ELUL—SPIRITUAL
PREPARATION
Ani ledodi v’dodi li.
I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine.
So says God, the God who loves us.
And so we are to love God
And to love one another.
The One who will judge us
In forty days
When the book Closes
Will judge in love for us
And also sternly—
“The severe decree”
Justice and mercy
Woven together
Separate strands becoming
The fabric of our lives.
Ruth Kertzer Seidman
As I contemplate
Rosh Hodesh Elul
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2004 Ruth K. Seidman