Elul- A New Approach

We just began חודש אלול, the time of

אני לדודי ודודי לי

In his Sefer עטרה למלך, Rav Pam זצ”ל makes a poignant observation: For many people, the month of Elul is not a time of connection, but rather a time of apathy. Instead of utilizing this special month for תשובה and connecting with the רבש”ע, many people just wish it away, and wait for Elul to pass and for סוכות and שמחת תורה to come.

What is the reason for these feelings of apathy? Explains Rav Pam, the fear of change and the overwhelming sensation of “It’s too hard to do תשובה, ” coupled with the realization that past atttemps at change didnt last, causes people to give up even before making an attempt to improve. This is unfortunate, as these are precious days of אני לדודי ודודי לי, of special connection to Hashem. What then can we do, to try to have a productive Elul, without being overwhelmed?

During Elul, we say לדוד ה’ אורי by Davening. In it, דוד המלך declares

ה’ אורי וישעי ממי אירא

Hashem is my light and salvation, whom shall I fear?

אם תחנה עלי מחנה לא ירא לבי, אם תקום אלי מלחמה בזאת אני בוטח

Even when an entire army encampment is facing us, even if they wage war against me, I will not fear because Hashem is on my side. We can gain חיזוק from these powerful words as we begin אלול. The רבש”ע is on our side, and we can place our trust in Him. If we chose even just a small קבלה to work on during this time, we are showing the רבש”ע that we want to come close to Him. And that small קבלה is what we can use as our attempt at תשובה.

Beyond that, we can put our trust in Hashem, that He understands us and our weaknesses, and doesn’t demand more than we can possibly do. And the words of דוד המלך can serve as an inspiration, not too despair or give up, but rather to trust that the רבש”ע appreciates these small steps and does not ask us for more. And then we can embrace אלול and the special connection it gives us, confident that Hashem is on our side. As the פסוק says:

ה מעוז חיי, ממי אפחד?

We’ll conclude with a story that highlights this point: Ben Brafman, the famous criminal defense attorney, was hired to defend a young man who was charged with serious drug offenses. Realizing that his client was facing significant jail time, Mr. Brafman asked him to solicit letters of character from his circle of friends and family. The young man responded that he has no friends and is estranged from his family, but that he can get a letter from his dentist attesting to his character. When the letter arrived, it read “To whom it may concern, Jimmy is always on time to his dental appointments.” Mr. Brafman presented the letter to the judge and implored him to be lenient in his sentencing. ” Look, your honor. This young man has absolutely nobody in the world. All he could produce was this letter. Surely you can be merciful to him and give him a light sentence.” And indeed, the judge decided on a lenient sentence.

We too, turn to Hashem this time of year with just a little to show. But that little is all He needs from His beloved children Klal Yisrael, to Bentch us all with a wonderful and sweet year.