Elul

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Elul

Elul (Standard

Hebrew language

Hebrew is a Semitic languages of the Afro-Asiatic languages. Modern Hebrew is spoken by more than seven million people in Israel and Classical Hebrew is used for prayer or study in Jews communities around the world....
Elul Tiberian

Tiberian vocalization

Tiberian Hebrew is an extinct but very well documented oral tradition of pronunciation for ancient Hebrew language, especially the Hebrew of the Tanakh, that was given written form by Masoretes scholars in the Jewish community at Tiberias, in the early Middle Ages, beginning in the 8th century....
) is the twelfth month

Month

The month is a unit of time, used with calendars, which is approximately as long as some natural Orbital period related to the motion of the Moon; month and Moon are cognates....
of the Jew

Jew

A Jew is a member of the Jewish people, an ethnoreligious group that traces its ancestry to the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East....
ish civil year and the sixth month of the ecclesiastical year on the Hebrew calendar

Hebrew calendar

The Hebrew calendar or Jewish calendar is a lunisolar calendar used by Jews, now predominantly for religious purposes. It is used to reckon the Jewish New Year and dates for Jewish holidays, and also to determine appropriate Torah reading of Torah portions, Yahrzeits , and daily Psalm reading, among many ceremonial uses....
. It is a summer

Summer

Summer generally refers to the warmest and most humid season between spring and autumn, from the summer solstice to the autumnal equinox. In the Northern Hemisphere, this falls from the June solstice to the September equinox, while in the Southern Hemisphere it falls from the December solstice to the March equinox....
month of 29 days. Elul usually occurs in August–September on the Gregorian calendar

Gregorian calendar

The Gregorian calendar is the internationally accepted civil calendar. It was first proposed by the Calabrian doctor Aloysius Lilius, and decreed by Pope Gregory XIII, after whom it was named, on 24 February 1582 by the papal bull Inter gravissimas....
.

The month of Elul is a time of repentance

Repentance

Repentance is a change of thought and action to correct a wrong and gain forgiveness from a person who is wronged. In religious contexts it usually refers to confession to God, ceasing sin against God, and resolving to live according to religious law....
in preparation for the High Holy Days

High Holy Days

This article refers to the Jewish holidays. For other uses, see High Holidays .The High Holidays or High Holy Days, in Judaism, more properly known as the Yamim Noraim , may mean:...
of Rosh Hashanah

Rosh Hashanah

Rosh Hashanah is a Jewish holiday commonly referred to as the "Judaism New Year." It is observed on the first day of Tishrei, the seventh month of the Hebrew calendar, as ordained in the Torah, in ....
and Yom Kippur

Yom Kippur

Yom Kippur , also known in English as the Day of Atonement, is the most solemn and important of the Jewish holidays. Its central themes are Atonement in Judaism and Repentance in Judaism....
. In Aramaic (the language spoken by Jews living at the time that the months were given names), the word “Elul” means “search.” The Talmud writes that the Hebrew word "Elul" can be expanded as an acronym for "Ani L'dodi V'dodi Li" - "I am to my Beloved and my Beloved is to me." Elul is seen as a time to search one's heart and draw close to God in preparation for the coming Day of Judgement, Rosh Hashanah

Rosh Hashanah

Yom Kippur

Discussion

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Encyclopedia

Elul (Standard

Hebrew language

Tiberian vocalization

Month

The month is a unit of time, used with calendars, which is approximately as long as some natural Orbital period related to the motion of the Moon; month and Moon are cognates....
of the Jew

Jew

Hebrew calendar

Summer

Gregorian calendar

Repentance

High Holy Days

Rosh Hashanah

Yom Kippur

Rosh Hashanah

Yom Kippur

Minhag

Minhag is an accepted tradition or group of traditions in Judaism. A related concept, Nusach , refers to the traditional order and form of the Jewish services....
to blow the shofar

Shofar

A shofar is a horn used for Jewish religious purposes. Shofar-blowing is incorporated in synagogue services on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur....
every morning (except on Shabbat

Shabbat

Shabbat or Shabbos , is the weekly day of rest in Judaism, symbolizing the seventh day in Genesis, after the six days of creation. Though it is commonly said to be the Saturday of each week, it is observed from sundown on Friday until the appearance of three stars in the sky on Saturday night....
) from Rosh Hodesh Elul (the first day of the month) until the day before Rosh Hashanah. The blasts are meant to awaken one's spirits and inspire him to begin the soul searching which will prepare him for the High Holy Days. As part of this preparation, Elul is the time to begin the sometimes-difficult process of granting and asking for forgiveness

Forgiveness

Forgiveness is typically defined as the process of concluding resentment, indignation or anger as a result of a perceived offense, difference or mistake, and ceasing to demand punishment or restitution....
. It is also customary to recite Psalm

Psalms

Psalms is a book of the Hebrew Bible , included in the collected works known as the "Writings" or Ketuvim....
every day from Rosh Hodesh Elul through Hoshanah Rabbah

Hoshanah Rabbah

The seventh day of the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, 21st day of Tishrei, is known as Hoshana Rabbah . This day is marked by a special synagogue service, the Hoshana Rabbah, in which seven circuits are made by the worshippers with their lulav and etrog, while the congregation recites Hoshanot....
on Sukkot

Sukkot

Sukkot , is a Hebrew Bible pilgrimage Jewish holiday that occurs in autumn on the 15th day of the month of Tishrei . The holiday lasts seven days, including Chol Hamoed....
(in Tishrei).

