The Hebrew word for this month, Ellul, is said to be an anagram for “I am my beloved’s and my beloved I mine.” (Ani l’dodi v’dodi li). Taken from Solomon’s Song of Songs the phrase expresses an idea that runs quite deep in Judaism.
We all know that love is but what is the opposite of love? Elie Wiesel, the world’s conscience, taught that the opposite of love is indifference. Is this true?
Why did God create the world? What purpose could a world filled with endless possibilities of destruction fulfil? Why would God have crafted a place where evil in the guise of indifference to suffering exist?
In my life I have often marveled at the faith and hope people hold in life. A child dies and the parents find reason to love one another or devote themselves to having another child. Two people meet, fall madly in love only for their relationship to end in a pyre of pain and exhaustion. And when time has healed their wounds, they seek new love. In the extreme, Holocaust victims whose families were brutally murdered raised new families.
Why do people go to such extravagant lengths in the aftermath of pain and horror? After being singed by death or betrayal we continue to believe. As humans we keep faith and hope alive. We know in our hearts that love is still possible. We seek to live life fully and give live to those whom we love.
To return to the question above, “Why did God create the world?” Being perfect, God had no need for imperfection. Yet, this was the ultimate act of love just as you have done many times in your life. I believe the answer is hope and love.
Judaism speaks of a world of crafted out of the tendrils of love. All the basic holy texts that we revere hold the same underlying principle. One of the primary prayers that precedes the Shma in every service describes the fabric of a universe where God wove it out of a love that had no boundaries, no limitations.
Every time we tap into that vast cosmos and feel the pulsating care that radiates out of the Divine, we can find ample reason to embrace that love and be in harmony with it.
Indifference to this universe of love is a rejection of all things that are sacred. The path of Judaism is to look for the luminescence of joy, resilience and love that inheres everywhere.
So, at this time of year as we enter into the month of Ellul we are reminded by our sages of old that “I am my beloved’s and my beloved is Mine,” is God's endless commitment of hope and love.
