The Extra Work of Elul

By Rabbi Moshe Krieger, Yeshivas Bircas HaTorah (www.bircas.org)

We all know that Elul is the month that precedes Rosh Hashana, and it is an important time of preparation before entering the New Year. What should be the focus of our avodas Hashem during this month?

In Mishna Berurah Siman 581, it states that Elul is a time of ratzon – Hashem is waiting for us to return to Him with all our hearts, and He is ready to accept us with love. This is alluded to in the verse, ani l’dodi v’dodi li – I am for my beloved and He is for me. The first letters of this verse (in Hebrew) spell the word “Elul.” Returning to Hashem with all our hearts means doing teshuva – improving all our deeds, avoiding any sin and being more meticulous in our mitzva observance.

Rav Chaim Kamil would add that the letters אלול, in addition to forming the abbreviation of ani l’dodi v’dodi li, also hint to the parsha of the meraglim. The command to “spy out the land” (וְיָתֻרוּ) is rendered into Aramaic as וִיאַלְלוּן, which shares the same root as the word “Elul.” During Elul we must be like meraglim – spying out ourselves, so to speak – searching diligently to find what we need to correct. This process of self-scrutiny should go on through Elul and intensify during the Ten Days of Repentance.

In Siman 603, the Shulchan Aruch adds that in the Ten Days of Repentance, we should take on halachic stringencies even if we are not planning to maintain them throughout the year. For example, pas akum (bread of a gentile bakery) is permitted, strictly speaking. Today, pas Yisrael is available in most religious areas, but if one lives in a place where it is hard to find, or is much more expensive, still,  during the Ten Days of Repentance one should make extra efforts to eat only pas Yisrael – even if he knows that he cannot maintain this practice throughout the year.

Why do this? And how is this part of doing teshuva? I’m not correcting any wrong practice; pas Yisrael may be better, but pas akum is still permitted!

First, we have to realize that in addition to the challenge of finding what we need to correct and correcting it, there is an even greater challenge – breaking out of our accepted ways and changing our lifestyle. This is a much bigger challenge than many of us realize, because we have become so entrenched in our familiar modes of behavior, and this makes it almost impossible for us to change ourselves.

This is the reason why so much stress is placed on learning Mussar sefarim during Elul, or hearing fiery sermons from Rabbanim. These serve to shock us out of our lethargy. The Rambam (Laws of Teshuva 3:4) says that this is a reason for the blasts of the shofar on Rosh Hashana – to wake us up and enable us to change.

With this in mind, Rav Chaim Friedlander says that the reason for taking on stringencies even while knowing that we won’t maintain them is that they break us free of our daily routine and help free us from our spiritual inertia. Once we’ve made this small change, it will be easier for us to change our sinful ways, even if they are deeply ingrained.

Rav Friedlander notes that this idea is implicit in the Rambam’s ruling (Laws of Teshuva 2:14) that “a penitent should distance himself from the matter with which he sinned,” but then the Rambam goes on to say that he should “change all of his deeds.” Why? Of course he should distance himself from his sins, but why change everything?

Rather, changing “all of his deeds” shakes the penitent out of his spiritual state of inertia. Now is the time not just to correct what he did wrong, but even the good things that he does, he should do them better. This will strengthen his teshuva.

This is what great men have always done during the month of Elul – not simply correcting bad behavior but working to perfect themselves in many areas of avodas Hashem. Rav Naftali Amsterdam would accept upon himself a taanis dibbur – meaning he would speak only words of Torah and tefilla during Elul – no other forms of speech.

Why? It’s not forbidden to speak other things!

True, but Elul is a time to work on all aspect of avodas Hashem – how are we using the gift of speech? Even we, who are not at this level of accepting a taanis dibbur, should pay attention to the way we speak and try to better it during Elul. Our speech should be different during Elul; now is not the time for mundane conversations, even though we have them throughout the year.

Yesod Veshoresh Ha’avoda advises as well (10:4) that during Elul, one should abstain from certain things that are permitted. Don’t eat fancy foods, and even healthy foods – don’t eat as much as you do during the year. Eating is permissible, of course, but in Elul we’re trying to become closer to Hashem, more spiritual in all of our ways.

Reishis Chachma notes that in the Selichos, we recite Hashem’s 13 Attributes of Mercy, but don’t just say them, do them! These are Hashem’s middos of goodness. In Elul, we should try to adopt these ways in a selfless manner. Be “kind, merciful and slow to anger” when dealing with others, and have in mind always, what can I do to help people – just like Hashem does for us.

Rav Chaim Shmuelevitz would advise to improve all of our relationships with others during Elul, and in particular to improve matters between husband and wife.

Other aspects of the work of Elul are Torah and tefilla. Rav Shach would say that our davening should be different in Elul. People used to cry in every davening during Elul, he would recall.

We should all try to add to our learning seder in Elul, in both quantity and quality. Rav Yisrael Salanter would learn non-stop for 18 hours in Elul. This is beyond the ability of most of us, but in Kelm, for example, learning sedarim during Elul were extended from four to seven hours straight. To this day, people in the working world year-round come to yeshiva for Elul, or they add to their learning seder.

It’s important to make clear that additional learning is not just a generic addition to one’s avodas Hashem. Strengthening our learning is part and parcel of the teshuva we are doing. We are trying to return to Hashem, and the Navi Hoshe’a tells us to “take with us words and return to Hashem” (Hoshe’a 14:3). What words does he mean? The Sifrei says that Hoshe’a’s intent is to words of Torah. This idea appears as well in the Amida prayer: “Return us, our Father, to Your Torah, and bring us back to You in complete teshuva…”

Why is Torah study a direct part of the teshuva process? If I learn about goring oxen in Bava Kama, what am I fixing about myself?

The answer is that sin sullies us. It clogs up our heart. To cleanse ourselves of this filth, we need Torah, which cleanses and purifies a person. The Sages (Avos 6:1) compare this to spring water gushing forth from the earth. The current is so powerful that this water pushes aside dirt and even rocks as it shoots forth. This is the power of Torah, to push away and cleanse our spiritual contamination (Nefesh Hachaim 4:31).

Also, sin severs our connection to Hashem, and in order to do teshuva we have to reconnect to Him. It’s not enough just to stop sinning, we have to start re-connecting, and this is accomplished through Torah study, as Tanna D’Bei Eliyahu (Hoshe’a 14:3) states, Hashem is calling out to us, let Me hear your voice! Please engage in Torah study and speak to Me in Torah!

We should speak up as we learn, put heart into our words and know that we are literally talking to Hashem. This reconnects us to Him.

Once, during Elul, the talmidim of the Sefas Emess asked him which Mussar Sefer to study in preparation for Rosh Hashana.

“All of the sifrei Mussar are valuable,” he replied, “but you can also simply study Gemara in depth. Putting oneself fully into analysis of the Talmud brings us to great levels of closeness to Hashem.”

May we be zocheh to change ourselves and reconnect to Hashem!