We are walking in today: THE KING IN THE FIELD: The Season of Elul!!!!
Witness inquire throughout the Bible: H1875 darash--to resort to, seek, seek with care, enquire, require
Psalm 26:2 Examine me, O Lord, and prove me; try my reins and my heart.
The Torah ............…
Deuteronomy 4:29 But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek H1875 him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.
The prophets ..................
Isaiah 1:17 Learn to do well; seek H1875 judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless,
plead for the widow.
The writings............
Judges 6:29 And they said one to another, Who hath done this thing? And when they enquired
H1875 and asked, they said, Gideon the son of Joash hath done this thing.
Psalm 119:2 Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek H1875 him with the whole
heart.
Zephaniah 1:6 And them that are turned back from the LORD; and those that have not sought the LORD, nor enquired H1875 for him.
Elul is the 6th month of the Biblical calendar which is late summer or early fall. The month of Elul is set apart for repentance also known as teshuvah in Hebrew. It is a month in which preparation begins for the High Holy Days--Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. If you count from the first biblical month of Tishri to the month of Elul as you would count in Rabbinic tradition, Elul would be the last month of the year- a time to make “New Year’s Revelation” and turn away from sin before the start of The New Year. The month of Elul is therefore a time each year to prepare for the Yamim Nora’im, also known as the Days of Awe, by getting your spiritual house in order.
The Background at Sinai
Every year the “Season of Teshuvah” runs for forty days from the first day of the Hebrew month of Elul to Yom Kippur. During this time we make every effort to repent or turn which is also “shuv” towards The Most High. The 40 days are also referred to as Yemei Ratzon in Hebrew also known as the “Days of Favor.” Some have likened these 40 days to the number of weeks it takes for a human fetus to be formed in the womb. Teshuvah is likened to a death and a rebirth. A death of the past life and the birth of a new life and a new creation (2 Cor 5:17).
But you may ask the question, why forty days? Do we really need that much time to prepare ourselves to repent and make confession for our sins? 40 days came from Israel’s experience at Sinai as well as Yeshua also spent 40 days in the wilderness.
Forty Days of Teshuvah
The month Elul represents the time that Moses spent on Sinai preparing the second set of tablets after the making of the Golden Calf. Moses ascended on Rosh Chodesh Elul which is the Head of the Month of Elul and then descended 40 days later on the 10th of Tishri, the end of Yom Kippur, when the repentance of the people was complete. The month of Elul therefore represents the time of national sin and forgiveness obtained by means of teshuvah before The Most High.
Listening to the Shofar
Beginning on Rosh Chodesh Elul and continuing until the day before Rosh Hashanah, it is customary to blow the shofar which is also known as a ram’s horn every day except Shabbat. The custom is to first blow tekiah, a long single blast which is the sound of the King’s coronation, followed by shevarim, three short wail-like blasts which signifies repentance, followed by teruah which is several short blasts of alarm to awaken the soul and to close with tekiah hagadol which is a long final blast.
Theme of Repentance
The following appeal from the prophet Isaiah is considered thematic for this reason:
Seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is near (Isa. 55:6)
The passage continues “Let the wicked man forsake his way and the perverse man his thoughts; and let him return to the LORD, that He may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon (Isa. 55:7).
About the name “Elul”
In the Torah, the month of Elul is simply called the sixth month. It is well known that the name Elul is thought to be an acronym for “Ani L’dodi Li”- “I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine in Hebrew. Take note that the end of each letter in this phrase is a Yod (in the Hebrew Alphabet), which has the numeric value of 10, so the phrase itself can be combined to the number 40, reminding us of the forty days of teshuvah that lead up to Yom Kippur.
There are other allusions to the word Elul found in the scriptures. In Deuteronomy 30:6 states that The Most High will circumcise “your heart and the heart of your offspring” which is said to be an example of Elul. The Most High’s favor rests upon those who genuinely turn to The Most High.
In Exodus 18:7 we read about how Yitro and Moses were reunited after the Exodus and asked about one another’s welfare. In Hebrew the phrase, “And each friend asked of the other’s welfare” can be rearranged into an acronym for the word Elul. This allusion has led to the custom of inquiring about the welfare of family and friends during this season, and the practice of sending ‘Shanah Tovah” cards wishing them a sweet and good New Year.
