by Rabbi E. Tauger
ELUL: Dates To Remember
Elul 11 and Elul 13 - The anniversary of the weddings of the Rebbe Rashab, and the Rebbe Rayatz.
Elul 15 - The anniversary of the founding of the Lubavitcher Yeshivah,
Yeshivas Tomchei Temimim, in 1897. From the yeshivah's beginning, its founder, the Rebbe Rashab, designated its students as "soldiers of the House of David," whose responsibility is to carry the torch of Mashiach outward, preparing the world for his revelation.
Chai Elul: Elul 18 - the birthday of the Baal Shem Tov (1698), founder of the chassidic movement, and the Alter Rebbe (1745), founder of Chabad Chassidism.
Eighteen is the numerical equivalent of the letters which, when inverted, form the Hebrew word chai ("alive"). Thus the Eighteenth of Elul is commonly referred to as Chai Elul.
The Rebbe Rayatz relates that there are two versions of a traditional chassidic aphorism: "Chai Elul breathes vitality into Elul," and "Chai Elul breathes vitality into the service of 'I am my Beloved's and my Beloved is mine.'"
Elul 18 is also the yahrzeit of the Maharal of Prague, a great luminary of Jewish law and mysticism, a descendant of King David, and an ancestor of the Chabad Rebbeim.
Elul 22 - The first day of reciting Selichos, the prayers in which we ask G-d for forgiveness and for blessings for the new year to come.
Elul 25 - The anniversary of the creation of the world. Rosh HaShanah is the anniversary of the creation of man, and the world at large was brought into being on Elul 25.
Elul 29 - The birthday of the Tzemach Tzedek, the third Lubavitcher Rebbe. The Tzemach Tzedek was unique in that he displayed excellence in both the teachings of Torah law, and its mystic dimensions. Moreover, he was able to fuse the two together, revealing how the Torah is a single, comprehensive unit.
THE KING IN THE FIELD
In Likkutei Torah, the Alter Rebbe describes the tightening of the bond between G-d and the Jewish people in the month of Elul with the following parable:
Before a king enters his city, its inhabitants go out to greet him and receive him in the field. At that time, anyone who so desires is granted permission [and can] approach him and greet him. He receives them all pleasantly and shows a smiling countenance to all.
On Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur, the King is in His palace; G-d reveals
Himself in all His majesty. During Elul, however, the King is in the field;
G-d reveals Himself at a level which can be apprehended by man within the
framework of his mundane reality.
Elul - A Month of Divine Favor
According to the chronology of our Sages, the Jews committed the sin of the Golden Calf on the Seventeenth of Tammuz. That day, Moses descended from Mount Sinai, broke the Tablets containing the Ten Commandments, and chastised the people for their sin. On the following day, he ascended Mount Sinai again, and fasted, asking G-d to forgive the Jewish people for their sin. This was a period of anger, during which G-d's wrath over the Jew's conduct was not assuaged. After 40 days and 40 nights, Moses' prayers bore fruit. G-d forgave the Jewish people and told Moses to ascend to Mount Sinai to receive the Second Tablets. Again, he remained on Mount Sinai for 40 days and 40 nights. Our Sages explain, however, that this period - including the entire month of Elul and culminating on Yom Kippur - was a time of unique Divine favor. From that time onward, these days have been set aside for intensifying our bond of love and closeness with G-d. This concept is hinted at in the very name Elul which is interpreted by our Sages as an acronym for the phrase, ("I am my Beloved's and my Beloved is mine").
Two Types of Prayers A question, nevertheless, remains. It was on Yom Kippur that G-d told Moses: "I will forgive as you requested." This indicates that until that time, Moses was still requesting pardon for the Jewish people's sins. What then constitutes the difference between the second 40 day period - one of wrath - and the third - which was characterized by Divine favor? During both, Moses was asking for atonement and forgiveness. The answer is: It depends how you ask. During the second 40 days, Moses was praying out of a sense of need. The people had sinned grievously and their future was hanging in abeyance. With the sense of desperation, he prayed like a person whose very life depended on the acceptance of his prayers. During the third 40 days, there was no danger. G-d had already promised that the Jewish people would be allowed to continue on their journey and enter Eretz Yisrael. Why then did he continue to pray? Because he wanted to improve the relationship. There are couples with good marriages and there are couples whose marriages are continually improving. Each day makes the relationship better. That's the kind of bond Moses wanted should exist between G-d and the Jewish people. And for such a bond, he - and over the generations, we - have to work on it. G-d had promised that everything would be alright; He would fulfill His promises to the people. But Moses wanted a relationship that goes beyond keeping promises and paying dues. And so, when G-d told him: "My angel will go before you," Moses protested: "If Your presence (Panecha) does not proceed, do not have us ascend from here." Panecha, the Hebrew word translated as "presence," also means "inner dimension." Moses wanted G-d's inner dimension to accompany the Jewish people. That was the point of the last 40 days he spent on Sinai - to insure that the Jews' relationship with G-d was not only about externals - yes, He would provide for them and take care of their needs, and they would be faithful to Him - but that they would share an intimate bond.
At the Heart's Core This is the theme of the month of Elul - to heighten and intensify our love relationship with G-d. Elul is a month of teshuvah, a time for sincere repentance. To explain by parable: It is the last month of the year. Just like during the last month of a year's business, a shop-keeper takes time out for inventory and to review the year's expenses and profits, so too, Elul is a time to review our Divine service and through teshuvah, to correct any faults that might exist. But that is only the surface dimension of the spiritual dynamic of Elul. Inside - within our hearts and within G-d's heart, as it were, a different motif is operating. As we say in the L'David, Adonai Ori Viyishi prayer which we recite throughout the month of Elul: "To You, my heart says: 'Seek my inner dimension.' 'I seek Your inner dimension O G-d.'" There are those who focus on the mechanics of the month - what sins they must repent for and what degree of regret they must manifest. Others penetrate to the spiritual core of the month and focus on developing intimacy with G-d.
