Elul
from Likutei Torah by Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi
Translation and Commentary by Rabbi Gedalia Potash and William Schecter, MD
Friday August 14, 2021
This Draft has neither been edited nor approved by Rabbi Potash
The Hebrew month of Elul began on Monday August 9, 2021. This month is special because it is the month preceding the Jewish New Year, Rosh HaShana. During the entire month, the Jewish People are supposed to have an awakening from below to be open to an intimate relationship with G-d. During the 10 day period between Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur, the Days of Awe, the Jewish People are awed and amazed by the contemplation of G-d’s creations. On Yom Kippur, G-d reaches down to embrace the Jewish People and reveal the 13 Divine Attributes. Four days later, the joyous Holiday of Sukkot begins ending with the Holidays of Simchat Torah and Shemini Atzeret. The entire process begins with the People opening themselves up to a relationship with G-d during Elul, being amazed and awed by G-d during the Days of Awe and G-d reaching down to embrace the People with love and forgiveness on Yom Kippur. Following this, there is the great joy of the Sukkot celebrations.
The Elter Rebbe analyzes this entire season by using several metaphors: 1. The famous phrase from the Song of Songs: “I am to my beloved and my beloved is to me”, 2. A second phrase from the Song of Songs: “ His left hand is under my head and His Right hand embraces me”, 3. An analogy of the people of a city who go out into a field to greet their arriving King and 4. The revelation of the 13 Divine Attributes of Mercy.
With this introduction, let us now review the Elter Rebbe’s discourse on the month Elul. Since the month of Elul is so special,the Elter Rebbe did not have a separate discussion of this week’s Parasha, Shofitm. His discussion of Elul appears in Likutei Torah, Parashat Re’eh, page 32, A.
The Elter Rebbe begins his commentary on the month of Elul by quoting the Song of Songs “I am to my beloved and my beloved is to me (a shepherd among the lilies)” (Song of Songs 2:16)-- אני לדודי ודודי לי . Notice the first letter of each word forms the acronym אלול Elul) which is the name of the month preceding Rosh HaShana, the New Year. The names of the Hebrew months were brought back to Eretz Yisroel from Babylonian captivity. The word Elul originates from the Akkadian word Elulu which means harvest.
Comment: The “I” refers to the Jewish People, both collectively and individually. In the month of Elul, we are initiating a relationship with G-d, an awakening to G-d from below until Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur which is the response of G-d to our awakening.
I am my beloved’s has the attribute of awakening from below (during the month of Elul) until Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur which have the attribute of drawing down Divine Energy with the attribute of Revelation as it is written “ His left hand is under my head and His Right hand embraces me.” (Song of Songs 2:6)meaning that from Rosh HaShana to Yom Kippur we experience the attribute of Awe and Wonder of the amazing creations in His Kingdom.
Comment: This is the reason that the ten-day period between Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur is called “the Days of Awe”. The term “awakening from below” ( אתערותא דלתתא ) is a Kabbalistic Aramaic term meaning that the person must awaken and open himself up to an intimate relationship with G-d in the Heavens.
Therefore, He is called the King because “His Kingdom is the Kingdom of all the Worlds” (Psalm 145:13). The Elter Rebbe interprets this to mean that even in the hidden worlds, there is terror and fear of the King. The Souls of Israel receive the Heavenly Yoke which is drawn down to our world resulting in Awe of the L-rd appearing upon their faces throughout the year. Awe and Love of G-d does not occur naturally in the heart of man from its own strength but rather from the strength of the Divine Energy drawn down to man from above at the moment of Revelation. Meaning that on Rosh HaShana there is the attribute of Awe etc. And this is the attribute of the second part of the passage “and my love is to me” (ודודי לי) only that one must first awaken the Love and Awe of G-d by way of awakening from below which occurs in the month of Elul at the time of the revelation of the 13 attributes of Divine Mercy.
Comment: So, on Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur we have Hamshacha, a drawing down of His Divinity to our world so that it will be revealed. Rosh HaShana, Yom Kippur, Sukkot and Simchat Torah are all part of the “New Year” and this concept is expressed in the quotation from the Song of Songs: “His left hand is under my head and His Right hand embraces me. (Song of Songs 2:6) The left hand in Kabbalistic thought represents discipline, rules, a level of support and the right-hand expresses joy and love. Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur are like the left hand, the rules. Sukkot and Simchat Torah are more like the right hand symbolizing the joyous relationship we have with G-d once we are willing to accept the conditions of the relationship. קבלת עול מלכות השמיים—The acceptance of the yoke of the Heavenly Kingdom—is the basis for the internalization of the Torah within man as expressed in his deeds, words and thoughts.