Psalm 27 The High Holy Days Psalm
It is an old custom to read or sing the book of Psalms during the month or Elul. In the famous song of Moses, it is written and they spoke saying 'I will sing to the Most High' Exodus 15:1. This phrase can be formed into the acronym for Elul, and the sages therefore reasoned that hearing the Psalms were vital during the season of Teshuvah and Days of Favor
Of all the great Psalms, however, Psalm 27 is considered the central one of the season of teshuvah. The midrash of Psalms states that the word ori my light refers to Rosh Hashana based on Psalm 37:6 where as the word yishi my salvation refers to the atonement given on Yom Kippur. King David also mentions that the Most High would hide him in his sukkah in the time of trouble, referring to the holy days of Sukkot, Psalm 27:5. Therefore since it alludes to all three fall holy days Psalm 27 is regarded as the thematic Psalm for the High Holy days of the Hebrew year.
Psalm 27:1(KJV) The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
Finally, Psalm 27:13 contains a textual oddity. It is often translated, 'unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living'. The word translated unless lulei which read backwards spells Elul. This is to said to suggest that salvation comes from faith that sees the goodness of the Lord. Repentance is only really possible if we believe in the goodness and love of the Most High in the land of the living.
Selichot Services
The Hebrew word selichah colloquially means forgiveness through in the Hebrew scriptures it refers exclusively to the Most High's offer of pardon and forgiveness of the repentant sinner. For instance, in Psalm 130:4 we read, ' But with you is forgiveness (selichah), that you may be feared.
The plural form of the word selichah is selichot, a word traditionally used to refer to additional prayers for forgiveness recited before dawn, before the daily shacharit (morning) service. The list of the Thirteen Attributes of the Most High's Mercy (Shelosh Esrei Middot shel Rachamin) are the primary focus of the prayers, based on the Talmud's statement that, whenever the nation of Israel sins, let them pray this prayer the thirteen attributes of mercy and I shall forgive them. In general Selichot services are intended to inspire us to consider the direction of our lives and to under go teshuvah.
In the Sephardic tradition, Selichot services begin at the start of Elul and run until Yom Kippur (similar to the 40 days that Moses spent on Mt. Sinai), through in the Ashkenazic tradition they are recited late (i.e. midnight) on the Saturday night before Rosh Hashana. Some of the prayer and music for Selichot service are taken from the services of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kipput, providing a transition between the old year and the New Year. A Chassidic tradition holds that the twelve day of the year--Elul 18th through 29th correspond to the twelve months of the closing year, on each of these twelve days the people should review their deeds and achievement of the corresponding month.
Appealing to the Most High's Compassion
After Israel had committed the grievous sin with the golden calf, Moses despaired of Israel ever being able to find favor in the Most High's eye again. The Most High however as explained in the Talmud donned a tallit and in the role of a chazzan showed Moses the thirteen attributes of Mercy. In the tabernacle the Selichot service is built upon a recitation of these thirteen merciful attributes that the Most High revealed in Exodus 34:6-7
The Most High, the Most High, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and upon the children's children's unto the third and forth generation.
According to the various traditional interpretations, these thirteen attributes of the Most High's name may be understood as follows:
1. Adonai--I the Most High am the Compassionate Source of all of the life and Ground of all being; I am the breath of life for all creation. I am the Most High of all possible worlds and Master of the universe. Everything that exists is an expression of my loving will and kindness. The world is built with chesed Psalm 89:3. Since the relative difference between existence and non existence is infinite, the Most High's creation represents infinite kindness, and since you exist, you likewise are an expression of the Most High's kindness and love. You do not exist because the Most High needs you but solely because your life is willed by the Most High as an expression of His love.
