Our 2014 Scholar-in-residence Rabbi Sultan has shared these thoughts from Rabbi Eli Mansour
During the month of elul we are to prepare ourselves for the period of the High Holidays, which begins with Rosh Hashana, continues with Yom Kippur, and reaches its culmination on Hoshana Rabba, when the final judgment is rendered. It was on Rosh Chodesh elul when Moshe ascended Mount Sinai to beseech the Almighty to forgive Benei Yisrael for the grave sin of the golden calf. Forty days later, on Yom Kippur, God announced His forgiveness. Thus, this forty-day period has traditionally been a time of forgiveness, when God is – if we are allowed to say such a thing – in a "forgiving mood." It behooves us to take advantage of this unique period and do what we can to earn atonement for the wrongs we committed during the year.
It is proper to read works of Musar during the month of elul. One recommended book is "Sha'arei Teshuva," the classic work by Rabbenu Yona (Spain, 1180-1263) describing the process of Teshuva. Other recommended works include Rabbenu Yona's famous letter about repentance known as "Iggeret Ha-Teshuva," and the Rambam's Hilchot Teshuva, which presents the various requirements of Teshuva. Another work, "Orchot Chayim," is divided into thirty sections, which many have the practice of studying on the thirty days of elul. Some also have the practice to read "Tikunei Ha-Zohar," a collection of inspirational passages from the Zohar (the basic text of Kabbala). The Kabbalists taught that the reading of this work has the capacity to cleanse and purify one's soul even if he does not understand the material he reads.
One must be particularly diligent during the month of elul to recite each night "Keri'at Shema Al Ha'mita" before he goes to sleep. He should include the "Ana" prayer, petitioning God for forgiveness for whatever wrongs he may have committed over the course of that day.
One of the Berachot in the Amida service is that of "Hashivenu," in which we ask God to help us perform Teshuva. During the month of elul, it is proper to insert in this blessing the names of people who have strayed from the proper path of observance, before the concluding blessing "Baruch Ata Hashem Ha'rotzeh Be'tshuva."
Many people have the custom to have their Tefillin and Mezuzot checked during the month of elul. According to strict Halacha, a person is required to have his Mezuzot checked only twice in seven years, and Tefillin worn every day do not require checking at all. Nevertheless, there are those who make a point of having their Tefillin and Mezuzot checked during elul.
Although one must ensure to recite Birkat Ha'levana (the blessing over the moon) every month, the Rabbis admonish us to be particularly diligent with regard to Birkat Ha'levana for the month of elul.
In general, one must raise his level of observance during the month of elul in preparation for the High Holidays, and in the merit of our efforts we should be deserving of a year of peace and happiness for ourselves, our families and our community, Amen.
1)It is proper during the month of elul to include in the heading of every personal letter a wish for a good year, such as “Le’shana Toba Tikateb” (“May you be inscribed for a good year”). Today, when people send dozens of emails every day, we might want to consider having such a greeting automatically appear at the top of our email correspondences during the month of elul, in accordance with this Halacha.
There is also a custom among especially righteous Jews to have their Tefillin and Mezuzot checked each year during elul. According to the strict Halacha, Mezuzot must be checked once every three-and-a-half years. Even though the Mezuzot were confirmed valid when they were purchased, and they remained untouched on the doorpost inside a case ever since, they still require checking once every three-and-a-half years. (An advisable way to remember to check the Mezuzot is to check them every leap year.) However, there is a laudable practice on the level of Midat Hasidut (an extra measure of piety) to have the Mezuzot checked each year during the month of elul.
As for Tefillin, one is not required, according to strict Halacha, to have his Tefillin checked at all. Tefillin have a presumed status (“Hazaka”) of validity once they were confirmed valid at the time of purchase, and thus do not require checking. The Tefillin produced today are written on “Gasot,” thick leather, which is far more durable than the thin “Dakot” parchment used long ago. We may therefore presume the validity of our Tefillin even without periodically checking them. The only time one must check his Tefillin according to Halacha is if he treated them negligently, such as if he wore them with wet hair, which could ruin the parchment, or if he left his Tefillin inside his car on a hot day. In such cases, one must have his Tefillin checked to ensure that they were not damaged. Otherwise, Tefillin do not require checking. Nevertheless, there is a custom on the level of Midat Hasidut to have one’s Tefillin checked each year during the month of elul as part of our spiritual preparations for Rosh Hashanah.
Summary: It is proper to include a wish for a good year in the heading of written correspondence (including email) during elul. Strictly speaking, Mezuzot must be checked only once every three-and-a-half years, and Tefillin do not require checking at all (unless they were treated negligently). Nevertheless, there is a laudable practice to have one’s Tefillin and Mezuzot checked each year during elul.
