B"H
Wednesday, Elul 3, 5781 / August 11, 2021
We are now in the month of Elul, the last month of the year, 5781.
There are less than four weeks left to the two day holiday of Rosh Hashana, which will begin Monday night, September 6, through Tuesday, Sept. 7, and Wednesday, Sept. 8.
The Hebrew calendar months rotate between 29 and 30 days. The month of Elul consists of 29 days.
Elul is a special month in Jewish history.
The world was created on the 25th day in Elul. Rosh Hashana is celebrated six days later, on the day when Adam and Eve were created.
After the Giving of the Torah, when the Jewish people committed the sin of the Golden Calf, G-d wanted to destroy them. This resulted in Moshe’s breaking the Two Tablets.
The next forty days Moshe prayed for them. Then G-d told him to come up with a second set of Tablets upon which He will engrave the Ten Commandments a second time.
Moshe went up Mount Sinai on Rosh Chodesh Eluland was up there the entire month of Elul until Yom Kippur. On Yom Kippur G-d gave him the Second Tablets and told him that He forgave their sin.
Since then the month of Elul is a very special month in the Hebrew calendar. A month conducive to prayer and forgiveness. During the month of Elul we also give more charity and excell in acts of kindness, as an investment for the blessings we are seeking from G-d for the New Year.
Our sages compare the month of Elul to a king who is in the field. When the king is in his palace surrounded with guards etc. there is little chance that the average person will have access to him. But, when the king leaves the palace and travels in the cities and fields to visit his subjects to see how they fair in their day-to-day life, he is very accessible.
The same is with the month of Elul. All year long, G-d is like the king in his palace. Although He hears our prayers all the time, there is a difference between the month of Elul, when G-d is like the king in the field, and all year long, when He is like the king in his palace. To enter the king’s palace one has to be very presentable, but when the king is in the field, even the peasants dressed in their work clothes have access to him just the same.
The month of Elul is a time when G-d is very close to us all, no matter the condition we are in. We, in turn should feel close to G-d. We should also be considerete toward others who are in need. May G-d hear our prayers and grant us and our families our requests for a wonderful, healthy and sweet New Year. AMEN
HAVE A VERY GOOD, HAPPY, HEALTHY AND SUCCESSFUL DAY & SHANA TOVA