R. Boruch Mordechai Ettinger was a follower of the first three Chabad Rebbes, R. Schneur Zalman (the Alter Rebbe), R. DovBer (the Mitteler Rebbe), and R. Menachem Mendel (the Tzemach Tzedek). He served as head of the Talmudic academy in Vilna (Vilnius) and then as rabbi in Babruysk, a post he filled for fifty years. Toward the end of his life he immigrated to Jerusalem, where he passed away.
R. Boruch Mordechai was known for his witty sayings and remarks which reflected his sharp perception and deep wisdom.
Links: Skin Deep, A Muddy Opinion, The Heel of a Person Who Prays (a scholarly exposition of a saying of R. Boruch Mordechai)
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 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
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
G‑d said to Abram, “Go to yourself, from your land, from your birthplace and from your father’s house, to the land which I will show you.”—Genesis 12:1
If you were not you, if you saw yourself from the eyes of another, how would you see your journeys through life?
You would see how each journey leads away from home. Away from your birthplace, from those who nurtured you and that which made you what you are. Outwards, away from yourself in so many directions.
But you see your journey from within. From within, every journey leads in one direction: Towards within. Towards yourself. Closer and yet closer.
To the land in which G‑d shows you yourself.