2)Rosh Hashana- Men Dipping In Mikveh On Erev Rosh Hashana
The Ben Ish Chai (Rabbi Yosef Chayim of Baghdad, 1833-1909), in Parashat Nitzavim, discusses the widespread custom that men immerse in a Mikveh on Erev Rosh Hashanah in order to be Tahor (ritually pure) on the Day of Judgment. Immersion before Rosh Hashanah is particularly important for men with Tum'at Keri (the status of ritual impurity that results from a semenal emission). The Ben Ish Chai adds that before immersing in a Mikveh, a man must ensure to comb any knots in his hair and remove all traces of dirt from his entire body, including under the fingernails. In order for the immersion to be effective in eliminating Tum'a, no substance may come in between the body and the water. Just as a woman must untangle the knots in her hair and thoroughly cleanse herself before immersing to rid herself of her Nidda status, so must men undergo this process before immersing on Erev Rosh Hashanah.
However, Chacham Ovadia Yosef, in his work Halichot Olam, claims that the Ben Ish Chai's ruling is overly stringent. Halacha follows the view that one may pray and study Torah in a state of ritual impurity, and it is only a "Midat Chasidut" – an additional level of piety – to immerse before prayer or study. Therefore, since this immersion is altogether on the level of "Midat Chasidut," a man is not required to prepare his body for immersion on Erev Rosh Hashanah as a woman must upon completing her Nidda period. Thus, one need not remove his contact lenses or untangle his knots before immersing on Erev Rosh Hashanah.
What is the deeper meaning behind this practice of immersing on Erev Rosh Hashanah?
A human being originates in the mother's womb, where he is surrounded on all sides by water. (As we know, one of the stages of childbirth is the "breaking of the water," when the water surrounding the fetus exists the woman's body to allow for the child's delivery.) Immersing in a Mikveh likely serves as a reenactment, of sorts, of man's initial emergence into the world. As part of the process of Teshuva (repentance), a person returns to the water, to his origin and source, to the initial state of pristine purity in which he was first created, representing his efforts to spiritually cleanse himself and become pure like he had been at birth.
This symbolism takes on even greater significance on the festival of Rosh Hashanah, which we describe in our liturgy as "Harat Olam" – the day of the world's creation. In truth, the world came into existence one week earlier, on the 25th day of elul. Rosh Hashanah marks the day when man was created, and it is therefore appropriate as part of the commemoration of man's emergence to immerse in a Mikveh, symbolizing our efforts to return to our roots and our initial state of purity through the process of Teshuva.
Summary: It is proper for a man to immerse in a Mikveh on Erev Rosh Hashanah, which symbolizes the emergence of the human being from the womb in a state of pristine purity. Before this immersion, a man is not required to undergo the thorough process of cleaning his body and removing foreign substances such as contact lenses, as is required of a woman who immerses to divest herself of her Nidda status.
3)Earning Atonement Through Repentance
In the opening chapter of his Hilchot Teshuva, the Rambam (Rabbi Moshe Maimonides, Spain-Egypt, 1135-1204) establishes the Torah obligation of verbal confession. He writes that anybody who commits a transgression, regardless of its severity and whether he transgressed willfully or unintentionally, must verbally confess his sin as part of the process of Teshuva (repentance). It does not suffice to merely acknowledge in one's mind that he has acted wrongly; he must verbally declare that he has sinned, specify the precise sin he committed, and express his remorse, his feeling of shame, and his resolve never to repeat the given offense.
The Rambam adds that this obligation applies even in contexts where one is required to undertake other measures to rectify the wrong he has committed. In the times of the Bet Ha'mikdash, when sinners in certain situations were required to offer an atonement sacrifice, the sacrifice did not bring atonement in the absence of Teshuva. Only if the individual repented and verbally confessed as he brought the sacrificial offering did the offering have the capacity to earn him atonement. What more, even when the court would administer capital punishment, the sinner's death did not earn him atonement without repentance. Likewise, if a person committed an offense against his fellow that requires monetary compensation, he does not achieve atonement unless he performs sincere Teshuva.
During the times of the Bet Ha'mikdash, the Rambam adds, the Se'ir Ha'mishtale'ah – the goat sent into the wilderness as part of the annual Yom Kippur service – atoned for all of Benei Yisrael's sins. Even if a sinner did not repent, he earns atonement through the Se'ir Ha'mishtale'ah for "minor" transgressions – namely, transgressions that are not punishable by capital punishment of Karet (eternal excision from the Jewish people). For this reason, before the Kohen Gadol would send the goat away into the wilderness, he would place his hands upon it and declare confession on behalf of all of Israel's sins. So significant was the Se'ir Ha'mishtale'ah ritual that it atoned for certain transgressions even in the absence of Teshuva.
