Elul is the final month of the Hebrew calendar, immediately preceding Rosh Hashanah and the Days of Awe. It is traditionally a time of deep introspection, of reflection, of preparation for the holiest day of the year: Yom Kippur. Indeed, some liken the 30 days of Elul and the following 10 Days of Awe to the 40 se’ahs of water traditionally required for a kosher mikveh, as if these 40 days were purifying waters readying as for Yom Kippur.
These 40 days are energetically charged, with the Kabbalists understanding the Shechinah to be especially close. “The King is in the field,” the mystics say, suggesting that the Divine presence is blanketing the earth in preparation for the world’s rebirth on Rosh Hashanah, the anniversary of the Creation.
There is a custom among some to sound the shofar for each of these 40 days (except on Shabbat) as a wake-up call—a call to attention, to sanctify this time and encourage us to do t’shuvah in anticipation of Yom Kippur. Often translated as “repentance,” t’shuvah also means “turning,” suggesting this act is not simply looking back on past errors and correcting them, but also turning towards the future self we would like to become.
According to tradition, the shofar will also be sounded to herald the coming of the messiah—ushering in an age of untold peace, harmony and intimate knowledge of the Divine. This Elul, may the sound of the shofar cause each of us to turn toward that vision of the messianic age—a time where we are each filled with Divine compassion and love, empathy and justice, where peace and comfort spread over the earth. Let us cleanse and prepare ourselves this Elul for the Divine presence, inviting Her to fill us with Messiah Consciousness. May we merit to cause this to happen speedily and soon: that we may realize the messianic age in our day.