We must understand why they (the days of the month of Elul) are secular days and are not Holy Days such as Shabat and Holidays (such as Rosh HaShana, Yom Kippur and Sukkot) which have the attribute of Divine Revelation with the attribute of His Divine Energy. This great energy is revealed in particular, at the moment of revelation of the 13 Attributes of Mercy, which are the Highest Energy revealed on Yom Kippur.
Surely there is a great difference between Yom Kippur and the month of Elul. To explain this difference, the Elter Rebbe uses the analogy of people leaving the city to greet their arriving King in the field outside of the city. The people who wish to do so are permitted to personally greet the King and he receives them with grace and friendship. The King then proceeds to enter the city with the people following behind him. But after the King enters the Palace, only specially chosen people who have special permission are allowed to approach the king. Similarly, during the month of Elul, we metaphorically go out to the field to receive the Divine Light of G-d’s Face as it is written “May the L-rd raise His Countenance (Face) to you” (Numbers 6:25).
The enlightening of the 13 Attributes Face to face (in an intimate relationship between G-d and man) means that He will shine the revelation of the internality (depth) of His Wish to the Source of the Souls of Israel through the principle of the internality of Israel’s Desire for Him, to cleave unto Him with heart and Soul, from the depths of the heart to the point of sacrificing one’s life, if need be, in the Service of G-d.
Comment: During the High Holy Days there is a window of opportunity given to us when G-d reveals himself to us: Dodi Li (My beloved is to me) is an expression of G-d’s lowering Himself from above to us to reveal Himself. Ani Le Dodi (I am to my Beloved) occurs during Elul where we are awakening to G-d from below. Dodi Li is G-d revealing Himself to us during the New Year Holidays—by the 13 attributes of Mercy (Exodus 34:6-7).
The Thirteen Attributes of Mercy are:
- יְהוָה YHVH: compassion before a person sins;
- יְהוָה YHVH: compassion after a person has sinned;
- אֵל El: mighty in compassion to give all creatures according to their need;
- רַחוּם Raḥum: merciful, that humankind may not be distressed;
- וְחַנּוּן VeḤanun: and gracious if humankind is already in distress;
- אֶרֶךְ אַפַּיִם Erekh appayim: slow to anger;
- וְרַב-חֶסֶד VeRav ḥesed: and plenteous in kindness;
- וֶאֱמֶת VeEmet: and truth;
- נֹצֵר חֶסֶד לָאֲלָפִים Notzer ḥesed laalafim: keeping kindness unto thousands;
- נֹשֵׂא עָוֹן Noseh avon: forgiving iniquity;
- וָפֶשַׁע VaFeshah: and transgression;
- וְחַטָּאָה VeḤata'ah: and sin;
- וְנַקֵּה VeNakeh: and pardoning.
And this energy is drawn down with the attribute of El (אל—one of the Names of G-d) which is the first of the 13 Attributes. El is the Source which encompasses all the Attributes. As it is written “The LORD is God; He has given us light” (Psalm 118:27). He Himself truly has the attribute of Eternal Light as it is written “For the L-rd your G-d is a consuming fire” (Deuteronomy 4:24). Meaning that the brilliance and light emitted by the fire are complete and have no parts separating the brilliance and the light drawn from it (the fire). It is as if the Light of the Face which enlightens the Community of Israel has the attribute of El (G-d) which has the attribute of the Eternal Light itself. Therefore, the name Israel (ישראל) is derived from the word שר (minister) to אל (G-d). The yd (the first letter of the word Yisroel--ישראל) indicates constancy of activity ….
Comment:
So, the question arises, why is the entire month of Elul so important and what is the relationship between the 13 Attributes of Mercy, the Song of Songs passage quoted, and the month of Elul? Recall that Moses re-ascended Mount Sinai on 1 Elul after breaking the first set of Tablets after encountering the Sin of the Golden Calf on 17 Tammuz 40 days previously. Moses stayed up on the Mountain, neither eating or drinking for 40 days descending on Yom Kippur with a new set of tablets and the Torah. During this time upon the Mountain, Moses is pleading with G-d on behalf of the wayward Children of Israel who had sinned. It is during this time that the 13 Attributes of Mercy were revealed.
Since the 13 attributes are revealed during the entire month of Elul, the question arises why is it that the entire month of Elul is not a Holiday? The Elter Rebbe answers this question by using a metaphor. A King decides to visit a city. The people of the city hear that he is coming and go out into the fields outside the city to greet him. This represents the month of Elul during which time the Jewish People begin to open themselves up to a relationship with G-d. Eventually the King enters the city, enters his palace and then opens the gate of the palace and greets the people. We say that G-d opens the Gates of Heaven on Rosh HaShana and they remain open during the Days of Awe beginning on Rosh HaShana and ending with the Neilah (locking) Service at the end of Yom Kippur. So, the month of Elul represents the time when the King (G-d) is in the field when G-d reveals Himself to us. Returning to the metaphor from the Song of Songs, Ani Le Dodi (I am my Beloved’s) refers to the month of Elul when the Jewish People open themselves up to G-d, and VeDodi Li refers to the Days of Awe when G-d visits us from on high. Once this happens, we have an unconditional loving relationship with G-d represented by the joyous holidays of Sukkot and Simchat Torah. One other point, the gematria of li (לי) (the last word of Dodi Li) is 40 and perhaps hints at the 40 days that Moses will spend on the Mountain.
