A Jewish man wearing tefillin (phylacteries) and a tallit (prayer shawl) seeks God at the Western (Wailing) Wall. This parable illustrates God’s willingness to meet the requests of those who approach Him with a sincere heart. In fact, the very name of the month, Elul, (which is spelled Alef-Lamed-Vav-Lamed) is said to be an acronym for Ani L’dodi V’dodi Li, which translated means I am my Beloved’s and my Beloved is mine, where the Beloved is God and the “I†is the Jewish People. (Song of Songs 6:3) The month of Elul, therefore, is the time of Ahavat HaShem (love of God) when individuals re-establish their closeness to God, so that each person may approach the High Holy Days, the Yamim Noraim (Days of Awe), with faith and trust in God’s righteous judgments. Because our relationship with God is rooted in mutual love and reciprocity, we approach Him not in a state of fear but in faith and trust, as a wife confidently approaches her husband or children approach their father. “Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.†(Deuteronomy 6:5) Israeli family As the days of Elul pass, the intensity of our sincere introspection increases while we consider our actions and formulate heartfelt resolutions to improve our conduct in the coming year. “All the month of Elul, before eating and sleeping, a person should look into his soul and search his deeds, that he may make confession,†said Rabbi Judah Loew (the Maharal of Prague, 1525–1609), an influential thinker of the post-Medieval period. (My Jewish Learning) The Hebrew noun teshuvah, commonly translated in English Bibles as repentance, is derived from the verb shuv, which means turn around, or go in the opposite direction. Repentance, therefore, is not solely about a change in attitude; it is about a change in direction. During Elul, many Jewish people will visit the cemetery to contemplate life and death. Repentance has been likened to an awakening or rebirth, dying to one’s previous life and being reborn as a new creation. For believers in Yeshua (Jesus), being born again is an awakening from the sleep of death induced by sin and being made new through the power of the Ruach HaKodesh, the Holy Spirit. “Therefore if any man be in Messiah, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.†(2 Corinthians 5:17) Hearing the shofar can be a powerful experience when we prepare ourselves to meet the King. In connection with this call to awaken, the shofar—an instrument often made of a ram’s horn—is sounded every day between the second day of Elul until the 28th day, except on the Shabbat (Saturday). Though the shofar was sounded during warfare and to announce holidays and the jubilee year, it is also a call to repentance. Its mournful cry goes right through you, piercing the heart. Maimonides, an influential Jewish philosopher and Torah scholar (1135–1204), said its message was “Wake up you sleepers from your sleep and you slumberers from your slumber. Search your deeds and return in penitence.†Tanakh (Old Testament) and shofar Aaron, please keep the Jewish People in prayer this month, praying that as they seek the face of God in repentance, they will come to know Yeshua as their long-awaited Messiah. Along with sustaining a spirit of teshuvah (turning back) to God, the month of Elul is the time for ahavat Yisrael (literally, love of Israel), demonstrating a love for one’s fellow Jew. Please demonstrate your love of the Jewish People this month and help us bring the Word of God through the Messianic Prophecy Bible to Israel. Aaron, click to send your Special Elul Gift of $50, $100, $250 or $500 Or Sponsor Jewish Outreach or a Chapter of the Messianic Prophecy Bible You can also designate your tithe today for the Salvation of the Jewish People "A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the LORD; it is holy to the LORD." (Leviticus 27:30)
Posted on: Wed, 07 Aug 2013 22:12:20 +0000
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