THE MONTH OF ELUL
Significance: Time of reflection leading up to Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur
Customs: Blowing the shofar (ram's horn); asking people for forgiveness; reciting penitential prayers
The month of Elul is a time of repentance in preparation for the High Holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Tradition teaches that the month of Elul is a particularly propitious time for repentance. This mood of repentance builds through the month of Elul to the period of Selichot, to Rosh Hashanah, and finally to Yom Kippur.
The name of the month (spelled Alef-Lamed-Vav-Lamed) is said to be an acronym of "Ani l'dodi v'dodi li," "I am my Beloved's and my Beloved is mine," a quote from Song of Songs 6:3, where the Beloved is G-d and the "I" is the Jewish people/church. In Aramaic (the vernacular of the Jewish people at the time that the month names were adopted), the word "Elul" means "search," which is appropriate, because this is a time of year when we search our hearts.
According to tradition, the month of Elul is the time that Moses spent on Mount Sinai preparing the second set of tablets after the incident of the golden calf (Ex. 32; 34:27-28). He ascended on Rosh Chodesh Elul and descended on the 10th of Tishri, at the end of Yom Kippur, when repentance was complete. Other sources say that Elul is the beginning of a period of 40 days that Moses prayed for G-d to forgive the people after the Golden Calf incident, after which the commandment to prepare the second set of tablets was given.
Customs of Elul
During the month of Elul, from the second day of Elul to the 28th day, the shofar (a hollowed out ram's horn) is blown after morning services every weekday. See Rosh Hashanah for more information about the shofar and its characteristic blasts. The shofar is not blown on Shabbat. It is also not blown on the day before Rosh Hashanah to make a clear distinction between the rabbinical rule of blowing the shofar in Elul and the biblical mitzvah to blow the shofar on Rosh Hashanah. Four blasts are blown: tekiah, shevarim-teruah, tekiah. The MIDI file on the Rosh Hashanah page emulates this combination of blasts. Rambam explained the custom of blowing shofar as a wake-up call to sleepers, designed to rouse us from our complacency. It is a call to repentance. The blast of the shofar is a very piercing sound when done properly.
Elul is also a time to begin the process of asking forgiveness for wrongs done to other people. According to Jewish tradition, G-d cannot forgive us for sins committed against another person until we have first obtained forgiveness from the person we have wronged. This is not as easy a task as you might think, if you have never done it. This process of seeking forgiveness continues through the Days of Awe.
Many Jews visit cemeteries at this time, because the awe-inspiring nature of this time makes us think about life and death and our own mortality. In addition, many people use this time to check their mezuzot and tefillin for defects that might render them invalid.
The month of Elul will begin on the following days of the Gregorian calendar:
Jewish Year 5771: sunset August 30, 2011
Jewish Year 5772: sunset August 18, 2012
Jewish Year 5773: sunset August 6, 2013
Jewish Year 5774: sunset August 26, 2014
THE MEANING OF THE MONTH OF ELUL IN OUR DAY
The month of Elul represents two things to believers in this day. The first is repentance. This is the month believers are to allow the Lord to show them areas of their life which need to be changed or repented of. In the book of Revelation we see vials and bowls of judgment poured out upon the earth. Time after time in Revelation it says, “and men repented not of their sins.” God desires a heart of repentance or turning from our ways toward His ways. In Revelation, as God is pouring out judgments in the earth, men refuse to repent.This leads into the second meaning of the month of Elul. This is a month of the blowing of the warning trumpets. The book of Revelation is a book of warning. The sound of trumpets blowing a warning is seen throughout the book of Revelation. The warning trumpets in Elul are preparation for the Feast of Trumpets which comes on the 1st day of the month of Tishri. The Feast of Trumpets represents the final warning to unrepentant man in the book of Revelation. God desires man repent and be saved. It breaks His heart to have to pour out His wrath--but God demands justice and righteousness. That is why He sent Yeshua to die for our sins to save us from His judgment.
The warning trumpets of Elul warn us of the coming final trumpet of warning. After the Feast of Trumpets is the Day of Atonement on the 10th of Tishri. In the book of Revelation the Day of Atonement is represented by the Lord returning with His army in Revelation 19.11-21. Those who have refused to repent will now experience the wrath of God. Matt 13.24-30 Wheat and Tares.
As the High Priest entered the Holy of Holies to atone for the sins of the people, those who refuse to repent suffer the wrath of God on the last day of the age. This is what the Feast of Trumpets and the Day of Atonement represent to believers in our day. They are a warning to not be as the five foolish virgins who let their lamps run out of oil and missed out on the wedding feast of the Bride and Groom (Feast of Tabernacles). If we understand the above concepts it begins to opens the book of Revelation to our understanding of what God is saying to His people in this season.
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