The month of Elul holds up a mirror to Israelis - and it's not always pleasant | Prof. Noah Dana-Picard
Prof. Noah Dana-Picard calls during the month of Elul for introspection and bridge-building between sectors, emphasizing the Bible as the common foundational book. He warns against turning Selichot tours into a tourist attraction and stresses the need to break away from divisive talk and false accusations, especially during an election period.
Prof. Noah Dana-Picard writes in an opinion piece in Maariv that the month of Elul, the month of mercy and forgiveness, offers Israeli society a unique opportunity to stop, look inward, and rebuild bridges between sectors. He emphasizes the Bible as the common foundational book, which explains who we are and what our destiny is in the Land of Israel, and calls not to reduce it to a book of laws and commandments alone. The author warns against turning Selichot tours into a tourist or folkloric attraction, and stresses the need to connect with content and ancient traditions. He refers to the Selichot verses as expressing a vertical axis (connection between heaven and earth) and a horizontal axis (historical continuity), and calls not to sever them through unnecessary disputes. Especially during an election period, he sees the month of Elul as a call to free oneself from divisive talk and false accusations, and to approach Jewish sources anew through long-standing traditions, rather than through definitions from foreign sources.