Back to Nature

I am upstate now with my family, and it feels wonderful to be surrounded by the beauty that God has given us in our natural surroundings.

Up here, it is serene and lush; the house that we rented sits back from the road on a large piece of land that has greenery, trees and a nice hammock. I've got a few sefarim (books), my iPod is loaded with shiurim (lectures), and I am looking forward to a relaxing few days before yeshiva starts again.

We arrived last night under a canopy bursting with a million shining stars and no other source of light to guide us. A humbling sight that reminds us how tiny and seemingly insignificant we are, when viewed in a cosmic sense...

The natural environment lends itself perfectly toward hisbodedus and connecting with HaShem in an organic, authentic way; this morning I watched the mist burn away from the grass as the sun crept up the eastern skyline, and I tried to connect with Him in a way that I haven't been able to for a while, with all the hectic running around of the past few months...

In the meantime, Reb Ally has an important post about beginning Elul properly - an essential thing no matter what  your station in life is...