Day 8
Psalm 27:5-6
For God will hide me in Her covering in a day of distress.
God will conceal me in the shelter of Their dwelling place.
Upon a rock God will lift me, and at that moment my head will be raised above my enemies surrounding me.
A Mikveh in Time
Elul has been called a “mikveh in time,” a double-metaphor referring to the special pool in which many Jews immerse themselves to ritually recognize transition points in their lives.
From marriage to conversion to menstruation and honoring the new moon, a dip into this ritual pool births us anew and gives us a fresh start.
Elul also serves these functions, and as we immerse ourselves this month in study and reflection, we hope to come out the other side reborn to the life that awaits.
The imagery of the Six of Air represents a similar liminal space, a gateway suspended between one world and another.
On the shore we’ve put behind us lie the experiences of our past, particularly the painful ones. On the shore ahead, a new way of being awaits, a fresh start and a hopeful future.
As we travel through this liminal space that we call the present moment, we carry with us remnants, tokens of our past.
A Mikveh Experience
"But when you step out of the shower and put the towel around you to walk into the pool," Carol, the mikveh guide, explained, "do not dry off completely. It is important that you leave some of the water droplets from the shower on your body to mix with the water of the pool. This is a reminder that all of who you are and what you have experienced so far in your life come with you into the Jewish people. We are made bigger and better by the addition of your whole self."
I did in some ways leave behind the self that was, when I stepped into the mikveh. But the experiences that self had, the lessons she learned, the wisdom she gained...all of these have come along and become part of my new, Jewish self and life, and part of the Jewish People.
That history, represented by the water droplets in the mikveh pool, are also the swords in my boat, tools which help me move through this new and unfamiliar territory.
When I converted to Judaism, the last step in the process was immersion in a mikveh. The woman guiding my ritual, who had guided hundreds of converts before me, walked me through the preparation process.
First, I would rid myself of everything that might come between me and the water, between me and my intention to become new. I combed my hair, brushed my teeth, cleaned under my fingernails, and showered, being sure to scrub off any dead skin.
I set my intention to leave behind my non-Jewish identity and fully embrace this new life, to become one with this People.
Starting Fresh
Elul and the High Holidays are a time to prepare ourselves to start fresh and begin new lives. Some Jews even change their names during the High Holidays to signify that they are no longer the person who committed the sins they might be judged for.
They are a mikveh in time, an opportunity to scrub off the dead cells of yesterday’s pain, to transform our past into tools we carry with us into our future.
During this season, we are often focused intensely on what we wish to release, without stopping to consider what we want to bring forward with us into the new year.
Are there any tools you’ve developed because of the hardships of this past year?
What do you want to bring with you into the coming year?