August 31 - September 28   2008
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This month's poster shows a shofar with musical notes floating out of its trumpet end on a soft pink background. We don't ordinarily think of the shofar during the last lazy days of summer, yet the shofar is sounded every morning (except Shabbat) to remind us that Rosh Hashana is on its way. 		 
The name of 'This New Month' is Elul
Rosh Chodesh Elul is Sunday, August 31 and the month of Elul ends on Sunday, September 28   2008

The Themes for Elul are:
  • Memories of the past year and what we have accomplished.
  • Goals for next year
Holidays in Elul are:
  • No Holidays in Elul
 
Elul has no specific holiday of its own. Yet it is perhaps the most spiritual of all months, coming as it does immediately before the Yamim Noraim ("Days of Awe" (High Holidays)-- Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur). The entire month of Elul is seen as a spiritual prelude to the Days of Awe. To prepare ourselves, we blow the shofar every morning of Elul (except on Shabbat), include Psalm 27 in our morning and evening prayers, "Of David, the Lord is my light and my help; whom should I fear?" and recite special petitionary prayers called selihot. (The Sephardim recite them throughout the month; the Ashkenazim only the last few days.)

It is with the advent of Elul that we begin to wish each other "Shana tova u’metuka" ( a good and sweet new year) or "L’shana tova tikateivu" ( may you be inscribed for a good year).

Elul: A Month of Introspection and Intimacy

Elul is a time of introspection and intimacy. Its very name is evocative-- It is lulling, soothing, calming, like the sounds a mother makes when cuddling her baby. It comes at a time when we sit quietly with our families and friends on the front porch, at the park, on the beach, watching nature, enjoying loving and being loved. Elul comes at a quiet time of the year, when the heavy work of the summer is ending. The days are long, with almost twice as much daylight as the wintertime. Time itself seems to stretch out before us, inviting us to slow down, reflect, dream, enjoy. And yet it is also the time when the daylight hours are waning. So while Elul encourages dreaming, it also possesses a slight air of urgency. There is time to pause and dream, it is telling us, but that time does not last forever. Soon, it will be time to return to work, and see indeed if we can achieve our dreams.

The name "Elul"

The name, "Elul", is often seen as an acronym, standing for Ani L’dodi V’dodi Li, "I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine." The beloved partners in this vision are G-d and the people Israel. Elul is thus seen as a month of reconciliation, a new honeymoon for these two covenanted partners. Indeed, tradition has it that Moses ascended Mt. Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments on the 1st of Elul and descended with them on the 10th of Tishrei, Yom Kippur.

The name "Elul" is also illustrative of some of the fundamental lessons of life. In both Hebrew and English, the name is written with two high/tall letters and two low/short ones ("elul"), two consonants and two vowels, as if to say life has its high moments and its low ones, its softer moments and its harder ones. When we are in one, we can anticipate the other, and such anticipation enables us to get through the hard times, and enjoy the sweet times all the more.

And the name "Elul" hints at the almost circularity of life. The word is composed of two almost identical syllables: el, ul, with the "lamed" in Hebrew wrapping around itself, as if the syllables are playing leapfrog with each other. Indeed, the two parts of the name form a whole, but one gets the feeling that it is just a portion of a bigger whole, one link in the endless chain of time. Indeed, so it is with each of us. We are each a distinct entity, not identical to anyone else. Yet, we share so much in common with others, and we join with them to create the chain of life. None of us is sufficient for all life; but each of us is necessary to create the chain of life.

A month of self-evaluation

With all of the above-mentioned thoughts that Elul evokes, it is no wonder that Elul has become the month when we are bidden to do our heshbon hanefesh, our self-evaluation. We are to be honest in our assessments, for we cannot grow if we deceive ourselves, but gentle with our punishment. For we are, after all, just human. And all we can ask of others, as well as ourselves, is that we try always to do our very best.

Facts about Elul
  • Elul is the seventh month of the year counting from Nisan (the month of Passover) and the twelfth and last month of the year counting from Tishrei (the month of Rosh Hashanah).
     
  • Unlike some other months whose length may vary from year to year, the rabbis decreed that Elul should always be 29 days so that the date of the next new moon, Rosh Hashanah, would always be clear.
     
  • The only mention of Elul in the Tanakh is found in the book of Nehemiah 6:15, "The wall was finished on the 25th of Elul."
 
CREDITS: The JCC Association would like to thank the following individuals for their contributions to the Elul portion of the "This New Month" Project.
  • Rabbi Nina Beth Cardin
 

 



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