There is No Lull in Elul
By Rabbi Yehudah ben Shomeyr
Lev.
23:24-32 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh
month, in the first [day] of the month, shall ye have a sabbath, a memorial of
blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation. Ye shall do no servile
work [therein]: but ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD. And
the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Also on the tenth [day] of
this seventh month [there shall be] a day of atonement: it shall be an holy
convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering
made by fire unto the LORD. And ye shall do no work in that same day: for it
[is] a day of atonement, to make an atonement for you before the LORD your God.
For whatsoever soul [it be] that shall not be afflicted in that
same day, he shall be cut off from among his people. And
whatsoever soul [it be] that doeth any work in that same day, the same soul
will I destroy from among his people. Ye shall do no manner of
work: [it shall be] a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your
dwellings. It [shall be] unto you a sabbath of rest, and ye
shall afflict your souls: in the ninth [day] of the month at even, from even
unto even, shall ye celebrate your sabbath.
Once summer hits
its peak and the roller coaster begins its decent from the crest of the big
hill, the summer solstice has passed and the days get noticeable shorter, there
is a slight hint of a change in the weather. You know the solar year is
beginning to wind down.
When Tish B’Av
comes to the Lunar Calendar; the time when us Jews mourn the loss of both the
first and second Temple,
there is a noticeable change in the spiritual weather. The Hebraic year starts
to wind to a close as well and everything seems to shift in the soul. You begin
to stop and realize that it was because of Selfishness and Idolatry that the
first Temple
was destroyed, and it was because of the Cooling and Callusing of the heart
that the second Temple
was destroyed and in both cases there was a failure to keep the marriage
contract of Torah that sent us into exile. Even to this day one really begins
to feel the impact of what it is to be a Jew.
Just as at Pesach
(Passover) we are commanded to retell the story of the exodus in the first
person as if it happened to us personally. And just as when the Torah was given
to at Mount Sinai, we are taught that we were
there to hear and receive the Torah through the DNA
of our ancestors. The same holds true with Tish’BAv onward. You think, “I am in
exile because of my sins.” And as a Netzari Jew, the line of Thinking
progresses to say, “And it was my sins that nailed Yeshua to that execution
stake!”
Once Tish B’Av has
passed and the month of Elul is inaugurated a Jew can’t help but feel the
weighty awe and solemness of the season. To remember that Elul leads to the New
Year (Rosh Hashanah, the Feast of Trumpets) and that leads us to Yom Kippur
(the Day of Atonement), the single most solemn day of the entire year; a day
when even non-practicing Jews get Jewish. A day when the Levitical Priests of
days gone by would enter the Holy of Holies in the Temple and sprinkle the
blood on the Ark of the Covenant, G-d’s Throne on Earth, to confess and make
atonement for sin on behalf of all Israel. The time of the season when it is
said that the Books in Heaven are open and G-d balances the Books and sets all
the accounts and seals the events for the New Year, one can’t help but be in
silent awe. One can’t help recoiling into oneself to take spiritual inventory
of the year that has just gone by.
After the last
apple is dipped in honey to symbolize a sweet start to the New Year is eaten and
once everyone has been greeted with, “La Shannah Tova!”, and once the last
blast of the Shofar has sounded one is left hearing the reverberating echo in
the soul that acts as a supernatural alarm clock that shakes and wakes the soul
from its summer slumber.
One begins to see
the leaves on the trees begin to drain of color from a hearty, thick, rich,
lush, green, to a pail sickly yellow, as if the trees are even in awe of the
impending Judgment of Yom Kippur. One begins to truly understand the phrase,
“turning over a new leaf”.
You see, during
the month of Elul, we have 30 days to take an account of the entire year. To
replay those security tapes in our brains, to try and recall if we have wronged
anyone in anyway. To make a list of things we need to make right. To make a
list of people we need to seek forgiveness from and make amends with. It is
such a humbling and beautiful thing. 30 days to make sure everything is right
between me and my fellow man. Then comes Rosh Hashanah, the New Year, the Feast
of Trumpets, which on the one hand anticipates a great and fresh New Year, and
on the other hand is a shaking to the core. For the shofar blast has announced
the 10 Days of Awe; a time of getting nitty gritty, a time of getting down to
business with the All Mighty G-d. Once you’re cleaned the slate with your
fellow man one can channel every ounce of energy, focusing on their personal
relationship with G-d and making things right between you and Him.
Once Yom Kippur
arrives the Books in Heaven are closed and the unrepentant are blotted out and
the repentant are sealed for a sweet new year, and those that straddle the
fence has one last change to repent.
Yom Kippur has
been marked by a day of mourning, chest beating, fasting and confessing ones
sins. It’s the saddest, most somber day on the Hebrew Calendar. But have you
noticed that in the English language the word Atonement symbolizes the
potential of that day? At-One-ment. For
this reason I have come to make it one of the most festive days of the year.
For if I’ve truly spent Elul making things right between me and my neighbor,
and if I’ve truly spent the 10 days of Awe making sure things are right between
me and G-d, then even though I’m denying myself of food and other luxuries as
the Scripture commands (Lev.23:27) I can be so busy thanking and praising G-d
for His mercy, grace and forgiveness, that I won’t have to time to think of
food, sex or other things I have been commanded to abstain from for that day. I
won’t have to mope around mournfully because my business has already been taken
care of. HalleluYah! Glory be to HaShem! I can look forward to a clean slate
and a fresh start to the New Year. Now I can focus on the plans and dreams G-d
has for me for Him!
This Elul, this
Rosh Hashanah take care of business. Don’t treat Yom Kippur like April 15th
and wait till the last minute and rush to get the paperwork done. This year
don’t beat your chest and hang your head low on Yom Kippur. Instead, be ready
ahead of time to wave your hands in the air and hold your head toward heaven in
praise and thanks to G-d for His Goodness, His Loving-Kindness, His mercy that
endures forever and are new every morning.
Shalom and LaShanah
Tova!
-- Rabbi Yehudah
