Blog Elul Day 25-Begin

"All beginnings require that you unlock a new door."~Reb Nachman of Bratslav

“What we call the beginning is often the end. And to make an end is to make a beginning. The end is where we start from.”~T.S. Eliot

Circle of Life (from The Lion King) Music by Elton John; Lyrics by Tim Rice



**Blog Elul is the brainchild of Rabbi Phyllis Sommer. Her blog and various links can be found at http://imabima.blogspot.com

Blog Elul Day 24-End

"When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, 'I used everything you gave me'."~Erma Bombeck

A life well-lived is not necessarily an ending, but rather a blueprint for beginnings.

I'm Still Here (from Follies) Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim


**Blog Elul is the brainchild of Rabbi Phyllis Sommer. Her blog and various links can be found at http://imabima.blogspot.com

Blog Elul Day 23-Love

“Love is not blind - it sees more, not less. But because it sees more, it is willing to see less.”~Rabbi Julius Gordon

Seasons of Love (from Rent) Music and Lyrics by Jonathan Larson



**Blog Elul is the brainchild of Rabbi Phyllis Sommer. Her blog and various links can be found at http://imabima.blogspot.com

Blog Elul Day 22-Dare

 “A person will be called to account on Judgement Day for every permissible thing he might have enjoyed but did not.”~ Talmud

A person's life cannot be considered complete until she steps up and takes chances to do those things which takes her out of her comfort zones.

"Because of our routines we forget that life is an ongoing adventure."~Maya Angelou

Don't Rain on My Parade (from Funny Girl) Music by Jule Styne; Lyrics by Bob Merrill



**Blog Elul is the brainchild of Rabbi Phyllis Sommer. Her blog and various links can be found at http://imabima.blogspot.com

Blog Elul Day 21-Change

"You change the world when you change your mind."~Cyndi Lauper (from Kinky Boots)

The Sex is in the Heel (from Kinky Boots) Music and Lyrics by Cyndi Lauper



**Blog Elul is the brainchild of Rabbi Phyllis Sommer. Her blog and various links can be found at http://imabima.blogspot.com

Blog Elul Day 20-Judge

"But repentance, prayer, and charity temper judgement's severe decree." (from U'netaneh tokef liturgy; High Holidays)

Sit Down You're Rockin' the Boat (from Guys and Dolls) Music and Lyrics by Frank Loesser



**Blog Elul is the brainchild of Rabbi Phyllis Sommer. Her blog and various links can be found at http://imabima.blogspot.com

Blog Elul Day 19-Ask

"Hillel taught...A person who is too shy to ask questions will never learn, and a teacher who is too strict cannot teach."~Pirkei Avot (2:5)

It is a moral imperative to never cease from asking questions and from discovering the wonders of the universe. If we become staid, unwilling to be critical, and too conservative in our thinking we fail ourselves and future generations.

All I Ask of You (from Phantom of the Opera) Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber; Lyrics by Charles Hart with additions by Richard Stilgoe



**Blog Elul is the brainchild of Rabbi Phyllis Sommer. Her blog and various links can be found at http://imabima.blogspot.com

Blog Elul Day 18-Pray

"The primary purpose of prayer is not to make requests. The primary purpose is to praise, to sing, to chant. Because the essence of prayer is a song, and man cannot live without a song. 

Prayer may not save us. But prayer may make us worthy of being saved.” ~Abraham Joshua Heschel

Our prayers are meaningful if they are said with intention and purpose. If they are merely requests for the material, they disappear into the ether.

I Say a Little Prayer (from Promises, Promises) Music by Burt Bacharach; Lyrics by Hal David




**Blog Elul is the brainchild of Rabbi Phyllis Sommer. Her blog and various links can be found at http://imabima.blogspot.com

Blog Elul Day 17-Awaken

“When two people relate to each other authentically and humanly, God is the electricity that surges between them.” ~ Martin Buber

The connection between two people can instantly awaken a presence that is both physical and spiritual. It is an experience that is profoundly human and mystically Divine all at once.

