Shabbos Mevarchim Elul - A Spirit of Teshuvah Blows

00:00 In connection with Shabbos Mevorchim for the month of Elul, there is a wonderful sicha of the Frierdiker Rebbe in which he describes, in a fascinating way, what the atmosphere in Lubavitch was like on Shabbos Mevorchim Elul. Interestingly, the sicha is from Pesach 5694, ninety years ago, but he describes how they lived through those days. He says that although it was still the month of Menachem Av and the summer sun was still shining in full force, they could already feel that the air had changed. The atmosphere had changed. The scent of teshuvah could already be felt in the air; a spirit of teshuvah, a spirit of Elul, had begun to blow. And it started on Shabbos Mevorchim Elul. He tells of the maamar of Chassidus that the Rebbe of that time would say on Shabbos Mevorchim Elul. Usually it began with the well-known verse associated with Elul, “I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine.” Sometimes it began with a verse from the parsha, “See, I set before you today,” or with another verse. But that was already what began to bring the chassidim into the special atmosphere of the approaching month of Elul. As he relates, a person would say to himself: We need to wake up from sleep; the time has come to wake up from sleep, and so on. So today we’ll talk a little about the meaning of Shabbos Mevorchim Elul according to the teachings of Chassidus. I was also privileged to spend several years with the Rebbe, to be with the Rebbe on Shabbos Mevorchim Elul and take part in the farbrengen, so I’ll share a little of that too. Indeed, this is not just a story from the past, from the town of Lubavitch. It is alive and enduring at all times. I heard this from the Rebbe himself on Shabbos Mevorchim Elul in 5746, 1986. At the farbrengen, the Rebbe referred to this account, to this saying, and said that although the previous Rebbe, the Frierdiker Rebbe, spoke of how it was in the town of

02:36 Lubavitch, it really applies in every situation, in every place and at every time. Wherever you are, when Shabbos Mevorchim Elul arrives, the atmosphere changes. And with the Rebbe, we were privileged to feel that very clearly and openly. When Shabbos Mevorchim Elul arrived, the atmosphere was different, especially at the farbrengen. At the Shabbos Mevorchim farbrengen, the Rebbe brought us straight into the special atmosphere of the month of teshuvah, the month of taking stock of ourselves. Every year there were different explanations and points of emphasis, but the underlying point was that the time for teshuvah was beginning now. We were entering it, and the atmosphere was different. I remember the special niggunim at that farbrengen. There were already niggunim associated with Elul, niggunim associated with Tishrei—special, earnest Chassidic niggunim expressing the time we were entering: a time of teshuvah, a time of awakening. That was one of the very, very special and moving things about Elul. So today we’ll look at various points—things I was privileged to hear from the Rebbe and things the Rebbe spoke about over the years. At least some fundamental points that are worth living anew and discussing in connection with Elul. One thing I remember from the Shabbos Mevorchim Elul farbrengen in 5746, 1986: the Rebbe spoke about acronyms. The Rebbe addressed this in later years too, in 5747, 5748, and other years afterward. There was special attention to the subject of the acronyms associated with Elul. As is well known, the books of halachah, mussar, and Kabbalah mention several such acronyms. Specifically, there are five. The best-known one is “I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine.” Elul is the time when a Jew draws close to Hakadosh Boruch Hu, close to his Beloved, out of love. “I am my beloved’s”—to Hakadosh Boruch Hu. A Jew draws close to Hakadosh Boruch

