The Month of Elul and Selichot
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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. 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.
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 people 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.
As the month of Elul draws to a close, the mood of repentance becomes more
urgent. Prayers for forgiveness called selichot (properly pronounced
"s'lee-KHOHT," but often pronounced "SLI-khus") are added to the daily cycle
of religious services. Selichot are recited in the early morning, before
normal daily shacharit service. They add
about 45 minutes to the regular daily service.
Selichot are recited from the Sunday before Rosh
Hashanah until Yom Kippur. If Rosh Hashanah
begins on a Monday or Tuesday, selichot begins on the Sunday of the week
before Rosh Hashanah, to make sure that there are at least 3 days of Selichot.
The first selichot service of the holiday season is usually a large community
service, held around midnight on Motzaei Shabbat (the night after the sabbath
ends; that is, after nightfall on Saturday) . The entire community, including
men, women and older children, attend the service, and the
rabbi gives a sermon. The remaining selichot
services are normally only attended by those who ordinarily attend daily
shacharit services in synagogue.
A fundamental part of the selichot service is the repeated recitation of
the "Thirteen Attributes," a list of G-d's thirteen
attributes of mercy that were revealed to Moses
after the sin of the golden calf (Ex 34:6-7):
Ha-shem [1], Ha-shem [2], G-d [3], merciful
[4], and gracious [5], long-suffering [6], abundant in goodness [7] and truth
[8], keeping mercy unto the thousandth generation [9], forgiving iniquity
[10] and transgression [11] and sin [12], who cleanses [13]. Why is "Ha-shem"
listed twice as an attribute? And why are three of these "attributes"
Names of G-d? Different names of G-d connote
different characteristics of G-d. The four-letter Name of G-d (rendered here
as "Ha-shem") is the Name used when G-d is exhibiting characteristics of
mercy, and the Talmud explains that this dual
usage indicates that G-d is merciful before a person sins, but is also merciful
after a person sins. The third attribute is a different Name of G-d that
is used when G-d acts in His capacity as the almighty ruler of nature and
the universe.
The month of Elul will begin on the following days of the Gregorian calendar:
-
Jewish Year 5768: sunset August 31, 2008
-
Jewish Year 5768: sunset August 20, 2009
-
Jewish Year 5768: sunset August 10, 2010
-
Jewish Year 5768: sunset August 30, 2011
-
Jewish Year 5768: sunset August 18, 2012
The The first Selichot service will be held around midnight on the following
days of the Gregorian Calendar:
-
Jewish Year 5768: September 27/28, 2008
-
Jewish Year 5769: September 12/13, 2009
-
Jewish Year 5770: September 4/5, 2010
-
Jewish Year 5771: September 24/25, 2011
-
Jewish Year 5772: September 15/16, 2012
For additional holiday dates, see
Links to Jewish Calendars.
© Copyright 5760-5767 (2000-2007), Tracey
R Rich
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