Elul the first is not just the start of the month before Rosh Hashanah, as big a deal as that is, it is also one of the four New Years mentioned in the mishnah: New Year of the animals. It was likely a tax day, just as TuB’Shevat was. With our planet experiencing an species extinction event (nearly 40,000 species are endangered or threatened with extinction) this is a Holy in Need of renewal.
I have incorporated these public domain images into my online shacharit service. This is a summary, showing where the animal images are incorporated into the service. Each animal pictured gets something awe inspiring mentioned about it.
The rooster crows before dawn, having faith that the dawn will come
Farm animals live within the beaut of creation
The blue whale is the most massive animal ever to live
The sea turtle lived along side dinosaurs, surviving the asteroid collision. Living fossils at 120 million years in existence
The red winged blackbird, as many others, migrate 1200 kilometers each year. Nobody knows how they navigate. It uniquely has an arpeggio call
The brown bear can run up to 3 miles per hour, and is mainly vegetarian, with insects and fish supplementing
This second use of the farm animals image is a way to introduce the New Year of the Animals
After yotzer I show some awe inspiring Light (this year, Rosh Chodesh was two days past the total solar eclipse) and that cat had eyes reminiscent of the eclipse
The dolphin leaps echo the feeling of redemption at the sea
During Hallel, psalm 114 is rich with images of sheep and antelope leaping. The graceful pronghorn is very sure footed, and the thick fleece that grows in the winter becomes borrowed as wool
Finally, many pets become parts of our family, and many a tear is shed. Following kaddish yatom, I shared this pic of recently departed golden named Pearl.