אני לדודי ודודי לי. ר"ת אלול. והענין כי באלול מתחיל בחי' אני לדודי דהיינו בחי' אתערותא דלתתא עד ר"ה ויוה"כ שהם בחי' המשכת אלהותו ית' למטה בבחי' התגלות, כמ"ש שמאלו תחת לראשי וימינו תחבקני שמר"ה עד יוה"כ הוא בחינת שמאלו בחי' יראה לפי שאז הוא זמן התגלות מלכותו ית'. ולכן קוראין לו המלך כי מלכותך מלכות כל עולמים. פי' שאפילו בעולמות הנעלמים תפול עליהם אימת המלך ופחדו (עיין בזהר פנחס דף רי"ד ע"ב ובהרמ"ז שם). ומזה נמשך גם למטה על כללות נשמות ישראל לקבל עול מלכות שמים עליהם ותהיה יראתו על פניהם כל השנה כי יראת ה' ואהבתו אינו עשויה ונטוע בלב האדם מכח עצמו כ"א מכח ההארה הנמשך עליו מלמעלה בעת וזמן התגלותו דהיינו בר"ה בחי' יראה כו' (ועמ"ש בפ' תבא סד"ה ויקרא משה וע"פ כי תצא וע"פ לא תהיה משכלה ועקרה בפ' משפטים), וזהו בחי' ודודי לי רק שצריך תחלה לעורר את האוי"ר על ידי אתערותא דלתתא שהיא באלול. והנה נודע שבאלול הוא זמן התגלות י"ג מדות הרחמים, ולהבין זה כי למה הם ימות החול ואינם יו"ט כמו שבתות ויום טוב שבהם התגלות אלהות בחי' הארת אלהותו ית' ובפרט בעת וזמן י"ג מדות שהם הארת העליונות מאד והם מתגלים ביוהכ"פ ובודאי יש הפרש גדול בין יוה"כ ובין אלול. אך הנה יובן ע"פ משל למלך שקודם בואו לעיר יוצאין אנשי העיר לקראתו ומקבלין פניו בשדה ואז רשאין כל מי שרוצה לצאת להקביל פניו הוא מקבל את כולם בסבר פנים יפות ומראה פנים שוחקות לכולם. ובלכתו העירה הרי הם הולכים אחריו. ואח"כ בבואו להיכל מלכותו אין נכנסים כ"א ברשות ואף גם זאת המובחרים שבעם ויחידי סגולה. וכך הענין עד"מ בחודש אלול יוצאין להקביל אור פניו ית' בשדה, כי הנה כתיב יאר ה' פניו אליך שהוא ענין הארת י"ג מדות שיהי' פנים בפנים דהיינו שיאיר גילוי פנימיות רצונו ית' למקור נש"י ע"י שיהיה עיקר פנימיות רצונו אליו ית' לדבקה בו בלב ונפש מעומקא דליבא במסירת נפש כמ"ש במ"א, והארה זו היא נמשכת מבחי' אל שהוא ראשית כל הי"ג מדות ומקורן וכללותן, וכמ"ש אל ה' ויאר לנו שהוא בחי' אור א"ס ב"ה עצמו ממש וכמ"ש כי הוי' אלהיך אש אוכלה הוא. פי' כמו למשל זיו ואור האש היוצא מן האש עצמו שבכללותו אין בו שום התחלקות בינו לזיו ואור הנמשך ממנו. כך כביכול הארת פנים המאיר לכללות ישראל הוא מבחי' אל שהוא בחי' אור א"ס ב"ה עצמו ממש (עמ"ש בביאור ע"פ וכל העם רואים את הקולות בפי' מן המצר קראתי וע' בד"ה אתם נצבים במש"ש ולכן נק' אל עליון כו' ובד"ה להבין פי' וענין י"ג מדות ובד"ה וארשתיך לי בענין לבי ובשרי ירננו אל אל חי), ולכן נק' ישראל מלשון שר אל והיו"ד מורה על התמדת הפעולה כמו ככה יעשה כו'. ופי' שבחי' אל הוא שר ומושל בקרבו (ועיין בזהר קדושים דפ"ו ע"א