Nowadays, the Rambam adds, when we do not have a Mikdash and thus the Se'ir Ha'mishtale'ah ritual is not performed, we rely solely on Teshuva for earning atonement, and repentance atones for all sins. The Rambam emphasizes that even if a person lived his entire life in sin and then repented, nothing of his wrongdoing remains on his record. This power of Teshuva should encourage and inspire us as we work towards performing Teshuva during the month of elul. Regardless of what we have done and how grievously we have sinned, we are able to "delete" all our misdeeds by performing sincere and genuine Teshuva.
3)The Custom to Perform Hatarat Nedarim Before the Month of Elul
Many congregations in the Syrian community have the custom to perform a congregational Hatarat Nedarim (annulment of vows) in the synagogue on the Mosa’eh Shabbat after Tisha B’Ab, or the Mosa’eh Shabbat preceding Rosh Hodesh elul. It should be noted, however, that this is not the original custom that was observed in Halab (Aleppo, Syria). The work Derech Eretz, which documents the religious customs of the great community of Aleppo, writes (listen to audio recording for precise citation) that the original custom was to perform the communal Hatarat Nedarim on Ereb Rosh Hodesh elul, regardless of what day of the week it was. The entire community – men, women and children – would come to the synagogue on that day for the Hatarat Nedarim to absolve any vows that were taken in preparation for the holidays. Later, the custom changed, and the communities began performing the congregational Hatarat Nedarim earlier, on 19 Ab, in the morning. (The Hatarat Nedarim was made again on Ereb Rosh Hashanah and on Ereb Yom Kippur.) At some point the custom changed again, as it was difficult for families to come to the synagogue in the morning, and they began doing the Hatarat Nedarim on the night of 19 Ab, after the Arbit prayer.
The common practice here in the United States, where the Hatarat Nedarim is performed on Mosa’eh Shabbat, began on these shores as a matter of convenience, as people were anyway in the synagogue at the end of Shabbat. This is not how it was done back in Aleppo, and therefore in our synagogue we perform the congregational Hatarat Nedarim on 19 Ab, in accordance with the practice observed by our ancestors in Syria.
Rabbi Mansour
During the month of elul we are to prepare ourselves for the period of the High Holidays, which begins with Rosh Hashana, continues with Yom Kippur, and reaches its culmination on Hoshana Rabba, when the final judgment is rendered. It was on Rosh Chodesh elul when Moshe ascended Mount Sinai to beseech the Almighty to forgive Benei Yisrael for the grave sin of the golden calf. Forty days later, on Yom Kippur, God announced His forgiveness. Thus, this forty-day period has traditionally been a time of forgiveness, when God is – if we are allowed to say such a thing – in a "forgiving mood." It behooves us to take advantage of this unique period and do what we can to earn atonement for the wrongs we committed during the year.
It is proper to read works of Musar during the month of elul. One recommended book is "Sha'arei Teshuva," the classic work by Rabbenu Yona (Spain, 1180-1263) describing the process of Teshuva. Other recommended works include Rabbenu Yona's famous letter about repentance known as "Iggeret Ha-Teshuva," and the Rambam's Hilchot Teshuva, which presents the various requirements of Teshuva. Another work, "Orchot Chayim," is divided into thirty sections, which many have the practice of studying on the thirty days of elul. Some also have the practice to read "Tikunei Ha-Zohar," a collection of inspirational passages from the Zohar (the basic text of Kabbala). The Kabbalists taught that the reading of this work has the capacity to cleanse and purify one's soul even if he does not understand the material he reads.
One must be particularly diligent during the month of elul to recite each night "Keri'at Shema Al Ha'mita" before he goes to sleep. He should include the "Ana" prayer, petitioning God for forgiveness for whatever wrongs he may have committed over the course of that day.
One of the Berachot in the Amida service is that of "Hashivenu," in which we ask God to help us perform Teshuva. During the month of elul, it is proper to insert in this blessing the names of people who have strayed from the proper path of observance, before the concluding blessing "Baruch Ata Hashem Ha'rotzeh Be'tshuva."
Many people have the custom to have their Tefillin and Mezuzot checked during the month of elul. According to strict Halacha, a person is required to have his Mezuzot checked only twice in seven years, and Tefillin worn every day do not require checking at all. Nevertheless, there are those who make a point of having their Tefillin and Mezuzot checked during elul.
