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"Elul, the month of reawakening, of renewed hope, of self reflection and personal reckoning, of return! Elul, the month whose Hebrew letters, aleph-lamed-vav-lamed are the initials of the words "Ani ledodi, vedodi li - I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine," (Song of Songs 6:3) which speaks of intimacy and love, of caring and mutual destiny. Elul, the month of which is is said, "the King is in His field," meaning that G-d, our Creator and Father has left the faraway splendor of His celestial palace and has made His presence manifest here, among us, His people, in our world, in our home environment, approaching us, seeing us and loving us as we truly are, inspiring us to be honest with ourselves and to get serious, working on ourselves and making the changes that we know we need to make in order to become better versions of ourselves, closer versions of whom G-d intended us to be when He first breathed the breath of life into us."

"But what is the origin of the empowering month of Elul? Where did it all begin? How did it all begin? It began with a broken heart. Not yet forty days after receiving Torah at Sinai, Israel's ketubah - her eternal certificate of marriage with HaShem - within a mere instant in eternity's endless continuum, Israel strayed and proved unfaithful to HaShem. "Go, descend, for your people that you have brought up from the land of Egypt have acted corruptly" (Exodus 32:7) HaShem commanded Moshe. "Go down." G-d was angry. But more importantly, G-d was broken-hearted. The people He loved, the people He brought out of Egypt, the people with whom He had just now bounded Himself to with an eternal covenant, proved unfaithful. G-d was broken-hearted. Moshe was broken-hearted. And, ultimately, the people of Israel were ashamed and broken-hearted. So Moshe did the only thing he could do. He shattered the two tablets containing the Ten Commandments, engraved by the very finger of G-d, destroying all incriminating evidence of Israel's infidelity. G-d was distraught and contemplating a permanent end to His relationship with His children. Was this the end of a relationship that had only just begun? "Now leave Me alone," He told Moshe, "and My anger will be kindled against them so that I will annihilate them." (Exodus 32:10) Here is where Moshe stepped in and pleaded on behalf of his fallen people, convincing G-d to agree to a stay of execution. "Hew for yourself two stone tablets like the first ones. And I will inscribe upon the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke." (Exodus 34:1)"

"A new beginning! No longer stone tablets provided by G-d, but stone tables carved out by man. Filled with the revelation of renewed promise, Moshe carried the still blank stones back up the mountain, where he would remain for the next forty days deep in prayer and supplication. It was the first day of Elul - Rosh Chodesh Elul - when Moshe ascended Sinai the second time, for a second chance. Forty days later, on the eve of Yom Kippur - the Day of Atonement - he would return to Israel with the two new man made tablets, inscribed, as were the first tables, with the word of HaShem. Forgiveness and return were the order of the hour."

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