Shalom, this video is about the month of Elour, it is the month of the four Roshashana and we are now a few days into it as I am taping this and Jews made to spend the month preparing for Roshashana. I do not mean buying new clothes and cooking the food but spiritual preparation. Other people think that you just go into Roshashana cold and you start. Certainly people know that we do some things. Example we blow the show fire every morning during the moth of Eloeb aside Shabbat as a preparation of waking up and if you want to learn more about the Shofar the Rams horn see my video on that.
In addition Jews from the started tradition have any penitential prayers all month. We and Ashkenazi tradition adds some 27 from the bible in our morning and evening services, Ladavid. In addition, of a Saturday night before Rashashana we have a service called Slicoth in our Synagogue we have a program before that. This year three Jews by choice are going to share there stories of there journey as kind of preparatory and then we eat a little bit and then we have a midnight service starting at 10:45 having about midnight the penitential prayers. The word Slikah actually means forgive me but there is much more to the preparation of the period of the month of Elour than there is just those things. Because there are many sources and there is a marvelous spoke that I want to highly recommend. I am not sure if you can get it. It might be out of print, she tried definitely days of all by Agno. Now Agno was a noble price winner in literature it is really a fantastic book full of sources. If you can say that modern book is holy, this is definitely a holy book
There are lots of sources for the entire period of the high holidays, but one is great section here called Elul or the month of preparation. He tells the story for example of why the first of Elul got to be such a significant time. That Moses went up on the mountain and broke the tablets, now he broke the tablets because of the golden calf in exodus chapter 32. that did plays on the 17th day of Tamus and that is a very sad day n Jewish tradition. We mark it as a half fast day. Commemorates later on after Moses broke the tablets on that day, the bridge of the walls of Jerusalem leading to the ninth of Vamru destruction of the holy temple, but 40 days later it get to be Elul and that is the time when we really begin repenting so it is lot of stories about that. In fact there used to be a tradition that the Shamas would walk around town for the Minichah afternoon service calling people to the service saying return all back sliding children. Also I did a video on Dematria, Dematria is were you take the Hebrew equivalent of number of every Hebrew letter, if you take the world Elul you get the equal to number 67 and if you take the world for understanding Bina. You also get 67 and the Rabbi Mystic said that you get to understand the importance of repentance through wisdom and understanding Bina.
There is lot of the Osorce quotes about how people need to spend these 30 days preparing with repentance and prayer and charity. One Rabbi lighted it to a 30 day grace period that accredit or gives the person by his own money to clean up that credit before the accounting is due. They also talk about why we read the Torah portion that we read on the first Shabbat of Elul the Persian of Shoth team about judges you should appoint and one Rabbi said it is because human being should appoint judges for all of there senses to judge them and to make sure that they repent properly. It is customized to recite special Psalms at this time of year and I mention that we recite psalm 27 during this season.
Now, there are some wonderful classic stories that Agno brings here, very famous stories, there are folk tradition stories that are appropriate for this season, I just wanted to tell you them. So there is a one fellow lost in the woods and does not know which way to go and another fellow come to point so after he meets a fellow in the woods and then maybe we can get out now. The other fellow said to him, brother I do not know the way out either. Frightened and wondering around here for many days but this I can tell you, do not take I have been taking for that I will lead you to stray and now let us look for a new way together and so the psalms and Rabbi the late 19th century great Hasinic Rabbi said the following so it is with us. one thing I can tell you the way weave been following this far and we will follow more further, this way leads to stray but now let us look for a new way together.
Well the other story is do not catch your chicken before they hatch, it is an Ahlasinic story too but a lady found an egg and she said oh children. I found this egg and imagine I am not going to eat this thing; we are not going to eat it. I am going to lay it under a hut of our neighbor, it is going to grow into a chicken and we are not going to eat that chicken. We are going to have her lay eggs, we are not going to eat those eggs, we are going to let them grow another chicken then we are going to sell those chickens. We buy a cow and we are not going to buy a calf, we are going to let it grow into a Hepher we are not going to eat that Hepher we are going to have her other cows and so on and so forth. Then we will have fields of cows and cabs and we would not need anything anymore. Just as he is talking and she is playing, egg drops and she breaks it.
So the Rabbs said this point about it, this is how we are and the high holidays arrive and every person resolves to do repentance Chuvah thanking his heart I will do this and I will do that. But the day has slept by and near deliberation and thought does not need to action and what is worst, the person who made that resolution may fall even lower. Therefore, every person have to exercise great caution as to not fall even lower God forbid.
He also mention that during this time of the Elul it is customary for Jews to send messages of new year so we will make and invent Rashashanah cards. He also say form the beginning Elul everyone should mention that whenever he is writing a letter that he is praying for his friends behalf for good year. Something like maybe inscribe and see ever for good year. Now we usually say there is Rashashanata it means to say there was a custom to do that the whole month earlier. The Shanna, Tovah, Tikah, Teivuh of Atech Teimuh you have a good year and be written and sealed in the book of life.
So those are just some of the thoughts from Agno the great noble price winner in his beautiful book the days of was about the month of Elul.
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