Thought for the Week

Dear Members and Friends,

The new Hebrew month of Elul began on Wednesday 4 September. This is the last month before Rosh Hashanah – the New Year. 

Torah or other Biblical literature does not give the month of Elul any role or significance. Only many centuries after the Torah was completed did Rabbinic scholars use this month to prepare for the High Holy Days and introduced the idea of self-reflection and repentance lasting for the whole month before Rosh Hashanah. Early Rabbis said that Elul is not just the name of a month but an acronym, and some verses hint at it.

For example, the Song of Songs has this famous verse: Ani l’dodi v’dodi li - I am for my beloved, and my beloved is for me. This verse, as indeed the entire book, is a love song between two partners. Talmudic scholars interpreted this book and said it is not just a romantic poem but a description of love and the desired relationship between God and the people. The first letters of words on this phrase form the name of the Hebrew month Elul. Therefore, Rabbis connected the wisdom of the Song of Songs with the month of Elul. They said that the deep meaning of the month is about restoring the balance in the relationship between people and God. In other words, Elul is about reflecting on the balance between people and their inner voice of conscience – the ability to feel love, shame, compassion, and guilt. These are important feelings, but only when they are balanced and come at the right time do they make a person complete.

In the book of Esther, there is another phrase that Torah scholars found to form the word Elul - Ish l’reyehu umatanot l’evyonim -  “[Jews] were to observe [Purim] as days of celebration and joy, sending gifts to one another and presents to the poor.”(Esther 9:22). This verse brings
an ethical dimension to the month of Elul. Looking inward and reflecting on our behaviour inevitably should be reflected in our actions. Do I do enough for the poor and needy around me? Am I in denial about issues in my neighbourhood, borough, city, and country? Our tradition teaches that we must start with ourselves, but we should not stop there. Acts of kindness, supporting one another, and thinking about the most vulnerable are at the core of Judaism, and the month of Elul is a reminder of this.

‘Life is a circular motion - Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik wrote in On Teshuvah, his classic work on the Days of Awe - If you are moving along the circumference of a circle, it might initially seem as if the starting point is getting farther and farther away, but it is also getting closer and closer. The calendar year is such a circle. On Rosh Hashanah, a new year begins, and every day is one day farther from the starting point; every day is also a return, a drawing closer to the completion of the cycle.’

This year, as the month of Elul begins, we start our familiar journey and prepare ourselves for the new year, new reflections, new beginnings, and new hopes. The month of Elul is the final part of a year-long circular motion from the last time of reflection to this one, the time for us to take a step back and look at ourselves from the outside so that we can return to ourselves and see life renewed.

Shabbat shalom.