Let Us Be Renewed
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Let Us Be Renewed
Creation began on the 25th of Elul and reached its pinnacle with us on Rosh Hashana, and because God is still creating the world each morning, we too enter the new year not as who we were but as who we are becoming.
According to the opinion of Rabbi Eliezer (Vayikra Rabbah 29:1, Rosh Hashanah 10b), God began creating the world on the 25th of Elul, with the creation of humankind on Rosh Hashanah as the pinnacle of all creation.
This poem depicts this divine manifestation — from light to land, from sea to soul:
He spoke, and wondrous light shone bright, Dividing day from deepest night. Then sky and sea were set apart, A stunning blue, a work of art.
The land arose, the trees took root, The earth gave birth to leaves and fruit.
He filled each canvas one by one, The sky with stars and moon and sun.
Seas erupted with fins and tail, While wings of birds began to sail. Then beasts were formed from dust and sod; Humankind —from the image of God.
The sixth day is truly the start — As Rosh Hashana stirs the heart. We are renewed, the shofar cries, As hope and awe begin to rise.
For we are shaped by sacred breath, With power to choose, build, and bless. So let us be renewed and hear— The voice that calls our souls each year.
As Elul draws to a close, we arrive at the Shabbat before Rosh Hashanah.
As Moshe Rabbenu's words petition us:
"I call heaven and earth today to witness against you: I have placed life and death before you, blessing and curse—choose life…" — Devarim 30:19
The heavens and the earth, created in those very first days, now stand as eternal witnesses. They watch as we, year after year, are offered the same choice: to live consciously, meaningfully, and with purpose.
The Netivot Shalom (Parashat Re'eh) teaches that "just as God renews creation each day...each person is likewise a new creation, filled daily with new potential."
Every day, and certainly every new year, carries its own mission and unique calling.
The awakening of Elul is more than preparation; it is the sacred start of a majestic unfolding, a returning and reinventing of ourselves which echoes throughout the year. We are invited not just to remember that God created the world—but that He is still creating it, and us, every day.
And in our choosing life, over and over again, we too have a hand in our own creation stories. We recreate ourselves with our own breath, just as God breathed life into us and created us with His word. With our whispered prayers for how we wish ourselves to be, may we enter this Rosh Hashanah not as who we were, but as who we are becoming.
Newly formed. Full of promise. And ready to choose life.
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