We are now in the midst of the most critical month of the year: the month of Elul. It is the time that we have to prepare ourselves for the Day of Judgment, Rosh Hashana, when our life and the lives of our loved ones are up for renewal. It is a month of incredible opportunity.
The very name “Elul” clues us in to the various areas we have to work upon. The most famous acronym of Elul is, “Ani l’Dodi v’Dodi li – I am to My Beloved [Hashem] and My Beloved is to me.” This means that in direct proportion to how close we get to Hashem, is how close, attentive, and available Hashem is to us. The Tur writes that during Elul, “Kol hamosef l’vakeish zechus hu lo – The more we ask [Hashem], the greater the merit.” This is because when we turn to Hashem with our requests, we are by definition getting closer to Him. And that is the very meaning of ani l’Dodi. It is why the Gemara tells us tefillah is instead of a korban, a sacrifice, and the root of korban is korav, to be close.
Of course, when we pray for Hashem’s return with the coming of Moshiach, the rebuilding of His House, the Beis HaMikdash, the restoration of His monarchy, the Malchus Beis Dovid, that is the ultimate ani l’Dodi, I am for My Beloved, for that is for Hashem Himself.
The 40-day time period that Moshe Rabbeinu went up on Har Sinai to pray for forgiveness for the sin of the golden calf was from Rosh Chodesh Elul until Yom Kippur. When he came down victorious and proclaimed, “Vayomer Hashem, ‘Salachti kidvorecha’” – “Hashem declared, ‘I have forgiven them as you asked,’” these 40 days became days that are especially suitable for repentance and forgiveness. Therefore, it is specifically propitious during Elul to ask Hashem to assist us in making changes, adjustments, and improvements before the Day of Judgement.
One should especially zoom-in on refining one’s mouth for, with the start of selichos through Yom Kippur, we are going to be incessantly pleading to Hashem for our life and welfare. If our mouths are guilty of lashon hara, hurtful words, vulgarity, lying, or revealing secrets, it will not be able to succeed when we petition Hashem for our betterment. As we are taught, “Ein kateigor naases saneiger – The prosecutor can never become the defendant.”
Another acronym of the name Elul is, “Ish l’rei’eihu u’matanos l’evyonim – A man to his friend and gifts to the poor.” This highlights an additional two important pursuits of Elul. The first pursuit is bettering our relationships with our fellow man. Included in this is burying the hatchet with people we are at odds with. To accomplish this, as an incentive, we can be mindful that when Hashem sees that we forgive our fellow, even if they are less than worthy of it, Hashem will treat us accordingly and forgive us even though we don’t deserve it.
It means judging people favorable and giving them the benefit of the doubt, especially our spouses. For the Gemara tells us, “Kol hadon es chaveirvo l’kaf zechus, donin oso l’kaf zechus – Whoever judges his friend favorably will be judged [by Hashem] favorably,” a very handy merit to have before Rosh Hashanah.
The other half of the acronym, matanos l’evyonim, is gifts to the poor. As we spoke about at length last week, the mitzvah of tzedakah is the greatest way to remove a foreboding decree that might be, G-d forbid, hovering over our heads.
Along the way, we should certainly pay acute attention to every opportunity we have to say, “Amen, Yehei Shmei rabba,” for the Gemara says the strong meaningful rejoinder of Amen, Yehei Shmei rabba can tear-up an evil decree of even 70 years in the making. That’s one hefty payday! It is certainly a reason for women to go to shul on Shabbos so that they also can answer Amen, Yehei Shmei rabba numerous times before the Day of Judgment.
We certainly have our work cut out for us!
In closing, Rav Elimelech Biderman, shlit”a, says that Elul is also an acronym of the Yiddish phrase, “Lebedig, un viter lebedig,” to be enthusiastically active and even more enthusiastic.
In the merit of our vigorous Elul strivings, may Hashem bless us with a sweet, happy, and wonderful New Year.
Transcribed and edited by Shelley Zeitlin.