Elul is the 12th and final month in the Jewish calendar (the sixth month counting from Nisan). Leading up to the High Holidays, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, it is a month that connects the past year with the coming year—a time when we reflect on where we stand and where we should be going.
Every day of Elul we blow the shofar, give additional charity, and recite special Psalms. In the final days of Elul, we rise early to say Selichot, prayers asking G‑d for forgiveness.
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History of This Month
It is called “the month of repentance,” “the month of mercy” and “the month of forgiveness.” Elul follows the two previous months of Tammuz and Av—months of tragedies that were brought upon us through our sins. In Tammuz, the Jews sinned with the golden calf; on Rosh Chodesh Elul, Moses ascended to Mount Sinai for a third 40-day period until Yom Kippur, when he descended with the second tablets (luchot) and G‑d’s word of joyful, wholehearted forgiveness. (The first time Moses ascended was to receive the first tablets; the second time was after the sin, to ask for forgiveness; and this third time was to receive the second set of tablets.) These were days when G‑d revealed to the Jewish people great mercy. Since then, this time has been designated as a time of mercy and forgiveness, an opportune time for teshuvah—repentance.
The Meaning of Elul
The four letters of the name Elul are an acronym for the phrase in “Song of Songs” (6:3): “I am to my beloved and my beloved is to me.” “I am to my beloved”—we approach G‑d with a desire to return and connect. “And my beloved is to me”—G‑d reciprocates with Divine expressions of mercy and forgiveness.
This is the month when “the King is in the field.”
G‑d, the King of all Kings, is accessible. All can approach Him, and He shines His countenance to all.
Read: The King is in the Field
