Elul Emails: Introduction

Sounding the Shofar by Elena Flerova

By request of Rabbi Bentzion Twerski, shlit"a, and with the encouragement of the Rebbe, shlit"a, we will be sending out a daily email during the month of Elul with a short d'var Torah, halacha or story about the most awesome days that are upon us. We often talk about the need to begin prepare for a Yom Tov thirty days prior to the Yom Tov, and this way one can have a constant (well, at least daily) reminder of the responsibility and the z'chus (merit) that we have been given. Just mentioning the myriad of mitzvos and experiences that fill Elul and Tishrei to the brim is enough to elicit a full scale of emotions: nostalgia, trepidation, excitement, yearning, joy, sadness, the list is endless. Here are some of the powerful tasks and opportunities that we have been given by the Master of the Universe over the next two months:

The reflection, spiritual accounting and teshuvah of Elul, a month of sounding the shofar, the days of Selichos, renewing our commitment to Hashem and His coronation as the King of Kings on Rosh Hashanah, the sounding of the shofar on Rosh Hashana, the Ten Days of Repentance and their daily Selichos services, Tashlich, Kapparos, Erev Yom Kippur, the teshuvah and vidui of Yom Kippur, the Neilah service, building and decorating the Sukkah, Daled Minim (The Four Species), the recitation of the Hallel during Sukkos, eating in the Sukkah, Hoshana Rabba, Shemini Atzeres, dancing hakafos on Simchas Torah, and not to mention all the tefilos and zemiros and the heiligeh (holy) Yom Tov seudos (meals) and all of the mitzvos that are involved in their preparation and execution.

While the magnitude of it all is mindboggling and daunting, every bit of additional effort is very dear to the Master of the Universe and it will add up, little by little. May we all, together, merit to utilize the coming days to their fullest potential, and prepare to the best of our abilities to usher in the Days of Awe, with joy, fear of Heaven and true teshuvah.

This endeavor is brought to you by the blog, Doleh Umashkeh (damesek), and all the material contained in these emails will also be posted there. Since the emails go out to the entire CBJ list, if you have already subscribed to Doleh Umashkeh, please bear with us as you will receive the emails twice.
Any questions may be addressed to twerskitorah@gmail.com.