2. Adonai--Though the Most High created the universe 'very good,' He remained the Compassionate Source of life even after mankind sinned and therefore the Name is repeated to refer to His loving relationship with alienated, fallen creation. I, the Most High, am also compassionate to one who has sinned and repented (i.e. the Creator gives us free will and the good gift of teshuvah). The Most High created mankind for the sake of teshuvah--that is , our return to Him. The Most High desires atonement with mankind even after sin and therefore continues to give existence to the world. 'He makes the sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends out rain on the just and the unjust." Matthew 5:45 Moreover, as the Savior and Redeemer of the world through Yeshua, the Most High reveals kindness even to the evil, and even partakes of its presence by means of His sacrificial love at the stake. Since tesuhvah can only exist after the advent of sin, Yeshua is call the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. Revelations 13:8, Ephesians 1:4 and 1 Peter 1:20
3. El- I the Most High am the Almighty and Omnipotent;
4. Rachum- I the Most High, am merciful
5. Chanun- I the Most High am gracious, I pour out my favor freely to all of creation;
6. Erekh Apayim-I the Most High am slow to anger and patient
7. Rav Chesed- I the Most High am abundant in love to both the righteous and the wicked;
8. Rav Emet- I the Most High am truthful and faithful in carrying out promises;
9. Notzer Chesed la'alafim- I the Most High retain chesed (love) for thousands of generations, taking into account the merit of our worthy ancestors
10. Nosei Avon- I the Most High forgive iniquity, defined in the tradition of wrongful deeds committed with perverse premeditation;
11. Nosei Pesha--I the Most High forgive transgression, defined as wrongful deeds committed in a rebellious spirit;
12. Nosei Chata'ah--I the Most High, forgive sin (chet) defined as those wrongful deeds that were inadvertently committed;
13. Nakkeh--I the Most High will not cancel punishment, but I will clear the guilt for those that genuinely return to Me in teshuvah.
In addition to the Shelosh Esrei Middot, the chanting of a number of Psalms and prayerful poems are recited during the services throughout the month of Elul. The tone of the Selichot service is set in Psalm 130:
1 Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O LORD.
2 Lord, hear my voice: let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications.
3 If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?
4 But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared.
5 I wait for the LORD, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope.
6 My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning: I say, more than they that watch for the morning.
7 Let Israel hope in the LORD: for with the LORD there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption.
8 And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.
For believers in the kingdom of the Most High we affirm that forgiveness is obtained by exercising emunah/faith in the offering of Yeshua as the kapparah for our sins, and by the evidencing wholehearted teshuvah in our daily life.
Sin in Hebrew is chet and means failure in our relationship with the Most High. Our goal should be to continually move closer to the Most High but chet causes us to move away from Him. Teshuvah means return and the period of Selichot is therefore set apart as a means of returning to the Most High! Shema Selah we must turn from our ways to become face to face with the King, He is in the field during this time, the month of Elul!
Deuteronomy 4:29 But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek H1875 him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.
The prophets ..................
Isaiah 1:17 Learn to do well; seek H1875 judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless,
plead for the widow.
The writings............
Judges 6:29 And they said one to another, Who hath done this thing? And when they enquired
H1875 and asked, they said, Gideon the son of Joash hath done this thing.
Psalm 119:2 Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek H1875 him with the whole
heart.
Zephaniah 1:6 And them that are turned back from the LORD; and those that have not sought the LORD, nor enquired H1875 for him.
Elul is the 6th month of the Biblical calendar which is late summer or early fall. The month of Elul is set apart for repentance also known as teshuvah in Hebrew. It is a month in which preparation begins for the High Holy Days--Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. If you count from the first biblical month of Tishri to the month of Elul as you would count in Rabbinic tradition, Elul would be the last month of the year- a time to make “New Year’s Revelation” and turn away from sin before the start of The New Year. The month of Elul is therefore a time each year to prepare for the Yamim Nora’im, also known as the Days of Awe, by getting your spiritual house in order.
The Background at Sinai
Every year the “Season of Teshuvah” runs for forty days from the first day of the Hebrew month of Elul to Yom Kippur. During this time we make every effort to repent or turn which is also “shuv” towards The Most High. The 40 days are also referred to as Yemei Ratzon in Hebrew also known as the “Days of Favor.” Some have likened these 40 days to the number of weeks it takes for a human fetus to be formed in the womb. Teshuvah is likened to a death and a rebirth. A death of the past life and the birth of a new life and a new creation (2 Cor 5:17).
But you may ask the question, why forty days? Do we really need that much time to prepare ourselves to repent and make confession for our sins? 40 days came from Israel’s experience at Sinai as well as Yeshua also spent 40 days in the wilderness.
