The Month of Elul

Our holy books note an allusion to the month of Elul in the Hebrew acronym of the verse “I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine” (Song of Songs 6:3). From here we can learn a number of ideas regarding the nature of Elul's unique divine worship.

R' Chaim makes it clear that struggling with transgression and sin is his lot in life as well and not only that of his followers. Each of us faces his own forest in life, each must deal with his own entanglement and find his way out of the woods.

“Repentance preceded the creation of the world” (Nedarim 39b). In other words, repentance is an integral part of creation and bound to it by its very nature. It stems from God's own integrity, for without this, creation would be lacking in some way.

Rav Kook pointed out that there are three different of shofar. Each one of them represents a different type of redemption. This message is as relevant today as it ever was.

A person must not allow himself to stay in one place. If a person does not ascend he descends. The question is not “Have I erred?” or “In what regard have I sinned?” The question should be “Have I ascended another spiritual rung today?”

We have the custom to blow the shofar throughout the month of Elul as a preparation for Rosh HaShanah. The shofar comes to wake us up but also to gather us together in order that we can return to God together.

We are in an hour of war. An hour in which the Almighty is very close to us. Those who reside in the Land of Israel, and who find themselves on the front line of the battle, are all messengers of God, faithfully carrying out His wishes.

Why is it that only the angels respond to the sound of the shofar?; Are we tuned in?

The Days of Repentance confront us with the challenge to "renew your actions in the first month." Renewal, self-examination, and reestablishment of values. Sowing the seeds and sorting the grain anew.

Elul is the month of repentance. With the end of the year fast approaching, the time to make a personal accounting has arrived. It is time to cast off all those bad habits that we have become accustomed to over the course of the year and to make a new start.