Returning Home

A coincidence? Perhaps.  

Early Sunday morning, I will  jump out of bed and drive the last short leg on my way to pick up my son from URJ Camp Harlam, a Reform Jewish sleep-away camp in the Pocono Mountains. I can't wait to see him, and on the drive back home, to hear all about his experiences at camp. Sure, we were able to access a few photos online, and yes, he did send a handful of cryptic post cards our way, but there is something really special about the trip back home. Then there is the actual homecoming, when we will be reunited as a family. It goes without saying that we will joke about how filthy his stuff from camp is, send him straight to the shower and do our annual sort of post-camp clothing into two piles: laundry and furnace. We will also hold him close and cherish this time before the school year begins again.

The coincidence, is that this Sunday is also the beginning Elul, a new month in the Hebrew calendar. Elul is the month in which we prepare for the High Holy Days and begin the process of teshuvah. Teshuvah is often mistranslated to mean 'repentance' but what it really means is 'return.'  Each year we are given the opportunity to reflect, look for the ways we have wandered away from our spiritual home (meaning Judaism) and do our best to return to the path. Rabbi Larry Hoffman teaches that all of Jewish spirituality is the repeating cycle of exile and return, exile and return.  

When my son returns home, everything will not only feel more right, it will be more right. When we collectively return home during the Holy Days, then the same can be true for all of us. However, the journey back takes time. The trip from Camp Harlam to Buffalo is only about five hours. The trip back from our spiritual wanderings takes much more time, which is why we have the whole month of Elul. There are no shortcuts, but the way forward is open and clear, and home is just around the bend.