The Month of Elul and Selichot

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Jewish Year 5767 : sunset August 14, 2007

The month of Elul is a time of repentance in preparation for the High Holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Tradition teaches that the month of 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 l'dodi v'dodi li," "I am my Beloved's and my Beloved is mine," a quote from Song of Songs 6:3, where the Beloved is G-d 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.

According to tradition, the month of Elul is the time that Moses spent on Mount Sinai preparing the second set of tablets after the incident of the golden calf (Ex. 32; 34:27-28 ). He ascended on Rosh Chodesh Elul and descended on the 10th of Tishri, at the end of Yom Kippur, when repentance was complete. Other sources say that Elul is the beginning of a period of 40 days that Moses prayed for G-d to forgive the people after the Golden Calf incident, after which the commandment to prepare the second set of tablets was given.

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Customs of Elul

During the month of Elul, from the second day of Elul to the 28th day, the shofar (a hollowed out ram's horn) is blown after morning services every weekday. See Rosh Hashanah for more information about the shofar and its characteristic blasts. The shofar is not blown on Shabbat. It is also not blown on the day before Rosh Hashanah to make a clear distinction between the rabbinical rule of blowing the shofar in Elul and the biblical mitzvah to blow the shofar on Rosh Hashanah. Four blasts are blown: tekiah, shevarim-teruah, tekiah.

Elul is also a time to begin the process of asking forgiveness for wrongs done to other people. According to Jewish tradition, G-d cannot forgive us for sins committed against another person until we have first obtained forgiveness from the person we have wronged. This is not as easy a task as you might think, if you have never done it. This process of seeking forgiveness continues through the Days of Awe.

Many people visit cemeteries at this time, because the awe-inspiring nature of this time makes us think about life and death and our own mortality

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Selichot

As the month of Elul draws to a close, the mood of repentance becomes more urgent. Prayers for forgiveness called selichot (properly pronounced "s'lee-KHOHT," but often pronounced "SLI-khus" ) are added to the daily cycle of religious services. Selichot are recited in the early morning, before normal daily shacharit service. They add about 45 minutes to the regular daily service.

Selichot are recited from the Sunday before Rosh Hashanah until Yom Kippur. If Rosh Hashanah begins on a Monday or Tuesday, selichot begins on the Sunday of the week before Rosh Hashanah, to make sure that there are at least 3 days of Selichot. The first selichot service of the holiday season is usually a large community service, held around midnight on Motzaei Shabbat (the night after the sabbath ends; that is, after nightfall on Saturday) . The entire community, including men, women and older children, attend the service, and the rabbi gives a sermon. The remaining selichot services are normally only attended by those who ordinarily attend daily shacharit services in synagogue.

A fundamental part of the selichot service is the repeated recitation of the "Thirteen Attributes," a list of G-d's thirteen attributes of mercy that were revealed to Moses after the sin of the golden calf (Ex 34:6-7): Ha-shem [1], Ha-shem [2], G-d [3], merciful [4], and gracious [5], long-suffering [6], abundant in goodness [7] and truth [8], keeping mercy unto the thousandth generation [9], forgiving iniquity [10] and transgression [11] and sin [12], who cleanses [13]. Why is "Ha-shem" listed twice as an attribute? And why are three of these "attributes" Names of G-d? Different names of G-d connote different characteristics of G-d. The four-letter Name of G-d (rendered here as "Ha-shem" ) is the Name used when G-d is exhibiting characteristics of mercy, and the Talmud explains that this dual usage indicates that G-d is merciful before a person sins, but is also merciful after a person sins. The third attribute is a different Name of G-d that is used when G-d acts in His capacity as the almighty ruler of nature and the universe.

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The Repentance of Elul

The traditions and customs of Elul are centered on one thingrepentance. With the approach of Rosh Hashanah, the Days of Awe, and Yom Kippur, Elul is dedicated to preparing oneself for these appointed times. Everything from special prayers of slichot (forgiveness), the blowing of the shofar after shacharit morning prayers, renewing ones yearly giving of tzedakah (righteous giving), to reciting Psalm 27 as an additional daily prayer, Elul is a month filled with introspection, confession, and restitution.

It is at this time of year that we especially take a look at our relationships with brothers and sisters. Traditionally, this is the time of year when we put special effort into asking forgiveness from our brother if we know that we have offended him (obviously, this can be done any time of year). Our relationship with God is gauged by our relationships with others.

If someone says, I love God, and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. (1 John 4:20)

If there were ever a month that so encapsulated the message of the Good News, it would be Elul. Our Master came preaching repentance towards God and reconciliation between men. In parable after parable, our Master taught us to not limit the mercy of God, nor to think too highly of ourselves. After his ascension, the Apostles took his message to both Jews and Gentiles and wrote to the congregations that they should continue to love one another just as the Father loved them.

Can we honestly claim to be the heirs of this legacy? Do we seek to live at peace with all men and to love sacrificially? Do we die daily to bring others to the knowledge of God and forgiveness in Messiah Yeshua? Or have we become just as self-righteous and out of balance as those the Master rebuked in his day?

Take action this Elul. Ask forgiveness from those you have hurt. Make restitution to those you have cheated. If you bear a grudge against those who have sinned against you, forgive them of their debt, even if they dont deserve it for this is Gods will for you in Messiah Yeshua (1 Thessalonians 5:18 ). By doing so, we imitate the attributes of our Creator.

The LORD, the LORD, God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in kindness and truth, who keeps kindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin, and who cleanses. (Exodus 34:6)

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Elul: Objects In The Mirror are Closer Than They Appear
By Toby Janicki

As we have now entered into the days of Elul, it is time for a baseball analogy. I have long argued that the Biblical calendar actually has a parallel in the baseball season. For example, the start of the season and opening day take place in the spring, the same time the Torah kicks things off with Passover. After Passover we begin the long journey of working out what we have started, not unlike the baseball season. Its a long summer of the daily grind of games, trying to stay on top and keep the team healthy. With HaShem the fall means repentance and judgment. If we make it (and we always do with Messiah) we proceed to the big party at Sukkot. For baseball the fall means the playoffs and eventually the World Series. If a team makes it all the way, its a big celebration, too.

So what about Elul? How can I stretch the vacuums of my mind and find an analogy for this? Elul is our time of repentance and preparation. Its the home stretch. What we began in the spring is about to come to an end. We must put our full effort into staying the course and often make corrections for mistakes along the way. So it is with baseball. August, and particularly September, is where teams buck up and try to stay strong. If you are in first place you make sure you keep winning. If you are not and you want a chance at the Series, youve got to quickly right the ship and push forward strong.

Hang around me long enough and youll find out that Im a Red Sox fan. But Im not a Red Sox fan as much as Im not a fan of the Yankees. The Red Sox are in first place right now but their Elul is getting tough and the Yankees are catching up. Last week on one of my favorite websites for Red Sox news, they had a picture of a rear view mirror from a car with a Yankee symbol in the middle. Underneath the Yankee emblem was the familiar phrase, Objects in the mirror are closer than they appear. Yikes!

During Elul we should ask ourselves, Whats getting close in my rear view mirror? Most likely if we take a good look, its sin. Sometimes we get overconfident when we have progressed through a tough time and make steps forward in our spiritual walk. Weve got to stay strong and not let our guard down. Lets all make this a time of change and strengthening. This is Elul and its time to step up to the plate.

About the Author: Toby Janicki is a teacher, writer and speaker for FFOZ. He is also a writer for messiah magazine and the author of the Restoration Workbook and a new book on the Mezuzah.