Saturday 12th August 2023 25th Av 5783
Mevarchim Chodesh Elul - The Shabbat we Bless
The Shabbat before the start of a Jewish month (Rosh Chodesh – the head of the month) is known as Shabbat Mevarchim, “the Shabbat when we bless.” On this day, we recite a special blessing for the new month and announce the date(s) of Rosh Chodesh during the synagogue service.
Our Sages established the custom of blessing each new month in the prayers of the last Sabbath of the preceding month. This relation between the two months can be considered as mere coincidence, without any intrinsic connection tying the two months together.
However, based on the principle that all occurrences are controlled by Hashgachah Protis, and the statement of the Baal Shem Tov that everything a Jew sees or hears must serve as a lesson in his service of G‑d, it follows that a unique lesson is to be derived from the above connection between the months of Elul and Av.
Elul and Av represent two different phases in the service of G‑d. Av is the month of destruction, recalling the lowest point in Jewish history, the period during which the Jewish people aroused G‑d’s wrath. The 9th day of Av (Tish’a B’Av) commemorates among other events, the evil report of the spies and the destruction of both temples in Jerusalem.
Elul, on the other hand, represents a completely opposite trend. The Hebrew letters which form. the word Elul - אֱלוּל - are an acronym for the phrase “Ani LeDodi VeDodi Li,” “I am my beloved and my beloved is mine.” Elul is the time when the Jews intensify their love for G‑dliness, do Teshuvah, and apply themselves to Torah and Mitzvot with increased energy. Elul is set aside as a time to assess the service of the previous year (what was lacking and what must be remedied), to make resolutions, and to prepare for the coming year. It is a special month, more spiritually elevated than the other months of the year.
Furthermore, from the 1st day of Elul to the 10th day of Tishrei is exactly 40 days, and forty represents a period of introspection and repentance which culminates on the most holy fast day of the Hebrew calendar, Yom Kippur – The Day of Atonement.
As followers of Messiah, we know that our sins are blotted out and that we are cleansed. But the sobering truth is that even as Yeshua followers, we fall short. We often ‘miss the mark’ which is the definition of sin. We are instructed to perfect holiness in the fear of the Lord and there are times when we fall short.
And so, an annual period set apart in time and space, to self-reflect and do a spiritual ‘stock taking ought to be welcomed and appropriated. To not do so is, I believe, - apart times of the Lord. They are His short-sighted. For are the festivals of Leviticus 23 not named the ’moadim’ of the Lord – My set-apart times (Lev 23:1-4). They are called the Designated Times of Adonai!
ברכת החודש - Blessing the new Month
May it be Your will, HaShem our God and God of our fathers, to renew for us this (coming) month for good and for blessing. And give us long life, a life of peace, of good, a life of blessing, a life of sustenance, a life of health, a life marked by the fear of Heaven and the dread of sin, a life free from shame and reproach, a life of prosperity and honour, a life in which the love of the Torah and the fear of Heaven will be in us, a life in which the desires of our heart shall be fulfilled for good. AMEN SELAH
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