Forty Days of Teshuvah
The month Elul represents the time that Moses spent on Sinai preparing the second set of tablets after the making of the Golden Calf. Moses ascended on Rosh Chodesh Elul which is the Head of the Month of Elul and then descended 40 days later on the 10th of Tishri, the end of Yom Kippur, when the repentance of the people was complete. The month of Elul therefore represents the time of national sin and forgiveness obtained by means of teshuvah before The Most High.
Listening to the Shofar
Beginning on Rosh Chodesh Elul and continuing until the day before Rosh Hashanah, it is customary to blow the shofar which is also known as a ram’s horn every day except Shabbat. The custom is to first blow tekiah, a long single blast which is the sound of the King’s coronation, followed by shevarim, three short wail-like blasts which signifies repentance, followed by teruah which is several short blasts of alarm to awaken the soul and to close with tekiah hagadol which is a long final blast.
Theme of Repentance
The following appeal from the prophet Isaiah is considered thematic for this reason:
Seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is near (Isa. 55:6)
The passage continues “Let the wicked man forsake his way and the perverse man his thoughts; and let him return to the LORD, that He may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon (Isa. 55:7).
About the name “Elul”
In the Torah, the month of Elul is simply called the sixth month. It is well known that the name Elul is thought to be an acronym for “Ani L’dodi Li”- “I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine in Hebrew. Take note that the end of each letter in this phrase is a Yod (in the Hebrew Alphabet), which has the numeric value of 10, so the phrase itself can be combined to the number 40, reminding us of the forty days of teshuvah that lead up to Yom Kippur.
There are other allusions to the word Elul found in the scriptures. In Deuteronomy 30:6 states that The Most High will circumcise “your heart and the heart of your offspring” which is said to be an example of Elul. The Most High’s favor rests upon those who genuinely turn to The Most High.
In Exodus 18:7 we read about how Yitro and Moses were reunited after the Exodus and asked about one another’s welfare. In Hebrew the phrase, “And each friend asked of the other’s welfare” can be rearranged into an acronym for the word Elul. This allusion has led to the custom of inquiring about the welfare of family and friends during this season, and the practice of sending ‘Shanah Tovah” cards wishing them a sweet and good New Year.
Psalm 27 The High Holy Days Psalm
It is an old custom to read or sing the book of Psalms during the month or Elul. In the famous song of Moses, it is written and they spoke saying 'I will sing to the Most High' Exodus 15:1. This phrase can be formed into the acronym for Elul, and the sages therefore reasoned that hearing the Psalms were vital during the season of Teshuvah and Days of Favor
Of all the great Psalms, however, Psalm 27 is considered the central one of the season of teshuvah. The midrash of Psalms states that the word ori my light refers to Rosh Hashana based on Psalm 37:6 where as the word yishi my salvation refers to the atonement given on Yom Kippur. King David also mentions that the Most High would hide him in his sukkah in the time of trouble, referring to the holy days of Sukkot, Psalm 27:5. Therefore since it alludes to all three fall holy days Psalm 27 is regarded as the thematic Psalm for the High Holy days of the Hebrew year.
Psalm 27:1(KJV) The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
Finally, Psalm 27:13 contains a textual oddity. It is often translated, 'unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living'. The word translated unless lulei which read backwards spells Elul. This is to said to suggest that salvation comes from faith that sees the goodness of the Lord. Repentance is only really possible if we believe in the goodness and love of the Most High in the land of the living.
Selichot Services
The Hebrew word selichah colloquially means forgiveness through in the Hebrew scriptures it refers exclusively to the Most High's offer of pardon and forgiveness of the repentant sinner. For instance, in Psalm 130:4 we read, ' But with you is forgiveness (selichah), that you may be feared.
The plural form of the word selichah is selichot, a word traditionally used to refer to additional prayers for forgiveness recited before dawn, before the daily shacharit (morning) service. The list of the Thirteen Attributes of the Most High's Mercy (Shelosh Esrei Middot shel Rachamin) are the primary focus of the prayers, based on the Talmud's statement that, whenever the nation of Israel sins, let them pray this prayer the thirteen attributes of mercy and I shall forgive them. In general Selichot services are intended to inspire us to consider the direction of our lives and to under go teshuvah.
