Tonight marks the beginning of Elul, the final month in the Hebrew calendar. Its origins have been linked to the Akkadian word for ‘harvest’, elulu, as well as the Phoenician word for ‘shout,’ alalu, which is derived from a seasonal Phoenician repast celebrating the resurrection of the female goddess Ishtar.
From all accounts, Elul held little consequence for the Jews of antiquity, other than the Mishnah’s mention of the month as a potential new year for animal tithes. Although the tax year possesses profound spiritual significance for us all, Elul’s existing identity as a month of introspection and preparation for the Days of Awe only appeared after centuries of development.
The Midrash Tanchuma, written sometime between 500-800 CE endowed Elul with Biblical significance, suggesting that the first of Elul was the day Moses ascended Mount Sinai to write the second set of tablets, following the sin of the Golden Calf. Several hundred years later, the medieval Jewish treatise Kol Bo employed the midrash to justify the tradition of blowing the Shofar on the first day of Elul (just as Moses blew the shofar before proceeding toward Mount Sinai, according to the text).
Later, the Shulchan Arukh, a compilation of Jewish Law first published in Syria in 1563 by Joseph Caro, recounts that Jews recite penitentiary prayers, s’lichot, from the start of Elul until Yom Kippur. Later sages and authors went on to add more significance to the month as a gateway to the Days of Awe, one that calls upon us to use a vast array of rituals to guide us toward introspection and t’shuvah.
The modern significance of Elul illustrates how critical elements of our tradition evolved over time; through interpretation of classical texts, as well as the needs of the moment. As we begin to prepare for the New Year, we, too, must consider which tales from our tradition, or interpretations of those tales, best serve the moment we face, as families, as communities, and as a people.
— Rabbi Josh Knobel