Rosh Hodesh Elul / ראש חדש אלול
"The King is in the Field – HaMelekh Ba'Sadeh" – This month, HaShem is most approachable than any other time of the year!
The month of Elul is a time of Teshuvah in preparation for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Hodesh Elul is a particularly propitious time for repentance. This mood of repentance builds through the month of Elul to the period of Selichot, to Rosh Hashanah, and finally to Yom Kippur. The name of the month (spelled Alef-Lamed-Vav-Lamed) is said to be an acronym of "Ani Le'dodi Ve'dodi Li," "I am to my Beloved and my Beloved is to Me," a pasuk from Shir HaShirim 6:3, where the Beloved is HaShem and the "I" is the Jewish people. In Aramaic (the vernacular of the Jewish people at the time that the month names were adopted), the word "Elul" means "search," which is appropriate, because this is a time of year when we search our hearts.
Hodesh Elul is the time that Moshe Rabbenu spent on Har Sinai preparing the second set of Louhot (tablets) after the incident of the golden calf. He ascended on Rosh Hodesh Elul and descended on the 10th of Tishrei, at the end of Yom Kippur, when Teshuvah was complete. Likewise, we also begin our Teshuvah now, and daven that by Yom Kippur, our Teshuvah will be complete.
May this be a Hodesh of Teshuvah Shelemah, of Berakhah and of closeness to HaKadosh Barukh Hu. Remember, HaShem, our King, is in the field among us, He is most accessible to us now. Take advantage of this time to call out to Him, to daven more intensely, to speak with Him, to develop a deeper relationship with Him. May HaShem answer all our Tefillot leTova u'leBerakhah! Hodesh ELUL Tov uMevorakh!!!!
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