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When you read the title of this blog, I’m sure that the well-known song by The Byrds plays in your head. For those of you who have read this passage from the Book of Ecclesiastes, you remember the dichotomy that exists within each verse, the good and the bad, the joy and the sorrow, the challenges and the easy moments of life. As we officially begin the month of Elul, we become more acutely aware of the dichotomy that life presents each and every day.

Elul, the Hebrew month that immediately proceeds the High Holy Days, offers us the first opportunity to begin our retrospection and reflection for the year to come. As we engage in the important process of Cheshbon HaNefesh, an accounting of our souls, we consider and review the year that has passed since last Rosh Hashanah. We think about where we have made mistakes, words we said that hurt another, actions we’ve taken that didn’t improve the greater world.

So, why should we participate in the practice of Cheshbon HaNefesh? Why start something now when Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are a month away? Well, as I have always told my children, to get really good at something, it takes practice. Most of the time it takes a few tries before we accomplish our goals. And, if we want to get it right or, as right as we can, we may need to begin the process early and keep going. The art of beautifying your soul won’t happen overnight, let alone in one day of attending services. We have to work on it, to think about it, to lean into it, to determine the best course of action.

Cheshbon HaNefesh prepares us to enter the High Holy Day season ready to embrace ourselves fully, flaws and all. By seeking to understand who we are and who we can be, we are better able to support ourselves and those around us. By bettering ourselves as individuals, we know that each moment in life, the beautiful and the ugly, the difficult and the joyful, the exciting and the mundane, can and should be lived to its fullest.

Life is a series of dichotomies, but each one matters. Elul reminds us that how we live in those moments matters. So, how will you begin to prepare for the High Holy Days? How will you take a full account of your soul? How will  you assure that you can help make the world a better place