Although one must ensure to recite Birkat Ha'levana (the blessing over the moon) every month, the Rabbis admonish us to be particularly diligent with regard to Birkat Ha'levana for the month of elul.
In general, one must raise his level of observance during the month of elul in preparation for the High Holidays, and in the merit of our efforts we should be deserving of a year of peace and happiness for ourselves, our families and our community, Amen.
1)It is proper during the month of elul to include in the heading of every personal letter a wish for a good year, such as “Le’shana Toba Tikateb” (“May you be inscribed for a good year”). Today, when people send dozens of emails every day, we might want to consider having such a greeting automatically appear at the top of our email correspondences during the month of elul, in accordance with this Halacha.
There is also a custom among especially righteous Jews to have their Tefillin and Mezuzot checked each year during elul. According to the strict Halacha, Mezuzot must be checked once every three-and-a-half years. Even though the Mezuzot were confirmed valid when they were purchased, and they remained untouched on the doorpost inside a case ever since, they still require checking once every three-and-a-half years. (An advisable way to remember to check the Mezuzot is to check them every leap year.) However, there is a laudable practice on the level of Midat Hasidut (an extra measure of piety) to have the Mezuzot checked each year during the month of elul.
As for Tefillin, one is not required, according to strict Halacha, to have his Tefillin checked at all. Tefillin have a presumed status (“Hazaka”) of validity once they were confirmed valid at the time of purchase, and thus do not require checking. The Tefillin produced today are written on “Gasot,” thick leather, which is far more durable than the thin “Dakot” parchment used long ago. We may therefore presume the validity of our Tefillin even without periodically checking them. The only time one must check his Tefillin according to Halacha is if he treated them negligently, such as if he wore them with wet hair, which could ruin the parchment, or if he left his Tefillin inside his car on a hot day. In such cases, one must have his Tefillin checked to ensure that they were not damaged. Otherwise, Tefillin do not require checking. Nevertheless, there is a custom on the level of Midat Hasidut to have one’s Tefillin checked each year during the month of elul as part of our spiritual preparations for Rosh Hashanah.
Summary: It is proper to include a wish for a good year in the heading of written correspondence (including email) during elul. Strictly speaking, Mezuzot must be checked only once every three-and-a-half years, and Tefillin do not require checking at all (unless they were treated negligently). Nevertheless, there is a laudable practice to have one’s Tefillin and Mezuzot checked each year during elul.
2)Rosh Hashana- Men Dipping In Mikveh On Erev Rosh Hashana
The Ben Ish Chai (Rabbi Yosef Chayim of Baghdad, 1833-1909), in Parashat Nitzavim, discusses the widespread custom that men immerse in a Mikveh on Erev Rosh Hashanah in order to be Tahor (ritually pure) on the Day of Judgment. Immersion before Rosh Hashanah is particularly important for men with Tum'at Keri (the status of ritual impurity that results from a semenal emission). The Ben Ish Chai adds that before immersing in a Mikveh, a man must ensure to comb any knots in his hair and remove all traces of dirt from his entire body, including under the fingernails. In order for the immersion to be effective in eliminating Tum'a, no substance may come in between the body and the water. Just as a woman must untangle the knots in her hair and thoroughly cleanse herself before immersing to rid herself of her Nidda status, so must men undergo this process before immersing on Erev Rosh Hashanah.
However, Chacham Ovadia Yosef, in his work Halichot Olam, claims that the Ben Ish Chai's ruling is overly stringent. Halacha follows the view that one may pray and study Torah in a state of ritual impurity, and it is only a "Midat Chasidut" – an additional level of piety – to immerse before prayer or study. Therefore, since this immersion is altogether on the level of "Midat Chasidut," a man is not required to prepare his body for immersion on Erev Rosh Hashanah as a woman must upon completing her Nidda period. Thus, one need not remove his contact lenses or untangle his knots before immersing on Erev Rosh Hashanah.
What is the deeper meaning behind this practice of immersing on Erev Rosh Hashanah?
A human being originates in the mother's womb, where he is surrounded on all sides by water. (As we know, one of the stages of childbirth is the "breaking of the water," when the water surrounding the fetus exists the woman's body to allow for the child's delivery.) Immersing in a Mikveh likely serves as a reenactment, of sorts, of man's initial emergence into the world. As part of the process of Teshuva (repentance), a person returns to the water, to his origin and source, to the initial state of pristine purity in which he was first created, representing his efforts to spiritually cleanse himself and become pure like he had been at birth.
