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	In Brief Themes Elul Thoughts Laws and Customs Psalm

In Brief

The arrival of the Hebrew month of Elul (Aug. 12-13) not only reminds us that Rosh HaShanah will soon be here, but encourages us to prepare for the High Holy Days — not just in the kitchen, but more importantly, in terms of introspection, prayer and repentance, main themes of the season. That is why, each morning during the month of Elul, at the conclusion of the service, it is a tradition for the shofar to be sounded. The loud, clarion call is meant to stir us out of complacency and spur us on toward personal growth.

The Hebrew letters that make up the word “Elul” is an acronym for the words, ani l’dodi v’dodi li, or “I am to my beloved, and my beloved is mine.” A lovely thought about the relationship between God and the Jewish people is that in this month leading up to Rosh HaShanah (which begins Friday evening, Sept. 13), God reassures us that His commitment to us is loving and forever.

But another hallmark of Elul, and getting ready for the High Holy Days, is that we must not only tend to our relationship with the Divine but to our dealings with our fellow man. The Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur prayers seek collective mercy from God, but the other component of repentance is, individually, to seek out those whom we have wronged and ask forgiveness. Only through the combined effort of communal prayer and personal pardon-seeking can we hope to achieve a clear conscience and clean slate as we pray for a new year of health, happiness and fulfillment — as individuals and as a people.

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Themes
All the Jewish Festivals have some sort of historical or agricultural significance which date back to the Bible or Talmudic times. Yet Elul and the Yamim Noraim (Days of Awe) which follow, have spiritual significance alone.

Days of Conciliation

Days of Forgiveness

Prayers and Supplications

Days of Conciliation
The month of Elul is the last of the months in the general Jewish calendar year. It precedes the Days of Awe, commencing with the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah. Thus the month is characterized by a somber mood reflecting what the rabbis have called the Days of Reconciliation.

During the month of Elul, it is customary to make a special effort to improve relationships with one's friends and acquaintances as a token of unbounded love, symbolized in the Hebrew acronym of the first letters of the word ELUL. These letters spell out the Hebrew verse from the Song of Songs (6:3): "I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine."

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Days of Forgiveness
According to tradition, Rosh Chodesh Elul marks the day when Moses ascended the mountain with the new Tablets of stone, having first pleaded for the grave sin of the Israelites who had worshipped a golden calf in the desert. Divine mercy is offered, and forty days later Moses descends the mount with the Second Tablets as a mark of renewed Divine favor.

These 40 days, from Rosh Chodesh Elul until the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur, have thus been fixed for generations as days of repentance and forgiveness.

Prayers and Supplications
Thus, not only is an effort made to improve human relationships: With the approaching Days of Awe, it is customary to set the mood of self-reflection that will culminate in days of prayer and supplication.

This period is marked by the recitation of numerous selichot (penitential prayers) with some people rising in the middle of the night throughout the month of Elul or, at least, the few days preceding Rosh Hashanah, to pour out their hearts to Heaven.

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