ask the rabbi

Wha ’ A ou So Special Elul?

Rabbi Yoseph Y. Zaltzman

QI’ve noticed some interesting customs during the month of Elul. People blow the shofar every day for a month, which I originally thought was only done on the High Holidays. And in general there seems to be an interesting energy, a combination of intensity and joy. Since Elul coming up, can you explain what it’s all about?

The month of Elul definitely is special, and a combination of intensity and joy is definitely a good way of seeing it. The Rebbe Rayatz, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneerson (the previous Lubavitcher Rebbe) describes a palpable sense of change in the air when Elul would roll around, which he describes as a “teshuvah wind.” It is the month when we reflect upon the year that way, and prepare ourselves to renew our spiritual connection on Rosh Hashana.

Throughout the year, when we are caught up into our day-to-day lives, we face a major challenge. We become so immersed in our daily mundane existence that we allow our spiritual selves and our special relationship with Hashem to become stale – it slips into the back of our consciousness instead of occupying the prominent position it deserves. Elul is the remedy for this malady, an island of time and a spiritual wake up call, much like Shabbat is for the weekly routine.

The sound of the shofar is the call to teshuvah. Teshuvah means returning to your true self. As we get closer to the High Holidays, we start looking back at our year and see that we’ve gone off the track here and there. We find that we have not allowed our souls to dictate some of our decisions and actions. In the month of Elul, the month before Rosh Hashanah, we start making our way back—to G-d, to our souls, to our true selves. The sound of the shofar is the wordless cry of the soul, yearning to break free of the prison of the mundane.

Historically, our sounding of the shofar on the first day of Elul reflects back to the same date thousands of years ago when Moses went back up on Sinai to receive the second tablets after the first ones were destroys as a result of the sin of the golden calf. The shofar was blown in order to remind the Israelites to safeguard their special relationship with and precious connection with Hashem.

These forty days, from the first day of Elul until Yom Kippur, are forever considered days of Divine goodwill, a good time for healing and repairing relationships – with Hashem and with one another. During the month of Elul, G-d is more accessible, so to speak. During the rest of the year He is like a king sitting in his palace, receiving guests by appointment only. Even if you have an appointment, you have to get past the guards at the front gate and at each security checkpoint. The king is at the end of a long succession of rooms and chambers and antechambers. During Elul, then the King is “out in the field.” He’s in good spirits, the formal protocols are dismissed in favor of casual connectedness, and anyone who so desires can come and meet with him.

The key is that we have to desire it. So the questions, as it relates to us, is not, “Is the King available to us?” The real question is, “Are we looking for Him?” This is not to say that G-d is not accessible during the rest of the year. It is a cornerstone of Jewish faith that G-d is always accessible to all who seek Him. However, during the course of the year we must approach G-d in His palace, on his terms, step by step, with more difficult conditions and great sincerity. We must do so at specific intervals and under exacting standards. On the other hand, during Elul the level of G-d's availability increases exponentially. He comes towards us. During this month, more so than any other time, we are promised that if we open our hearts and souls to seek, we shall surely find what we’re looking for. EM

Rabbi Yoseph Y. Zaltzman is the Senior Rabbi of the Jewish Russian Community Centre of Ontario. You can Ask the Rabbi at jrcc.org or fax to 416.222.7812. To meet with Rabbi Zaltzman in person, feel free to call 416.222.7105 to book an appointment. Appointments are generally available on Tuesday evenings after 7 p.m. Rebbitzin Chiena Zaltzman is also available for private consultations by appointment on Wednesday evenings from 9 to 10pm by calling 416.222.7105. В настоящее время еврейская жизнь переместилась из синагог на просторы интернета. В том числе в Москве Российский Еврейский Конгресс во главе с президентом Юрием Каннером провел онлайн-марафон с участием известных деятелей науки и искусства с целью сбора средств на благотворительные нужды. Участники марафона - врачи, ученые, журналисты обсуждали концепцию смерти. Ответырассуждения различных специалистов не принесли мне удовлетворения. Поэтому я, как всегда, обращаюсь к раввину. Не знаю, связывать ли эту тему с эпидемией... Не вижу смысла связывать ее с вирусом. Ни один человек не может избежать смерти. Люди понимают это и со страхом думают о ее наступлении. Но хотелось бы знать, что говорит Тора по поводу смерти? Вопрос ясен. А теперь представьте, что некоего человека послали в определенное место, где он должен выполнить важную миссию. Это может быть в другой стране, за океаном, а может, в том же городе, где он живет. И вот человек выполнил миссию и вернулся обратно. Для того, чтобы разобраться в концепции смерти с точки зрения еврейской традиции, надо понять, что человек состоит из двух основ – духовной и физической. Он обладает телом – физической структурой, относящейся к нашему миру. Но также человек наделен душой, представляющей собой частицу Творца, которая относится к Б-жественному миру. Когда Вс-вышний сотворил Первого человека – Адама, он связал эти две основы: в тело Адама, созданное из земли, Б-г через ноздри внедрил душу.

The article above is excerpted from the Russian edition of Exodus Magazine. To subscribe, please visit exodusmagazine.org or call 416.222.7105.