Blowing shofar for Elul at the Western Wall
Blowing shofar for Elul at the Western WallIsrael news photo

Children dressed in crisp white shirts and dark blue skirts and slacks were accompanied by a special light that brightened classrooms in Jewish schools around the world Monday as Chassidim celebrated the 18th day of the Hebrew month of Elul, known also as "Chai Elul." (The number 18 equals the Hebrew word "chai" - life - in numerology -ed.)

Chai Elul marks the founding of the Chassidic movement in 1734, but it is also the birthday of two towering Torah luminaries. One is that of Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov, the founder of the Chassidic movement and its first leader, who was born on this day in 1698. The other is that of Rabbi  Schneur Zalman of Liadi, the founder and first Rebbe (rabbinical leader) of the Chabad-Lubavitch dynasty, who was born in 1745.

Chai Elul also marks the passing in 1609 of another great Torah sage, Rabbi Yehudah Loewe, known as the "Maharal" of Prague. Rabbi Loewe, a famous Kabbalist, philosopher and Jewish community leader, was especially renowned for having created a "golem" -- an inanimate man of clay -- to whom he then gave a limited form of life.



The Golem of Prague was created specifically for the purpose of protecting the Jews in that city from the frequent threat of pogroms and blood libels, and was returned to the dust from which he came when his task was completed.

'The King is in the Field'

The month of Elul, last in the Jewish calendar prior to the holiday of Rosh HaShanah, the new year, is one in which it is said that "The King is in the field," meaning that G-d is even more approachable and available than ever to all who would seek Him. The comparison is made to a monarch who sits upon his throne throughout the year; generally, one needs an appointment for an audience -- but not in the month of Elul, when the king leaves the palace and instead walks among the people "in the field." 

Jews pray the special Selichot service during morning prayers in the month of Elul to ask forgiveness for sins they may have committed during the year and for strength and blessings for success in the new year to come.

It is also during Elul that the vineyards ripen, and the delectable grapes for which the Hevron region is much famed grow heavy upon their vines.

According to Chassidic tradition, Chai Elul also begins a period in which there are 12 days left in the current year (Elul 18-29), each corresponding to one calendar month. It is during this time especially that one is urged to take a second look at what has been accomplished, considering the actions of one month that has passed on each day.

It is considered a time for reflection and reviewing one's life, taking inventory of one's actions over the past year and doing whatever is possible to make amends where necessary. Elul is also an auspicious time to complete financial arrangements, work on bookkeeping and organizational tasks, and "set up the house" for the coming year.

Special Elul Customs

Many Jews choose this time to take their mezuzot and tefillin to a reputable sofer (scribe) to be checked to make sure they are in top condition.

Some Jews have the custom of blowing the shofar (ram's horn) each day of the month of Elul as a "wake up" call to teshuva -- literally, "return" to the faith, or repentance. 

Another custom instituted by the Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov involves  the custom of reciting three chapters of Psalms per day from the first day of Elul until the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur. The entire Book of Psalms is thus completed when the last 36 psalms are recited on the holiday of Yom Kippur itself.