This week we read Shoftim, and right at the center of the portion comes one of the most powerful imperatives in all of Torah: Tzedek, tzedek tirdof — “Justice, justice shall you pursue.”

The repetition is intentional. The rabbis remind us that the Torah never wastes a word. Justice must be pursued not once, not occasionally, but relentlessly — until it takes root in the world.

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It’s a spiritual wake-up call. Think of it like an alarm clock for the soul.

That month is called Elul.

Elul comes right before Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur—the holiest days of the Jewish year. Instead of just showing up to synagogue and hoping for the best, our tradition says: prepare your heart. Transformation doesn’t happen in an instant. It takes intention, practice, and time. Elul gives us that time.

This month is about teshuva, a word often translated as “repentance” but more accurately meaning “return.” We are invited to return to our best selves, to return to our values, to return to our communities, and—for many of us—to return to God.

Teshuva is not about becoming someone different. It’s about remembering who we really are and aligning our lives more closely with that truth.

Elul is also a season of heshbon hanefesh, an “accounting of the soul.” Just as you might review a bank statement to see what came in, what went out, and what needs attention, Elul asks us to review our lives. Where did I show up with kindness, courage, or honesty? Where did I miss the mark? What do I want to carry forward, and what am I ready to release?

Our tradition even gives us reminders. Each morning of Elul, the shofar is sounded. Its cry is not meant to scare us but to wake us up—a spiritual alarm clock reminding us not to drift through our days.

And there’s a teaching that during Elul, God is especially close. Like a sovereign who leaves the palace and walks in the fields, the divine is accessible, available, near. The work of return doesn’t require grand gestures or holy spaces. It begins right where we are—in the ordinary fields of our lives.

So this Elul, I invite you to take one daily step of reflection.

It doesn’t have to be big. Write down one thing you’re grateful for. Reach out to someone you’ve drifted from. Pause for a few minutes of quiet and check in with yourself.

Small steps, taken consistently, prepare us for the new year.

And when the High Holidays arrive, may we not be caught off guard. May we enter awake, aware, and ready.

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Progressive Jews must stay in relationship with other progressive people and confront antisemitism when it happens.

My Musings is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.