When God set the Jewish calendar, each holiday celebration had a purpose, as did each month of the year. Its a safe bet to say that most of us follow the Gregorian calendar and see today as 1 September 2019. However, today is also 1 Elul 5779 in the Jewish calendar and that has a significance many are not aware of. Elul is a time to take account of your soul in preparation for God’s coming fall feasts and High Holy Days.
Elul
As the sixth month of the Jewish year, Elul has 29 days. It usually falls between August and September on the Gregorian calendar. It is a summer month
An Accounting of the Soul
Elul is a month of repentance leadings up to the High Holy Days and is a time of soul-searching. In Jewish custom, it is a time to practice chesbon hanesfesh- an accounting of the soul, and to repent before we are called to account and judged before the new year. It is actively a time of preparation.
This month we are invited to do the inner work of examining our conscious. We have the opportunity to ask God what sins we are hiding or avoiding and to bring it into the light. Rather than shying away for God, this is a month to press in closer, to seek forgiveness, grant forgiveness to others. Also, is a chance to press in more fully in our own relationship with our Savior.
The Maharal of Prague stated ‘all the month of Elul, before eating or sleeping, a person should look into his soul and search his deeds, that he may make a confession.
Deepening Relationship
The name is believed to form an acronym for words in the verse ‘I am my beloveds and he is mine (Song of Songs 6:3). As such, it describes the close relationship between us and God. Elul is a time to press deeper and more firmly establish this relationship. is a time to heal any damage sin has caused in our relationship with the God, repenting, and seeking restoration.
The King is in the fields
Additionally, this is the month of the year the King symbolically leaves the throne to come out in the field. It is not a time for formality, pomp and ceremony but rather a time for openness and accessibility.
During much of the year, the people would have to dress up, seek an audience, stand in line, and follow strict, formal court protocols in order to speak to their ruler. Elul is the month when the King leaves behind the trappings of the court, to meet the people on their level.
For the month of Elul, however, the king is in the fields with us. Like the tearing of the veil, He has removed the barriers preventing our access to him. It is a beautiful foreshadowing of Jesus himself and how we no longer have to wait for the king to come out of the temple or the Father to come out of the temple.
Elul in History
Historically, some important things happened during the month of Elul.
- Moses ascended Mount Sinai: 1 Elul
- Ezekiel prophecies the destruction of Solomon’s Temple: 5 Elul
- Noah sent forth a Raven: 10 Elul
- Noah sent forth a Dove: 17 Elul
- The Dove returned to Noah with an Olive Branch: 23 Elul
- The 1st day of the World, according to the Genesis Creation Narrative: 25 Elul
- Walls of Jerusalem rebuilt: 25 Elul
Let us look at Elul as a time of divine closeness. Our connection with God is easier to establish now than any other time of the year. This is our chance to press in closer!
Elul
Letter: Yud
Yud is the first letter of the tetragrammaton, God’s essential name and is the name of Mercy.
Tribe: Gad
Gad was the seventh son of Israel. His talent was to organize in a large sense, but specifically in a military or business sense as he was responsible for the encampments. Meaning ‘good fortune,’ reflections on Gad should include reflection on our good fortune to be chosen by God. Our good fortune as heirs of Christ should be visible through our good deeds.
Sense: Action
The sense of action is the sense of inner knowledge that comes through contemplation and reflection that leads to repentance and reconciliation with God, through Jesus. This is why soul-searching during the month of Elul is so critical.
This sense of action also incorporates a sense of organization and management of complex systems.
Customs for Elul
Roshan – The kosher ram’s horn
In Jewish tradition, the roshan (horn) would be blown every day after morning services to jolt the people from their complacency and put them in a place of fearing the Lord.
Recitation of Psalm 27
In addition to blowing the roshan, many will also recite Psalm 27 daily, for the month of Elul, leading up to Rosh Hashanah.
Prayer and meditation to examine our souls and conscious
As Elul is all about taking account of one’s soul, this is a great month for prayer and meditation. Ask the Lord to show you an areas where you need forgiveness, or need to forgive.
As we examine ourselves this month, leading up to Rosh Hashanah, asking God to illuminate our sins so we can deal with them, now is an excellent time to be taking communion daily. This can easily be done at home. For more information on this practice, I highly recommend the following:
How To Take Communion at Home by Jamie Rohrbough
Seeking out the Father
I love what Leah Lesesne says in her book Healing In the Hebrew Months: “Take some extra time this month to just sit with your Beloved. Don’t let the usual requirements of visiting the king in his palace get in the way. The King is in the field. What are the fields — the common places in your life– he wants to show up in this month?”
I urge you to sit with and pray over this question as you reflect over
Following God’s Times and Seasons
From a Christian perspective, we should not abandon the months and celebrations set forth by the Lord. There was a purpose to each and we rob ourselves of the full richness of God and his intention for our lives when we fail to observe his Holy times and seasons. I would strongly encourage each of you to take this month of Elul to do some soul searching. Take some time to be intentional in seeking out the Lord, your God. We all need to press closer and this is a great time of year to do so!
Prayer
Psalm 27 is attributed to David and is a great devotion and prayer. Let this be your prayer this month!
Psalm 27 (ESV)
The Lord is my light and my salvation;
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life;
of whom shall I be afraid?
When evildoers assail me
to eat up my flesh,
my adversaries and foes,
it is they who stumble and fall.
Though an army encamp against me,
my heart shall not fear;
though war arise against me,
yet I will be confident.
One thing have I asked of the Lord,
that will I seek after:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord
and to inquire[c] in his temple.
For he will hide me in his shelter
in the day of trouble;
he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;
he will lift me high upon a rock.
And now my head shall be lifted up
above my enemies all around me,
and I will offer in his tent
sacrifices with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make melody to the Lord.
Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud;
be gracious to me and answer me!
You have said, “Seek my face.”
My heart says to you,
“Your face, Lord, do I seek.“
Hide not your face from me.
Turn not your servant away in anger,
O you who have been my help.
Cast me not off; forsake me not,
O God of my salvation!
For my father and my mother have forsaken me,
but the Lord will take me in.
Teach me your way, O Lord,
and lead me on a level path
because of my enemies.
Give me not up to the will of my adversaries;
for false witnesses have risen against me,
and they breathe out violence.
I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord
in the land of the living!
Wait for the Lord;
be strong, and let your heart take courage;
wait for the Lord!
Blessings,
For more information on Elul:
https://www.inner.org/times/elul/elul.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elul
https://www.chabad.org/holidays/JewishNewYear/template_cdo/aid/2306683/jewish/Shofar-During-the-Month-of-Elul-How-and-Why.htm