05:11 Hu out of love, and Hakadosh Boruch Hu draws close to us out of love: “and my beloved is mine.” Another acronym comes from “It came into his hand, and I will appoint for you,” a verse about the cities of refuge. This means that Elul is a kind of city of refuge, as explained in the halachic works and other books that cite this verse. The Gemara in Makkos says that a city of refuge takes in a person who killed unintentionally, and through it he receives atonement. The Gemara also says that Torah is a form of city of refuge. So in Elul especially, Jews increase their Torah study. It is a kind of city of refuge that shelters a person from the avenger of blood. Sorry—the avenger of blood is the yetzer hara. The yetzer hara comes to interfere with a person and to demand payment for all the good it did for him throughout the year. Then Elul arrives, and we increase our Torah study; that is, in effect, a kind of city of refuge. The third verse is “Each person to his fellow, and gifts to the poor,” which represents acts of kindness. It is a verse from Megillas Esther, but its theme is kindness and tzedakah. So these three acronyms correspond to the three pillars, the three paths on which the world stands: Torah, prayer, and tzedakah. The verse about the cities of refuge, as we said, represents Torah. Words of Torah provide refuge; this means increasing our Torah study in Elul. The verse “I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine”—drawing close to one’s Beloved out of love, drawing close to Hakadosh Boruch Hu out of love—represents prayer. As it says in the Zohar, prayer is the time for love. It is the service of love, of awakening love for Hakadosh Boruch Hu. And the verse “Each person to his fellow, and gifts to the poor” represents tzedakah, the mitzvah of tzedakah. Then there is the verse “Hashem your G-d will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants,” which represents the work of teshuvah. Elul is the time when a Jew takes stock of what

07:27 happened throughout the year and is stirred to teshuvah. That is the meaning of “Hashem your G-d will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants”: a circumcision is needed. “You shall circumcise the foreskin of your heart”—this is the idea of circumcision. We must remove the foreskin of the heart, remove the blockages, the insensitivity, whatever closes off our hearts, and draw close to Hakadosh Boruch Hu through teshuvah. Then comes the fifth acronym, cited in the writings of the Arizal, from the verse “I will sing to Hashem, and they said, saying.” Or “Saying, and they said, to Hashem I will sing”—a verse at the beginning of “Then Moshe sang.” Here too are the four letters of Elul, telling us that this month is the time for it. The Song at the Sea symbolizes the Geulah. The Song at the Sea came when they saw that not one of the Egyptians remained, that all the Egyptians had drowned in the sea. The Jewish people saw the Geulah in its fullness, and then they sang the Song at the Sea. Likewise, Elul is a month connected with Geulah. “I will sing to Hashem, and they said, saying.” So those are five acronyms connected with Elul. What do they mean for us? They tell us that since Elul is an all-encompassing month—the last month of the year, when a Jew needs to correct and make up for everything that was lacking during the year—it is the time to work on all the fundamental aspects of Jewish life. These five things encompass a Jew’s entire life, every part of it: Torah study, prayer, tzedakah, teshuvah, and Geulah. What does Geulah mean in a person’s own spiritual work? Torah I understand. In Elul we need to increase our Torah study, increase our work in prayer, and give more tzedakah. Of course, this is the time for a Jew to be stirred to teshuvah, to remove the foreskin of the heart, to wake up from sleep. But what is this aspect of Geulah in the work of the soul? “To Hashem, and they said, saying; I will sing, I will sing to Hashem, and they said, saying”—the Song

09:52 The sea. What does that represent in the avodah of Geulah? The first thing, of course, is looking forward to the Geulah: “I will await him every day, that he may come.” This is one of the Thirteen Principles of Faith. As the Rambam writes, “I believe… I will await him every day.” A Jew needs to believe in the coming of Moshiach and await his coming. The Rambam writes in his book that anyone who does not believe in… We need not only to believe in the coming of Moshiach, but also to await his coming. So when the month of Elul arrives, and we need to correct and improve everything that was lacking during the year, we also need to strengthen our anticipation: to wait, to hope, to pray and to ask for the Geulah. That is the straightforward meaning. But there is something deeper here. The Rebbe spoke about this then; as I said, in 5746 he spoke about it at greater length. I also had the merit of hearing about it in 5748 and in the years afterward. Especially in the later years, the Rebbe spoke at length, deeply and wonderfully, to teach us what the avodah of Geulah means in connection with the month of Elul in particular. One explanation I had the merit of hearing from the Rebbe was that when we speak about a Jew’s service of Hashem, there are individual elements and there is the overall avodah. There is the avodah of each particular: a Jew studies Torah, a Jew davens, a Jew gives tzedakah, he performs a mitzvah—one particular after another, different aspects of Jewish life. Teshuvah is not one particular aspect; it is an overarching one. A Jew does teshuvah. Teshuvah is the overall avodah of returning to Hashem, especially as explained in Tanya and Chassidus. What does the avodah of teshuvah mean? It is not what people commonly think. The Alter Rebbe writes several times that teshuvah does not mean regretting the sins I committed, although that, too, is part of teshuvah. But that is not its essence. Rather, as the Alter Rebbe explains, teshuvah means

