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On Shabbat, we will bless the month of Elul. In years past, I would refrain from mentioning the word "Elul" in the Torah before we entered, head and shoulders, into this charged month. And the truth is, not only in the Torah, but also among myself, I tried to postpone the end.
What is Elul? Why Elul? It's August now, summer, vacation, watermelon, don't talk to me about the shofar. Don't bother me in the middle of spring.
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In fact, even when Rosh Chodesh Elul arrived, I told myself that it wasn't actually here yet. Because the first day of Rosh Chodesh Elul is actually 3 B'Av (well, I brought that from my days as a mediocre yeshiva student, trying to postpone the start of the demanding Elul period as much as possible). My uncle's voice still doesn't ring. And the truth is that even when the month came, for all the methods and opinions, I would reassure myself that there was still time until Rosh Chodesh itself. And until Yom Kippur in general, there was still more than a month. And besides, Yom Kippur is not in the month of Elul but only in the month of Tishrei.
And actually, Rosh Hashanah is not in the month of Elul either. In short, there's still plenty of time. Enough of the anxiety in its time. So it's true, the Mizrahi Jews start saying Selichot at the beginning of the month, and they proclaim every night: "Man, why are you sleeping?!" But okay, I'm Ashkenazi, I can nap a little longer.
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But this year it's a different story, and it seems to me that it's not just me. This year, many are looking forward to the month of Elul, the month of mercy and forgiveness.
We are already waiting for the rousing shofar. We are waiting to start saying the strengthening psalm twice a day, "To David, the Lord is my light and my salvation, of whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life, of whom shall I be afraid?... If an army encamps against me, my heart will not fear. If war rises against me, in this I trust" (Do you know the amazing story of Sapir Cohen, the kidnapped Shochara, with this chapter in the Psalms? If not, search on Google "Sapir Cohen + Psalm 27").
We await the "Our Father, Our King" of the Ten Days of Repentance. We await the 13 measures of mercy in the Selihot. And speaking of Selihot, I do not rule out the fact that this year in the Selihot of the Eastern Orthodox community we will also see Ashkenazi infiltrators. Certainly in the Selihot at the Western Wall. What happened, if you receive us so well in Mimouna, is it not possible in Selihot? You will be successful and confess.
And most of all, we are waiting for the songs and melodies of the month of Elul. Waiting for the ones who bring in tears to bring in all our tears. It seems to me that this year they will increase the number of angels in heaven from those who bring in tears. And by the way, there is a continuation to this piyoot that is less well-known, because it is not part of the melody, but how relevant it is this year: "Remind him before him, make known before him, Torah and the good deeds of those who dwell in the dust. He will remember their love and their seed will live, so that the remnant of Jacob will not perish. For the flock of a faithful shepherd was a reproach, Israel, one nation, for example and for a joke.".
Yes, it's unpleasant to admit, but in one moment, in one day, we went from being the strongest power in the Middle East to being ridiculed and ridiculed by the Gentiles, for example, and to being a laughingstock. Wow. And now I'm reminded of the passage that comes immediately afterwards in the Selichot: "Maran Devshmia, we beg you, for we have come to beg you for our captivity." And in Hebrew translation: Our Lord in heaven, we beg you, like a captive begging for his return. Last year, it was an image far removed from the ancient world. This year, it is the reality of our lives.
3.
What an Elul this year is going to be. After all, even Tisha B'Av, the hardest and saddest day of the year, had anticipation. So many fasted on it for the first time. Connect with the milestone in the Jewish year cycle that reminds them that their personal struggles over the past year are not a local story that begins and ends on October 7th in the Gaza Envelope. We have a Jewish past, and most importantly, we have a Jewish future. We are part of a greater story. And we have a Jewish, religious, and halachic way to express this grief.
I'm trying to remember how I felt about the Haftarot Sheva Danechama in years past. I mean, I remember these Haftarot, I know the texts very well, I even know some of them by heart, but after we've been through what we've been through, suddenly these Haftarot of comfort have a new melody. They play differently. On Shabbat, in our minyan, the reader gasped with excitement when he reached the crescendo of "For the Lord has comforted Zion, he has comforted all her ruins, and has made her wilderness like Eden and her wilderness like the garden of the Lord, so that joy and gladness will be found, thanksgiving and the voice of song.".
And not only the Haftarot, but also the blessings that are said immediately after them, every Shabbat, give strength: "You are faithful, O Lord our God, and your words are faithful, and not one word of your words will return to you empty." Everything we just read, everything we just gasped for, will happen in reality. The truth is that much has already happened. And much more will happen. Not one thing will return to you empty.
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And if that's the case in the month of Av, imagine what will awaken here this year in Elul. Yes, even for those who have not yet become familiar with the atmosphere of this month. What a wonderful world is about to be revealed to them.
""The month of Elul, which comes to us for good," wrote Rabbi Kook in a letter on the eve of Rosh Chodesh Elul 1916, at the height of World War I, "is the month that has encouraged the pure Israeli soul ever since. The month that seals the events of the year that is about to pass, will be a spring of salvation and a source of blessing, for all prisoners of hope and for all who yearn for salvation and redemption.".
And one more short quote from Rabbi Kook: "The teshuvah does not come to make life bitter, but to make it pleasant." There are so many explanations by Rabbi Kook about the concept of teshuvah, I don't know them all (and certainly don't understand them all), but this sentence of his from the book 'Orot Teshuvah' is worth knowing, even by heart. Certainly if you suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder like me. So I repeat again: "The teshuvah does not come to make life bitter, but to make it pleasant." True, it is not easy to truly repent, to make amends, but the goal is not to make life bitter, but rather the opposite.
Next Friday, the 3rd of Elul, will mark the 89th anniversary of Rabbi Kook's passing (entering his 90th year!), and how much we need his inspiring words this year, as well as his wishes, that this month will indeed encourage the Israeli soul, and be a source of salvation for all prisoners of hope and all those yearning for salvation and redemption.