Going Beyond the Linear Dimension A person should never remain content with merely performing deeds. Judaism is not a grown-up version of grade-school where you get checks and x's and you have to make up for bad conduct. There is a deeper dimension to our relationship with G-d which everyone must tune into. Conversely, it is not sufficient to focus on our inner dimension of G-d to the exclusion of performing the deeds He commanded us and refraining from the activities which He forbade. Could you imagine a husband or a wife protesting "I love you," and their spouse responding, "Then why do you always ignore the simple requests I make of you," and "Why do you always do things that you know upset me." Which of the two would you believe? If you love someone, you do things for them. And you don't do what upsets them. These two movements need not present a conflict. They should complement, rather than clash with each other. It's like the body and the soul; the two should function in harmony. Similarly, the inner dimension of our love relationship with G-d should breath energy and vitality into the day to day norms of our Torah observance and conversely, those daily norms should be mediums for the expression of our inner love.
Encompassing Motifs These thrusts should be highlighted in the month of Elul when we amplify our observance of the mitzvos and simultaneously heighten the intensity of our relationship with G-d. And by doing so, we prepare ourselves for a good and sweet year in the year to come, a year when G-d will grant us both material and spiritual blessings, including the ultimate blessing the coming of Mashiach. Indeed, there is an intrinsic connection between the above concepts and the era of Mashiach. Firstly, it is in that era that the love relationship between G-d and the Jewish people will reach its peak. For although the marriage bond between the two was forged at Sinai, the consummation of the relationship will not be until the era of Mashiach. But more particularly, it is in the era of Mashiach that the integration of the physical and spiritual and the normal and the transcendent will be complete. At present, our every day material existence appears to run contrary to the spiritual truth that lies at the core of all existence. A commitment to the spiritual is looked on as strange by some. And it requires effort and energy to develop; it is not our natural framework of reference. In the Era of the Redemption, this will change. Just as today, we are naturally aware of material reality, then we will be conscious of the spiritual. It will be the ordinary way of looking at the world. And yet, these revelations will not nullify this existence of the material framework. Our world and all the positive dimensions of material reality will continue to exist. They will, however, be imbued and permeated with spiritual light. |
The Torah Portions of the Month
Parshas Shoftim - This Torah reading contains the command to appoint a king. The existence of a king - an absolute monarch, not merely a ceremonial figurehead - is foreign to our world view. We are not willing to subjugate our lives to the rule of another human being.
On the other hand, we are starving for genuine leadership. We are disgusted by candy-coated figureheads who lack integrity; who stand for themselves and their personal image and little else.
What is a king's role? As Maimonides writes: "In all matters, his deeds shall be for the sake of heaven. His purpose and intent shall be to elevate mankind's faith, and to fill the world with justice."
Mashiach will be the exemplar of this approach to monarchy. He will "perfect the entire world, [motivating all the nations] to serve G-d together, as it is written: 'I will make the nations pure of speech so that they will all call upon the name of G-d and serve Him with one purpose.'"
Parshas Ki Seitzei - This Torah reading concludes with the command to wipe out the nation of Amalek. The beginning of the Torah reading also speaks of waging wars, and with regard to those wars, it mentions the possibility of taking captives. Amalek, by contrast, must be annihilated entirely. Not only the humans, but also the animals belonging to that nation must be utterly destroyed.
From an ordinary material perspective, this is difficult to comprehend. From a spiritual perspective, it is explained that Amalek is the direct opposite of Jewish values and principles - the force within the world and within our own beings that objects to G-dliness without any reason. The other gentile nations represent particular qualities and traits that can be refined and elevated to holiness. For example, the love of money can be transformed into a love for G-d; a desire for power molded into a willingness to serve as a trustee for others. This is what is meant by taking captives, using the energies for holiness.
Amalek, by contrast, stands in direct opposition to holiness. There is no particular quality it represents. It rebels against G-d's authority, without a reason. Hence, it must be wiped out entirely. For the willingness to accept G-d's will is the fundamental purpose of existence.
Parshas Ki Savo - This Torah reading contains an interesting command: that when the Jews enter Eretz Yisrael, they should set up large stones, coat them with plaster and write the words of the Torah upon them. Our Sages explain that on these stones the Torah was written in 70 languages. All the tongues of the world were used as mediums to convey G-d's word.
The commentaries question the purpose for this commandment. After all, at the time the Jews entered Eretz Yisrael, they all spoke Lashon HaKodesh, the holy tongue, Biblical Hebrew. Why was a translation necessary?
The commentaries explain that the reason has its source in spiritual causality. Translating the Torah into a foreign tongue would cause the people who speak that language to conduct themselves in a more refined manner. The intent is not merely that once the Torah would exist in their language, they could study it and elevate their conduct. There is a deeper motive. The very fact the tongue they speak has been used to communicate the Torah will set into motion spiritual influences that will ultimately lead to their refinement.
Parshas Nitzavim - This Shabbos is the Shabbos on which the month of Tishrei is blessed. Nevertheless, unlike the other Shabbasos when the new month is blessed, we do not recite a prayer in the synagogue. The Baal Shem Tov explains this practice as follows: Tishrei is the seventh month, a month filled with all sorts of goodness. This month G-d blesses Himself, and with the power of this blessing, the Jews bless all the coming months.
What is G-d's blessing? Atem Nitzavim Hayom, "you are standing today."
On Rosh HaShanah, G-d's day of awesome judgment, the Jews stand and prevail.
And they are inscribed for a year of abundant goodness, including the ultimate
good, the coming of Mashiach.