12:10 “And the spirit shall return to G-d Who gave it.” A Jew returns to Hakadosh Boruch Hu. The essence of teshuvah is not merely correcting individual things; it is that the person, in his entirety, returns and reunites with Hakadosh Boruch Hu. As the Alter Rebbe explains in Tanya, teshuvah is not only about a particular sin, but about the root of sins, the reason for them. Why does a person stumble and sin? Because he lacks the yoke of Heaven. If a person truly had the yoke of Heaven upon him, sin would be unthinkable. The reason I stumble and sin is that the yoke of Heaven is lacking in me. So when a Jew says, “I want to return to Hakadosh Boruch Hu,” the essence of teshuvah is to return. That is the simplest and deepest translation of the word teshuvah: to return. Teshuvah is not regret; it is returning. I cast off the yoke of Heaven. Now I need to return once again and accept the yoke of Heaven upon myself. That is why teshuvah is an overall avodah. Once a Jew makes that return, accepts the yoke of Heaven and becomes a servant of Hashem, he is a servant of Hashem in his entirety. Certainly that will lead him to study more deeply, to daven with greater vitality, and to give tzedakah with greater vitality, joy and generosity. Everything is done in a completely different way, because the Jew has accepted the yoke of Heaven. He has returned to Hakadosh Boruch Hu. But what about Geulah? Geulah is a deeper stage in a Jew’s connection to Hakadosh Boruch Hu. Geulah means liberation. It means that there is nothing—no limitation, no constraint, nothing that can interfere and make a person feel that there is

14:28 something here preventing him from serving Hakadosh Boruch Hu. Geulah means being redeemed, being freed from anything that could prevent, hold back or interfere with the service of Hashem. As long as a person still feels himself to be a distinct entity, as long as he still feels his own desires, needs and emotions—what I like, what I want—he is still in exile. This is the inner exile Chassidus speaks about: the inner feeling that a Jew has an “I” that is not yet completely connected to Hakadosh Boruch Hu. So even when a Jew returns to Hakadosh Boruch Hu, does teshuvah and once again accepts the yoke of Heaven, it may still be that, in a very subtle way, he has not yet been freed from his exile. He is a servant of Hashem. But even a servant of Hashem has a kind of inner struggle. The Gemara says in Gittin, “A servant prefers a life without restraint.” Deep down, a servant would not want to accept his master’s authority. He has accepted it, devoted himself and become a servant, but if left to himself, he would want a different life. He would want to do what he wants with his life. But because I am a servant, I will do what the master wants. “Set aside your will in favor of His will.” There is the king’s will. Once I have given myself over to the king’s will, I will do what the king wants, not what I want. But there is always some kind of inner struggle between what I want and what the king wants, and I set aside my will in favor of his—the king’s—will. That is still not liberation. It is still not complete Geulah. Geulah means that a person becomes entirely permeated with Hakadosh Boruch Hu in the most

