Dear Elul Writers, 

Recently I was watching one of my kids play Zelda on the Nintendo. I am obviously aware of the fact that there have been major strides made in video-game graphics and design since the early-1990s, but my goodness, was it magical to watch. The main character, Link, trotting on horseback across verdant valleys, swimming through crystal clear lakes, roasting mushroom skewers over a fire, it was like the game designer had hacked into my fantasy of a perfect day — right down to the kebabs. 

There are, of course, swords and bows and various monsters and bosses to fight, but ignoring the game’s plot, you could get lost in the beauty of it all. Because of this, I was surprised when I looked up and saw that my kiddo was working his way through a more grim and dingy looking setting. Carefully, he crept around some dark red, glowing, oozy substance. I asked him, “What’s that?” He didn’t reply. This was, after all, a child playing a video game; I asked again. He heard me this time and replied, “That’s the Gloom, Pa.” “Oh, the Gloom. What happens if you get into it?” He looked up at me — I was taking a particular interest in a random detail. “It petrifies your hearts and breaks them.”

How strange to create virtual worlds that so closely mirror our own. We all know by now what it is like to tiptoe around the gloom. We understand, instinctually, that getting mired in it can break our hearts. This is part of the dance of being human; to acknowledge the gloom, to step up to it, but not to get stuck in it. Later that night, I went on a gaming website to find out about acquiring Gloom resistance. As it turns out, eating “Sunny Steamed Tomatoes” or spending time in the light will both help Link get his stamina back. Of course, I thought, diet and exercise.

DAY 3 PROMPT

My hope is that this Elul practice can help us navigate the sadness in our lives. We are not in some ideal video-game world where we might manage to sneak past it; we can come in contact with sorrow and still have full hearts. All of my favorite teachers on the subject of joy, from Rebbe Nachman to Zadie Smith to Inside Out, speak about the relationship between joy and sadness. As we enter the third day of Elul, I invite you to consider the things in your life that bring you happiness and those that cause you despair. (If you're writing, make a list). How would you introduce your joy to your sadness? What might the two have to say to each other?

I don’t send a prompt on Shabbos, so I’ll see y’all on Saturday night.

Shabbat shalom,

Jordan