beyond.