16:42 complete and absolute way. There are not two separate things: the Jew has become completely united with Hakadosh Boruch Hu in the fullest possible way. Then the person is free. Then, in his service of Hashem, he feels Geulah—true Geulah, complete Geulah. He has freed himself from everything that prevents or holds him back. Nothing remains in his soul, in his heart or in his feelings of a sense of “I,” of my personal desires. He has devoted himself entirely to Hakadosh Boruch Hu, until there are no longer two separate things. There is only the Jew and Hakadosh Boruch Hu. As the Zohar says, “The Jewish people, the Torah and Hakadosh Boruch Hu are all one.” A Jew and Hakadosh Boruch Hu are one reality. Elul in an atmosphere of Geulah means that in the month of Elul, a Jew has a special strength to reach a state of inner Geulah of the soul: to awaken this bond, this unity, so that his entire being becomes one with Hakadosh Boruch Hu. There are not two separate things. There is only him and Hakadosh Boruch Hu, becoming completely one. This is the deeper meaning of the initials of “And they said, saying: I will sing to Hashem,” from the Song at the Sea. That was the moment when the Jewish people stood and saw the great miracle of the Splitting of the Sea: “This is my G-d, and I will glorify Him; the G-d of my father, and I will exalt Him.” It was a moment of self-nullification and unity, of complete merging. That song is the song of the unity of all creation and the souls of the Jewish people, which became, so to speak, one with Hakadosh Boruch Hu—the wondrous revelation the Jewish people experienced at the Splitting of the Sea. So in the month of Elul, a Jew has the strength to reach this depth of teshuvah, in a way of Geulah. This has been true throughout the generations, and especially in our time, the Rebbe said. So now is the time. Since we are very, very close to the era of Geulah, since Moshiach is already standing at the threshold, then

19:04 This is the opportunity given to each and every one of us today: to take on the work of the month of Elul, so that this month’s work of teshuvah will be in the deepest, most wonderful way—a way of Geulah, of complete liberation. Of course, this has to be expressed in action. That is why there are five sets of initials associated with Elul. This Geulah must come into our teshuvah, so that our return to Hashem comes from this place of complete and perfect connection with Hakadosh Boruch Hu. It must come into our Torah study, as expressed in the initials connected with the cities of refuge. It must come into our davening, in the initials of “I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine.” And it must come into our giving tzedakah. Every part, every detail, of our service should be permeated with a feeling of liberation, a feeling of inner Geulah, the Geulah of the soul. I remember the Rebbe speaking about this with great enthusiasm. The Rebbe explained it deeply: in our generation, especially in our time, we have been given the strength to serve Hashem and do the teshuvah of Elul in the deepest and most wonderful way. And this is the greatest preparation for Rosh Hashanah. This is also why the weekly parsha that we always read on the Shabbos before Elul—sometimes on Shabbos Rosh Chodesh or Shabbos Mevarchim—begins with the verse, “See, I am placing before you today a blessing.” The Rebbe would not finish the verse, but would always say, “See, I am placing before you today a blessing.” What is the verse telling us? It says to each and every one of us: “See.” Seeing, not merely hearing. That is interesting, because last week’s parsha said, “Because you will listen.” There we are speaking only about hearing; here we are speaking about seeing. A Jew has the ability not only to hear. Hearing is from a distance. Hearing means understanding. Hearing means listening, but

21:35 you do not see the thing itself. Seeing is something far more remarkable. On Shabbos Mevarchim Elul, the Rebbe spoke about this at a farbrengen and explained what seeing means. Seeing is where I and the thing I see become one. When a person sees something, there is no way to disprove it to him, no way to make him dismiss it. “I saw it,” he says. “I saw it myself.” That is the familiar expression. When someone has seen something and people try to tell him it cannot be, he says, “I saw it myself.” What does “myself” mean? It has become part of his very being. It has joined with him, merged with him, become part of him. You cannot take it away from him, because it is part of himself. This is the most complete unity. Moshe Rabbeinu says to the Jewish people: “See”—this is a matter of seeing. It has already become part of you, one with you. “I”—the “I” is Hakadosh Boruch Hu, the same “I” revealed at Matan Torah, when every Jew heard and saw “I am Hashem your G-d.” “See, I am placing”: not in the past tense, but “placing,” in the present tense. It is a gift, and as the Gemara says, one who gives, gives generously. Hakadosh Boruch Hu gives every Jew His very essence, the “I,” in a way that can be seen. “Before you” means that it reaches your innermost being. It does not remain something distant; it penetrates the inner soul of every person. “Today”: every day, they should be in your eyes as new—truly new, today itself. Hakadosh Boruch Hu gives each and every one of us these strengths. “A blessing.” Once we know that Hakadosh Boruch Hu gives us these wonderful strengths, it changes the whole atmosphere for a Jew. That is what we mean when we speak of Shabbos Mevarchim Elul. Once we reach Shabbos Parshas Re’eh, Shabbos Mevarchim Elul, a Jew

