Day 11 – Humility: The Soil in Which Teshuvah Grows
True return is impossible without humility. Pride blinds us to our faults, justifies our failures, and resists correction. Humility opens the eyes, softens the heart,…
Day 10 – Preparing the Heart for Rosh Hashanah
As Elul draws toward its close, the sense of approaching judgment intensifies. Rosh Hashanah is the Day of Judgment, the day the books are opened…
Day 9 – The King is in the Field
Hasidic teaching offers a vivid image for the month of Elul: “the King is in the field.” During the rest of the year the King…
Day 8 – Returning to the Covenant
Teshuvah is more than emotion; it is a return to covenant relationship. At the foot of Sinai the people answered with one voice, “All that…
Day 7 – Psalm 27: The Lord Is My Light and My Salvation
Twice each day throughout Elul and continuing through the Days of Awe, Psalm 27 is recited. Its opening declaration sets the tone for the entire…
Day 6 – The Thirteen Attributes of Mercy
When Moses returned to the mountain to receive the second tablets, the Lord descended in the cloud and proclaimed the Name: “The Lord, the Lord,…
Day 5 – Tzedakah: Righteous Giving as an Act of Return
The three classic pillars that “avert the evil decree” are teshuvah, tefillah, and tzedakah—repentance, prayer, and righteous giving (cf. the High Holiday liturgy). The letters…