Touch Me (from Spring Awakening) Music and Lyrics by Duncan Sheik



**Blog Elul is the brainchild of Rabbi Phyllis Sommer. Her blog and various links can be found at http://imabima.blogspot.ca

Blog Elul Day 16-Change

"We must become the change we want to see in the world."~ Mahatma Gandhi

Change Don't Come Easy (from Memphis) Music by David Bryan; Lyrics by David Bryan and Joe DiPietro



**Blog Elul is the brainchild of Rabbi Phyllis Sommer. Her blog and various links can be found at http://imabima.blogspot.ca

Blog Elul Day 15-Learn

"Who is wise? One who learns from every man. As is stated (Psalms 119:99): From all my teachers I have grown wise, for Your testimonials are my meditation." Ben Zoma Pirkei Avot 4:1

The Talmud says that when you teach your son, you teach your son's son. The manner in which we instruct determines how and what they learn. If we are arrogant and impatient, our children become arrogant and impatient. But if we are compassionate, kind, and understanding, then they will develop wisdom to bequeath to the next generation.

Revolting Children (from Matilda:The Musical) Music and Lyrics by Tim Minchin



**Blog Elul is the brainchild of Rabbi Phyllis Sommer. Her blog and various links can be found at http://imabima.blogspot.ca

Blog Elul Day 14-Remember

"I marvel at the resilience of the Jewish people. Their best characteristic is their desire to remember. No other people has such an obsession with memory."~Elie Wiesel

Our memories are filled with laughter, joy, terror, excitement, embarrassment, pain sadness, devastation, and love. They are the patchwork quilt of our lives. They make us whole.

Try To Remember (from The Fantasticks) Music by Harvey Schmidt; Lyrics by Tom Jones




**Blog Elul is the brainchild of Rabbi Phyllis Sommer. Her blog and various links can be found at http://imabima.blogspot.ca

Blog Elul Day 13-Forgive

"Teshuvah (repentance) stems from the intellect. It is effective in cleansing and repairing the inner purity of the soul."~ Rav Kook

"For transgressions against God, the Day of Atonement atones; but for transgressions of one human being against another, the Day of Atonement does not atone until they have made peace with one another."~Mishnah, Yoma 8.9 

Forgiveness (from Jane Eyre) Music and Lyrics by Paul Gordon



**Blog Elul is the brainchild of Rabbi Phyllis Sommer. Her blog and various links can be found at http://imabima.blogspot.ca

Blog Elul Day 12-Trust

“All the world is made of faith, and trust, and pixie dust.”~J.M Barrie from Peter Pan

"Those who trust develop a finer sense for the good, even at the high cost of blighted hopes."~Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel

Our inner strength comes from a strong sense of belief and trust in ourselves, and from those closest to us on whom we rely to give us the unvarnished truth.

Bosom Buddies (from Mame) Music and Lyrics by Jerry Herman




**Blog Elul is the brainchild of Rabbi Phyllis Sommer. Her blog and various links can be found at http://imabima.blogspot.ca

Blog Elul Day 11-Count

"Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted."~Albert Einstein

We count, we matter. Our legacy is the impact that we have in other people's lives.

For Good (from Wicked) Music and Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz




**Blog Elul is the brainchild of Rabbi Phyllis Sommer. Her blog and various links can be found at http://imabima.blogspot.ca

Blog Elul Day 10-See

"It is a terrible thing to see and have no vision."~Helen Keller

Progress and innovation are made by those who see past the physical and into the abstract. The dreamers are the visionaries.

Any Dream Will Do (from Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat) Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber; Lyrics by Tim Rice


**Blog Elul is the brainchild of Rabbi Phyllis Sommer. Her blog and various links can be found at http://imabima.blogspot.ca

Blog Elul Day 9-Hear

"People talking without speaking, People hearing without listening..."~Paul Simon

The hearing is important, but the listening brings us understanding. It is the listening that infuses the meaning and purpose into what we do.

We are commanded that on the first day of the seventh month "you shall observe complete rest, a sacred occasion commemorated with loud blasts." (Leviticus 23:24)

We are commanded to blow the Shofar, but we bless the holiness of hearing it. "Lish'moah kol shofar". The listening, the hearing is sacred.

Children will Listen (from Into the Woods) Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim


**Blog Elul is the brainchild of Rabbi Phyllis Sommer. Her blog and various links can be found at http://imabima.blogspot.ca

Blog Elul Day 8-Believe

"It's not enough to believe in God and His Tzadikim, you also must believe in yourself."~Reb Nachman of Bratslav

I Believe in You (from How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying) Music and Lyrics by Frank Loesser




**Blog Elul is the brainchild of Rabbi Phyllis Sommer. Her blog and various links can be found at http://imabima.blogspot.ca

Blog Elul Day 7-Be

"Unbeing dead isn't being alive."~e.e. cummings

We feel, we share, we hurt, we live, we are.