23:36 has the ability to change his whole atmosphere. The period of preparation for Rosh Hashanah begins, the preparation for the month of Tishrei. We enter an entirely new atmosphere. At the farbrengen on Shabbos Parshas Re’eh in 5751, the Rebbe said this and asked that it be publicized to each and every person. Hakadosh Boruch Hu says to every Jew—the Rebbe said, “I ask that this be publicized to each and every person”—Hakadosh Boruch Hu says to every Jew: “See, I am placing before you today.” Know that Hakadosh Boruch Hu is giving to you. What is He giving? A blessing. He gives it to each and every person, and gives it, as we said, today. What is this gift? A blessing. One who gives, gives generously. He gives every Jew all the blessings, and especially the most important and essential blessing: the blessing of the true and complete Geulah, with Moshiach Tzidkeinu. We need to open our eyes, and we will see how the world is now moving toward the Geulah. These are words the Rebbe said at that farbrengen. The time has come for each of us to tell our family, our relatives, and the Jews we meet: Know that “See, I am placing before you today” means that Hakadosh Boruch Hu is giving all of us blessings, the blessings of Geulah. And particularly now, as we enter the month of Elul, this is the time to strengthen ourselves and everyone around us, to enter the atmosphere of Geulah. Teshuvah from a place of Geulah, as we said. Then each and every one of us will truly merit a good, sweet year, to be inscribed and sealed for good, with every blessing. May Hakadosh Boruch Hu help us make the most of these great days, beginning with Shabbos Mevarchim Elul: to enter the atmosphere of Elul as we should, with all its sets of initials, and to make the most of these great days. And, of course, we should remember the famous parable through which the Alter Rebbe revealed and explained to us

26:04 the essence of Elul: a king, before entering the city, is greeted by the townspeople, who go out to welcome him. He receives them all in the field with a gracious countenance and shows them a smiling face. The Alter Rebbe teaches us the essence and meaning of Elul: it is the time when Hakadosh Boruch Hu shines upon every person and is with every person. The king is in the field. Hakadosh Boruch Hu is with every Jew, approaching him wherever he is and saying, “I am with you.” This, in fact, is “See, I am placing before you”—this seeing. And so, “I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine” has its simplest and deepest meaning. The “I” of the Jew becomes one with “my beloved,” with Hakadosh Boruch Hu, out of love. And “my beloved,” Hakadosh Boruch Hu, becomes one with “I.” A Jew and Hakadosh Boruch Hu become united in one essence, out of love. This gives us a new perspective on all of reality. May we merit to truly see the world from this perspective of “I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine”: a world of Geulah, a world of light, a world where the light of Geulah shines in a tangible way. Once we see the light of Hakadosh Boruch Hu in the world, then “In the light of the King’s face is life,” and every curse turns into a blessing. This is also the continuation of the verse: even if there are situations of darkness in the world, as we see now, that too is part of the reality only so that it can turn into light. As it says in the parshiyos we will read in the coming weeks: “But Hashem your G-d did not wish to listen to Bilaam, and Hashem your G-d turned the curse into a blessing for you, because Hashem your G-d loves you.” What this means for us in practical terms is that, from these days onward, a Jew must make the fullest use of this time, of the month of Elul, by increasing in the service of Hashem. In particular, we should wish one another only good things,

28:12 blessings, as is customary and as stated in Shulchan Aruch: during Elul—and even before it—to greet one another at every opportunity with “May you be inscribed and sealed for good,” and “Have a good and sweet year.” Throughout this month, we should also make an effort to increase and strengthen our observance of every aspect of Yiddishkeit: have our tefillin and mezuzos checked, as is customary, and make sure that more and more Jews can prepare for Rosh Hashanah with joy. May we truly merit a good and sweet year, to be inscribed and sealed for good, a year of Geulah and salvation for all the Jewish people.