In the Sephardic tradition, Selichot services begin at the start of Elul and run until Yom Kippur (similar to the 40 days that Moses spent on Mt. Sinai), through in the Ashkenazic tradition they are recited late (i.e. midnight) on the Saturday night before Rosh Hashana. Some of the prayer and music for Selichot service are taken from the services of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kipput, providing a transition between the old year and the New Year. A Chassidic tradition holds that the twelve day of the year--Elul 18th through 29th correspond to the twelve months of the closing year, on each of these twelve days the people should review their deeds and achievement of the corresponding month.
Appealing to the Most High's Compassion
After Israel had committed the grievous sin with the golden calf, Moses despaired of Israel ever being able to find favor in the Most High's eye again. The Most High however as explained in the Talmud donned a tallit and in the role of a chazzan showed Moses the thirteen attributes of Mercy. In the tabernacle the Selichot service is built upon a recitation of these thirteen merciful attributes that the Most High revealed in Exodus 34:6-7
The Most High, the Most High, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and upon the children's children's unto the third and forth generation.
According to the various traditional interpretations, these thirteen attributes of the Most High's name may be understood as follows:
1. Adonai--I the Most High am the Compassionate Source of all of the life and Ground of all being; I am the breath of life for all creation. I am the Most High of all possible worlds and Master of the universe. Everything that exists is an expression of my loving will and kindness. The world is built with chesed Psalm 89:3. Since the relative difference between existence and non existence is infinite, the Most High's creation represents infinite kindness, and since you exist, you likewise are an expression of the Most High's kindness and love. You do not exist because the Most High needs you but solely because your life is willed by the Most High as an expression of His love.
2. Adonai--Though the Most High created the universe 'very good,' He remained the Compassionate Source of life even after mankind sinned and therefore the Name is repeated to refer to His loving relationship with alienated, fallen creation. I, the Most High, am also compassionate to one who has sinned and repented (i.e. the Creator gives us free will and the good gift of teshuvah). The Most High created mankind for the sake of teshuvah--that is , our return to Him. The Most High desires atonement with mankind even after sin and therefore continues to give existence to the world. 'He makes the sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends out rain on the just and the unjust." Matthew 5:45 Moreover, as the Savior and Redeemer of the world through Yeshua, the Most High reveals kindness even to the evil, and even partakes of its presence by means of His sacrificial love at the stake. Since tesuhvah can only exist after the advent of sin, Yeshua is call the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. Revelations 13:8, Ephesians 1:4 and 1 Peter 1:20
3. El- I the Most High am the Almighty and Omnipotent;
4. Rachum- I the Most High, am merciful
5. Chanun- I the Most High am gracious, I pour out my favor freely to all of creation;
6. Erekh Apayim-I the Most High am slow to anger and patient
7. Rav Chesed- I the Most High am abundant in love to both the righteous and the wicked;
8. Rav Emet- I the Most High am truthful and faithful in carrying out promises;
9. Notzer Chesed la'alafim- I the Most High retain chesed (love) for thousands of generations, taking into account the merit of our worthy ancestors
10. Nosei Avon- I the Most High forgive iniquity, defined in the tradition of wrongful deeds committed with perverse premeditation;
11. Nosei Pesha--I the Most High forgive transgression, defined as wrongful deeds committed in a rebellious spirit;
12. Nosei Chata'ah--I the Most High, forgive sin (chet) defined as those wrongful deeds that were inadvertently committed;
13. Nakkeh--I the Most High will not cancel punishment, but I will clear the guilt for those that genuinely return to Me in teshuvah.
In addition to the Shelosh Esrei Middot, the chanting of a number of Psalms and prayerful poems are recited during the services throughout the month of Elul. The tone of the Selichot service is set in Psalm 130:
1 Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O LORD.
2 Lord, hear my voice: let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications.
3 If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?
4 But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared.
5 I wait for the LORD, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope.
6 My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning: I say, more than they that watch for the morning.
7 Let Israel hope in the LORD: for with the LORD there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption.
8 And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.
For believers in the kingdom of the Most High we affirm that forgiveness is obtained by exercising emunah/faith in the offering of Yeshua as the kapparah for our sins, and by the evidencing wholehearted teshuvah in our daily life.
Sin in Hebrew is chet and means failure in our relationship with the Most High. Our goal should be to continually move closer to the Most High but chet causes us to move away from Him. Teshuvah means return and the period of Selichot is therefore set apart as a means of returning to the Most High! Shema Selah we must turn from our ways to become face to face with the King, He is in the field during this time, the month of Elul!
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