Elul
As we approach Rosh Chodesh Elul we begin the process of reflecting on the year gone by as we prepare to crown Hashem as King once more on Rosh Hashana (This is the essence of the Mitvza of blowing shofar)
The sages have always found deep meaning in Hebrew words and the names of our months contain especially profound teachings as they represent the essence of the spiritual energy of that particular month which we can tap into.
Elul in Hebrew is an acronym for the verse in Song of Songs 6:3 “Ani Ledodo Vedodi Li”
I am for my beloved and my beloved is for me.
Elul is a therefore a special time for us to deepen our connection with our creator.
The question gnawing at the heart of a sensitive person is of course why has this year been so disastrous.
Covid 19 has affected the entire globe. There are so many people who are broken physically, spiritually, emotionally, economically.
We cannot fathom the ways of Hashem, but we can choose how we respond to any situation.
Pirkei Avot sums up this approach with the saying “everything is in the hands of heaven except fear of heaven”.
Another acronym
The great sage and mystic Rabbi Nathan Shapiro (d. 1640 in Krakow, Poland) wrote that the four Hebrew letters of the name Elul (spelled Aleph, Lamed, Vuv, Lamed) is also the acronym of the four Hebrew words “Aron, Luchos, V’shevrei, Luchos” (which also begin with the Hebrew letters Aleph, Lamed, Vuv, Lamed). These words, quoted from the Talmud, mean this: “The Ark containing the whole tablets and the broken tablets.”
In this week’s Parsha Ekev Moses describes the sin of the golden calf and the smashing of the tablets.
“I descended from the mountain,” Moses recalls, “the mountain was still burning with fire and the two tablets of the covenant were in my two hands. I immediately saw that you had sinned to G-d, making a calf. You were so quick to turn from the path that G-d had prescribed. “I grasped the two tablets, and threw them down from my two hands, and I smashed them before your eyes.”
It is fascinating to note that the broken tablets as well as the second tablets were both contained in the Holy ark.
The first tablets were holier than the second in that they were the “work of Hashem” Himself as opposed to the second tablets which although a carbon copy, were engraved by Moses.
Nevertheless the first tablets were shattered.
On a spiritual level the first tablets represent the parts of our psyche that are broken. The placing of these shards in the Holy ark teaches us that even though they are broken that is only from our perspective. However in truth from a higher perspective they are still pristine.
It is just that we need to change how we look at things that is why Moses told the people
“I grasped the two tablets, and threw them down from my two hands, and I smashed them before your eyes.”
The broken tablets were only broken “before the eyes of the people” and not before the eyes of Hashem.
The lesson for us is that no matter how bad the situation is we are able to transform our perspective.
Inside each of us is a Divine spark that yearns to connect to Hashem. Elul is that unique month when we can harness the power of our souls to see Hashem in our lives and respond accordingly.
The past year may have been like the broken tablets but now in Elul we have a fresh opportunity to reconnect and reinvigorate ourselves.
Please God this coming year our broken world will be mended and we will strive to live meaningful lives filled with the light of Torah and Mitvzot.
Shabbat Shalom x 2