Sir Moses Montefiore was a religious philanthropist who worked tirelessly on behalf of his brethren worldwide, and especially in the Land of Israel. He dispensed large sums toward charitable causes and founded numerous establishments and institutions. Sir Montefiore traveled far and wide to visit Jewish communities and interceded on their behalf before rulers such as Queen Victoria, Czar Alexander the Second, the Ottoman Sultan, and the pope. He lived to the ripe old age of 100, passing away on 16 Menachem Av 5645 (1885).
Read a biography: Sir Moses Montefiore
In the Hebrew month of Elul, the month before Rosh Hashanah, a voice inside whispers that it’s time to return home.
Some return, even from the most distant places. Some want to return, but cannot overcome their ways.
So the voice inside whispers, “I know you want to return. I appreciate that.”
Some more return. Some try, but are just too tied down.
So the voice inside whispers again, “Even if you don’t return now, I want you to know that you are deeply loved.”
Upon feeling such love, an unbounded love that comes from the very essence of being, who could not return?
In the month before Rosh Hashanah, listen for that voice. Listen deeply.