Birth of Nachmanides ("Ramban", Rabbi Moshe ben Nachman, 1194-1270) -- Torah scholar, Kabbalist, philosopher, physician and Jewish leader -- in Gerona, Spain, in the year 4954 from creation.
On the 12th of Elul (September 16) of 1929, two years after escaping a death sentence imposed upon him by the Russian Communist regime and his subsequent departure from that country, the sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn, arrived in New York for a ten-month tour of the United States. In the course of his stay the Rebbe visited the Jewish communities in New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Chicago, Detroit, Milwaukee, S. Louis, Boston and several other communities, and was received by President Hoover at the White House. The purpose of the Rebbe's visit was twofold: a) to bring the plight of Russian Jewry to the attention of the American Jewish community and raise funds for the Rebbe's efforts on its behalf; b) to improve the state of Yiddishkeit (Torah-true Judaism) in America and strengthen the ties of the American Chabad-Chassidic community with the Rebbe. The Rebbe also wished to explore the possibility of settling in the U.S. and establishing the headquarters of Chabad there; though he did not decide to do so at that time, his 1929 visit laid the foundations for his move to New York in 1940 and the revolutionary changes he wrought in American Jewish life.
R. Simcha Bunim of Peshis’cha(1765–1827) was a disciple of R. Yaakov Yitzchak Horowitz, the “Seer of Lublin” (see entry for 9 Menachem Av), and of R. Yaakov Yitzchak, the “Holy Jew" of Peshis’cha, whom he succeeded as rebbe. His major disciples included R. Menachem Mendel of Kotzk and the first Rebbe of Ger, R. Yitzchak Meir Alter.
Links: The Power of Words, Dust and Wealth, The Chase
As the last month of the Jewish year, Elul is traditionally a time of introspection and stocktaking -- a time to review one's deeds and spiritual progress over the past year and prepare for the upcoming "Days of Awe" of Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur.
As the month of Divine Mercy and Forgiveness (see "Today in Jewish History" for Elul 1) it is a most opportune time for teshuvah ("return" to G-d), prayer, charity, and increased Ahavat Yisrael (love for a fellow Jew) in the quest for self-improvement and coming closer to G-d. Chassidic master Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi likens the month of Elul to a time when "the king is in the field" and, in contrast to when he is in the royal palace, "everyone who so desires is permitted to meet him, and he receives them all with a cheerful countenance and shows a smiling face to them all."
Specific Elul customs include the daily sounding of the shofar (ram's horn) as a call to repentance. The Baal Shem Tov instituted the custom of reciting three additional chapters of Psalms each day, from the 1st of Elul until Yom Kippur (on Yom Kippur the remaining 36 chapters are recited, thereby completing the entire book of Psalms). Click below to view today's Psalms.
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Elul is also the time to have one's tefillin and mezuzot checked by an accredited scribe to ensure that they are in good condition and fit for use.
Links: More on Elul
We all suffer a maddening delusion of being something separate from G‑d. The delusion of “I.”
We cannot heal it, because yes, we exist, for He created us.
We cannot live with it, because this chilling notion of otherness is a denial of the truth.
But we can resolve it in the act of learning Torah. In learning Torah, He speaks with us. If there were no other, with whom would He speak?
We can resolve it in prayer. In prayer, we speak with Him. If there were no other, who would speak with Him?
We can resolve it in every mitzvah. Through every mitzvah, we become one with Him. If there were no other, two would not become one.
Now the reality of our otherness is no longer simply a delusion, but a treasured artifact of a divine desire: that two should become one.
As Adam, the primal human, said, “This ‘I’ was created to serve its Creator.”