Walking with the King
There is something beautiful about the rhythm of the Jewish calendar.
Just weeks ago, we sat together with the sorrow of Tisha B'Av. We remembered a city in ruins, a Temple destroyed, and generations of loss. We allowed ourselves to acknowledge what is broken—not only in our history, but in our own lives.
Judaism, however, never leaves us in mourning for long.
As August unfolds, the month of Elul quietly arrives, and with it comes one of my favorite images in all of Jewish tradition.
The Chasidic masters offered one of Judaism's most beloved metaphors for Elul:
The King is in the field. א
Before the great awe of Rosh Hashanah, before anyone enters the palace, the King leaves it. Rather than waiting behind gates and guards, the King walks among the people, greeting them with warmth and an open face. The distance has already been crossed—not by us, but by God.
What a remarkable way to prepare for the High Holy Days.
We do not spend Elul trying to earn God's attention. We begin by discovering that God has already come looking for us.
Perhaps our task, then, is simply to step into the field.
To walk beside the King.
To accompany Him on the road toward the palace.
Not because our companionship changes God's heart, but because it changes ours.
By the time Rosh Hashanah arrives, we are no longer strangers nervously approaching a throne. We are companions who have spent a month walking together. Relationship has prepared us for reflection. Love has prepared us for honesty. The journey itself has become part of our teshuvah—our return.
It seems fitting that our congregation life also begins its journey again during Elul.
Our classrooms will soon be filled with the voices of children eager to learn. Religious school begins. Adult learning returns. Committees gather. Friends who have been traveling all summer find one another again. The familiar rhythm of synagogue life awakens once more.
Perhaps this is more than a coincidence.
Perhaps returning to Beth Israel is one way we meet the King in the field.
Every Torah lesson, every conversation over coffee, every act of kindness, every Shabbat shared together becomes another step on that road toward the Days of Awe. We are not rushing toward judgment. We are walking together toward holiness.
As we begin this new season of learning, prayer, and community, I pray that each of us finds the courage to take that first step. May this month of Elul remind us that before we ever seek God, God has already drawn near. All that remains is to walk together toward the palace, preparing our hearts for the year that lies ahead.
I look forward to walking that road with all of you.
L'shalom,
Student Rabbi Ben
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א The image of "the King in the field" originates in Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi's Likkutei Torah (Parashat Re'eh, "Ani L'Dodi V'Dodi Li"). For further reading: https://www.chabad.org/therebbe/article_cdo/aid/2854708/jewish/Ani-LeDodi-from-Likkutei-Torah.html