This week we usher in the month of Elul, the 12th and final month in the Jewish calendar (or the sixth month, counting from Nisan). It is a month that connects the past year with the coming year – a time when we reflect on where we stand and where we should be going.
Every day during Elul we sound the shofar and recite three extra chapters of Tehillim in anticipation of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur.
Elul is called “the month of repentance,” “the month of mercy” and “the month of forgiveness.” It follows the two previous months of Tammuz and Av – months of tragedies that were brought upon us through our sins. In Tammuz, the Jews sinned with the golden calf; on Rosh Chodesh Elul, Moshe ascended to Mount Sinai for a third 40-day period until Yom Kippur, when he descended with the second luchot and G-d’s word of joyful, wholehearted forgiveness.
The Meaning of Elul
The four letters of the name Elul are an acronym for the phrase in Shir HaShirim (6:3): “I am to my beloved and my beloved is to me.”
“I am to my beloved” – we approach G-d with a desire to return and connect.
“And my beloved is to me” – G-d reciprocates with Divine expressions of mercy and forgiveness.
The King is in the Field
In Chassidic tradition, it is said that during this month, “the King (G-d) is in the field,” smiling and accessible to all. On the other hand, once the holidays are upon us, G-d is, so to speak, in His palace. The experience during the holidays is that much more powerful and majestic, but now is the time when anyone can approach G-d with requests and be received.
A Time for Introspection
After the Jewish people sinned with the Golden Calf, Moses spent this month (and the following 10 days until Yom Kippur) obtaining a second set of tablets, along with G-d’s full forgiveness. This time is therefore an especially potent time for us to come closer to G-d by dedicating time to cheshbon hanefesh (“soul accounting”), taking stock of our activities, thoughts and conversations over the past year. Where have we improved and where do we still need to improve? If we think honestly and deeply, we will have a running start for the new year.
We Wish One Another a Sweet Year
Words have power. When signing off letters or ending phone calls and conversations, we wish each other a “kesivah vachasima tovah,” to be “written and sealed for good [in the Book of Life].” The 21st century application of this practice would probably be to set this as your email signature and your WhatsApp status.
Elul is a time to increase and improve our mitzvah observance. Many people have the custom to have a scribe inspect their tefillin and mezuzahs during this month to ensure their kosher status. The Rebbe wrote that this practice is “worthwhile and very appropriate for everyone to publicize.”
May we all be written and sealed for a Shana Tova Umesukah – a good, sweet and prosperous new year, the year of the Geulah Shleima and the coming of Moshiach.