This symbolism takes on even greater significance on the festival of Rosh Hashanah, which we describe in our liturgy as "Harat Olam" – the day of the world's creation. In truth, the world came into existence one week earlier, on the 25th day of elul. Rosh Hashanah marks the day when man was created, and it is therefore appropriate as part of the commemoration of man's emergence to immerse in a Mikveh, symbolizing our efforts to return to our roots and our initial state of purity through the process of Teshuva.
Summary: It is proper for a man to immerse in a Mikveh on Erev Rosh Hashanah, which symbolizes the emergence of the human being from the womb in a state of pristine purity. Before this immersion, a man is not required to undergo the thorough process of cleaning his body and removing foreign substances such as contact lenses, as is required of a woman who immerses to divest herself of her Nidda status.
3)Earning Atonement Through Repentance
In the opening chapter of his Hilchot Teshuva, the Rambam (Rabbi Moshe Maimonides, Spain-Egypt, 1135-1204) establishes the Torah obligation of verbal confession. He writes that anybody who commits a transgression, regardless of its severity and whether he transgressed willfully or unintentionally, must verbally confess his sin as part of the process of Teshuva (repentance). It does not suffice to merely acknowledge in one's mind that he has acted wrongly; he must verbally declare that he has sinned, specify the precise sin he committed, and express his remorse, his feeling of shame, and his resolve never to repeat the given offense.
The Rambam adds that this obligation applies even in contexts where one is required to undertake other measures to rectify the wrong he has committed. In the times of the Bet Ha'mikdash, when sinners in certain situations were required to offer an atonement sacrifice, the sacrifice did not bring atonement in the absence of Teshuva. Only if the individual repented and verbally confessed as he brought the sacrificial offering did the offering have the capacity to earn him atonement. What more, even when the court would administer capital punishment, the sinner's death did not earn him atonement without repentance. Likewise, if a person committed an offense against his fellow that requires monetary compensation, he does not achieve atonement unless he performs sincere Teshuva.
During the times of the Bet Ha'mikdash, the Rambam adds, the Se'ir Ha'mishtale'ah – the goat sent into the wilderness as part of the annual Yom Kippur service – atoned for all of Benei Yisrael's sins. Even if a sinner did not repent, he earns atonement through the Se'ir Ha'mishtale'ah for "minor" transgressions – namely, transgressions that are not punishable by capital punishment of Karet (eternal excision from the Jewish people). For this reason, before the Kohen Gadol would send the goat away into the wilderness, he would place his hands upon it and declare confession on behalf of all of Israel's sins. So significant was the Se'ir Ha'mishtale'ah ritual that it atoned for certain transgressions even in the absence of Teshuva.
Nowadays, the Rambam adds, when we do not have a Mikdash and thus the Se'ir Ha'mishtale'ah ritual is not performed, we rely solely on Teshuva for earning atonement, and repentance atones for all sins. The Rambam emphasizes that even if a person lived his entire life in sin and then repented, nothing of his wrongdoing remains on his record. This power of Teshuva should encourage and inspire us as we work towards performing Teshuva during the month of elul. Regardless of what we have done and how grievously we have sinned, we are able to "delete" all our misdeeds by performing sincere and genuine Teshuva.
3)The Custom to Perform Hatarat Nedarim Before the Month of Elul
Many congregations in the Syrian community have the custom to perform a congregational Hatarat Nedarim (annulment of vows) in the synagogue on the Mosa’eh Shabbat after Tisha B’Ab, or the Mosa’eh Shabbat preceding Rosh Hodesh elul. It should be noted, however, that this is not the original custom that was observed in Halab (Aleppo, Syria). The work Derech Eretz, which documents the religious customs of the great community of Aleppo, writes (listen to audio recording for precise citation) that the original custom was to perform the communal Hatarat Nedarim on Ereb Rosh Hodesh elul, regardless of what day of the week it was. The entire community – men, women and children – would come to the synagogue on that day for the Hatarat Nedarim to absolve any vows that were taken in preparation for the holidays. Later, the custom changed, and the communities began performing the congregational Hatarat Nedarim earlier, on 19 Ab, in the morning. (The Hatarat Nedarim was made again on Ereb Rosh Hashanah and on Ereb Yom Kippur.) At some point the custom changed again, as it was difficult for families to come to the synagogue in the morning, and they began doing the Hatarat Nedarim on the night of 19 Ab, after the Arbit prayer.
The common practice here in the United States, where the Hatarat Nedarim is performed on Mosa’eh Shabbat, began on these shores as a matter of convenience, as people were anyway in the synagogue at the end of Shabbat. This is not how it was done back in Aleppo, and therefore in our synagogue we perform the congregational Hatarat Nedarim on 19 Ab, in accordance with the practice observed by our ancestors in Syria.
Rabbi Mansour
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