Being Alive (from Company) Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim






**Blog Elul is the brainchild of Rabbi Phyllis Sommer. Her blog and various links can be found at http://imabima.blogspot.ca

Blog Elul Day 6-Do

“In a place where no one is human, one should strive to be human."~Rabbi Hillel

We do what we can in our lives. Sometimes we create magic, but most times we just find meaning in the ordinary.

Magic To Do (from Pippin) Music and Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz





**Blog Elul is the brainchild of Rabbi Phyllis Sommer. Her blog and various links can be found at http://imabima.blogspot.ca

Blog Elul Day 5-Know

"Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand."~Albert Einstein

We have a tendency to become condescending and patronizing in what we think we know, especially when that knowledge concerns other people. We need to imagine what it is like to be them. Only then might we truly understand what it is to stand in someone else's shoes.

You Don't Know/I Am The One (from Next to Normal) Music by Tom Kitt; Lyrics by Brian Yorkey



**Blog Elul is the brainchild of Rabbi Phyllis Sommer. Her blog and various links can be found at http://imabima.blogspot.ca

Blog Elul Day 4-Accept

"Intolerance lies at the core of evil.
Not the intolerance that results
from any threat or danger,
but intolerance of another being who dares to exist.
Intolerance without cause. It is so deep within us,
because every human being secretly desires
the entire universe to himself.
Our only way out is to learn
compassion without cause. To care for each other
simply because that ‘other’ exists."~The Kotzker Rebbe

"Just as we love ourselves despite the shortcomings we have, so should we love others despite the shortcomings they have."~Baal Shem Tov

Acceptance of ourselves can only come once we have accepted others.

I Am What I Am (from La Cage Aux Folles) Music and Lyrics by Jerry Herman




**Blog Elul is the brainchild of Rabbi Phyllis Sommer. Her blog and various links can be found at http://imabima.blogspot.ca

Blog Elul Day 3-Bless

I guess I am on a Heschel kick this week. The great rabbi once said:
      
“Just to be is a blessing; just to live is holy”

We make the ordinary extraordinary by taking the time to revel in the holiness.

Sabbath Prayer (from Fiddler on the Roof) Music by Jerry Bock; Lyrics by Sheldon Harnick




Shabbat Shalom all.

**Blog Elul is the brainchild of Rabbi Phyllis Sommer. Her blog and various links can be found at http://imabima.blogspot.ca

Blog Elul Day 2-Act

Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel famously wrote: “A Jew is asked to take a leap of action rather than a leap of thought. He is asked to do more than he understands in order to understand more than he does.”

We must become committed and passionate participants in our own lives. We must battle injustice wherever and whenever we encounter it. We must take on the mitzvah of Tikkun Olam, the reparation of the world, in order to become full partners in our covenant with God.

Seize the Day (from Newsies) Music by Alan Menken; Lyrics by Jack Feldman



**Blog Elul is the brainchild of Rabbi Phyllis Sommer. Her blog and various links can be found at http://imabima.blogspot.ca

Blog Elul Day 1-Preparation

I sing for a living. Some might say I am marginally ok at what I do, while others might argue that I should pack it in. Whatever one's opinion, it is what I do. Singing is an organic part of my psyche. It is part of my self-definition and I tend to do it all the time, even when I am not aware I am doing it. (Singing show tunes in the aisles of  grocery stores has proved a public embarrassment on more than one occasion.)

When my children were younger they had a pat response to my habit every time I would unwittingly open my mouth in song.

"Mom, Shut up!!" 

Funny?

I have people praise me all the time for my talent and my own sons could barely tolerate it. This was especially true when I would come out with some non-sequitor line or verse from a Broadway musical to prove a point in any discussion had around the dinner table. The clear truth is that many Broadway composers have a brilliant way of describing exactly what I want to say in a manners far more eloquent than I could ever hope to achieve. 

It is why I will take my boys' advice and "shut up" during this attempt to blog the Jewish month of Elul and instead allow some of Broadway's geniuses to express my feelings and emotions. This month that serves as our preparatory time on the calendar leading into the Yamim Noraim, is necessary to examine and take stock of our physical, emotional, religious, and spiritual journeys. Today we begin to arrange and assemble our thoughts as we head toward the New Year. 

From Stephen Sondheim. Putting It Together  (originally from Sunday in the Park with George)

Sung here by Barbra Streisand.

**Blog Elul is the brainchild of Rabbi Phyllis Sommer. Her blog and various links can be found at http://imabima.blogspot.ca