Torah Calendar
1-7 Elul 5778
12-18 August '18
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Attributes of the month of Elul: Ruling permutation of the letters of HAVAYAH: KEH KEH VAV YOD, contained in the final Hebrew letters of the words of the verse ootzedakaH tihyeH lanOO kI "and it shall be righteousness to us when..." (Deut 6:25). The month's corresponding letter is: YOD; Human attribute: ACTION; Body Part: LEFT HAND ; Tribe: GAD; Constellation: BETULAH (Virgo, the Maiden).
Chodesh
Tov UMevorach!!!
May it be a Good and Blessed Month!!!
Saturday
night-Sunday 11-12 August / 1 Elul
Rosh Chodesh Elul Second Day
Add Ya'aleh Veyavo in evening, morning and afternoon prayers and in Grace after Meals. Following the morning Shacharit prayer, "half" Hallel and the additional Musaf prayer are recited. On Rosh Chodesh it is customary to eat a festive meal with bread.
On this day Moses ascended Mt Sinai for his third forty-day stay culminating on 10 Tishri (Yom Kippur) when he received the Second Tablets after accomplishing G-d's reconciliation with Israel following the sin of the golden calf. In our times too, these forty days are a time of supreme favor (Ratzon) and the gates of Teshuvah, return to G-d, are open to all.
At
the conclusion of the morning prayers the Shofar is sounded
today and every day (except Shabbat) until one day prior to the eve of Rosh
Hashanah, as a reminder to arouse ourselves in Teshuvah in preparation for
the coming Days of Awe.
From today onwards until Shemini Atzeret (last day of Succot), Psalm
27 "HaShem is my light..." is recited daily after the morning
and afternoon (Chassidim custom) or evening (Lithuanian custom) prayers. "Everyone
who recites it morning and evening is assured he will live out his years in
goodness and pleasantness, and he removes from himself all the accusing forces
and nullifies all harsh and evil decrees, and he will win his case in the Judgment" (ARI).
It is appropriate to have one's Mezuzot and Tefilin checked during the month of Elul to ensure that they are not flawed.
During the Elul season of repentance, Israel are like the inhabitants of a city who go out to greet the King in the fields prior to His entry into the city (on Rosh Hashanah), and now each individual has the opportunity to approach the King in person in advance of the coming Day of Judgment.
Monday 13 August / 2 Elul
Edot HaMizrach, the Sephardic communities, today rise before the dawn to recite Selichot, penitential prayers, continuing for forty days until Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. The Ashkenazi communties will begin Selichot on 22 Elul (Saturday night-Sunday 5-6 September).
Monday night-Tuesday 13-14 August / 3 Elul
Today is the Yahrzeit of Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook (1865-1935) the first Ashkenazi chief rabbi of Palestine, outstanding Jewish thinker, Halachist and Kabbalist, and founder of the Religious Zionist Yeshiva Merkaz HaRav. Today is also the Yahrzeit of Rabbi Shraga Feivel Mendelovitch (1886-1948), founding father of the Yeshiva system in America and head of Torah VeDaas, Brooklyn New York.
Thursday night-Friday 16-17 August / 6 Elul
Today is the yahrzeit of Rabbi Gershon Shaul Yomtov Lipman Heller (1578-1654), author of the Tosfos Yom Tov in-depth commentary on the Mishnah.
Friday
night-Saturday 17-18 August / 7 Elul
Shabbat Parshat SHOFTIM
Torah Reading: SHOFTIM, Deuteronomy 16:18-21:9. Haftara: Isaiah 51:12-52:12.
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