Aside from the blowing of the shofar, the other major ritual practice during Elul is to recite selichot

Selichot

Selichot are Judaism penitential poems and prayers, especially those said in the period leading up to the High Holidays, and on Fast Days. The Thirteen Attributes of Mercy are a central theme throughout the prayers....
(special penitential prayers

Prayers

is an anime set in the year 2014 where the young of Japan have rebelled against the government for segregating Shibuya, Tokyo and declared themselves to be independent of Japan....
) either every morning before sunrise

Sunrise

Sunrise is the instant at which the upper edge of the Sun appears above the horizon in the east. Sunrise should not be confused with dawn, which is the point at which the sky begins to lighten, some time before the sun itself appears, ending twilight....
during the week before the last Wednesday before Rosh Hashanah (Ashkenazi tradition) or every morning during the entire month of Elul (Sephardi tradition). Ashkenazi Jews begin the recitation of selichot with a special service between solar mid-night (not 12:00) and morning light on the first day of Selichot.

Many Jews also visit the graves

Graves

Graves is an important Bordeaux wine regions of the Bordeaux wine wine region. Graves is situated on the left bank of the Garonne river, in the upstream part of the region, southeast of the city Bordeaux and stretch over ....
of loved ones throughout the month in order to remember and honor those people in our past who inspire us to live more fully in the future.

Another social custom is to begin or end all letters written during the month of Elul with wishes that the recipient have a good year. The standard blessing is "K'tiva V'Hatima Tova" ("a good writing and sealing [of judgement]"), meaning that the person should be written and sealed in the Book of Life for a good year. Tradition teaches that on Rosh Hashanah, each person is written down for a good or a poor year, based on their actions in the previous one, and their sincere efforts at atoning for mistakes or harm. On Yom Kippur, that fate is "sealed."

Elul in Jewish history

1 Elul - Moses

Moses

Moses is a Hebrew Bible Hebrews religious leader, lawgiver, prophet, to whom the Mosaic authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed. Also called Moshe Rabbeinu in Hebrew , he is the most important prophet in Judaism, and also an important prophet of Christianity, Islam, the Bah?'? Faith, Rastafari movement, Chrislam and many ot...
ascends Sinai for 3rd 40 days (1313 BCE)
2 Elul - Shulchan_Aruch

Shulchan Aruch

The Shulchan Aruch is a codification, or written manual, of halacha , composed by Rabbi Yosef Karo in the 16th century. Together with its commentaries, it is considered the most authoritative compilation of halakha since the Talmud....
published (1555)
3 Elul - Death of Rabbi A. I. Kook (1935)
8 Elul - Washington

George Washington

George Washington was the leader of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War and served as the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States of the United States of Americas ....
Responds to Newport

Newport, Rhode Island

Newport is a city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island, Rhode Island, United States, about 30 miles south of Providence, Rhode Island....
Jews (1790)
10 Elul - Noah

Noah

Noah was, according to the Bible, the tenth and last of the antediluvian Patriarchs ; and a prophet according to the Qur'an. The biblical story of Noah is contained in the book of Book of Genesis, chapters 5-9, while the Qur'an has a whole sura named after and devoted to his story with other references elsewhere....
Dispatches Raven (2105 BCE)
12 Elul - Nachmanides Born (1294)
13 Elul - Death of Ben Ish Chai

Ben Ish Chai

Yosef Chaim was a leading Hakham , posek on Jewish law and Master Kabbalah. He is best known as author of the work of Halakha Ben Ish Chai , by which title he is also known....
(1909)
17 Elul - Noah

Noah

Noah was, according to the Bible, the tenth and last of the antediluvian Patriarchs ; and a prophet according to the Qur'an. The biblical story of Noah is contained in the book of Book of Genesis, chapters 5-9, while the Qur'an has a whole sura named after and devoted to his story with other references elsewhere....
Dispatches Dove (2105 BCE)
18 Elul - Death of Maharal (1609)
18 Elul - Baal Shem Tov Born (1698)
23 Elul - Dove brings Olive Leaf to Noah

Noah

Yisrael Meir Kagan

Yisrael Meir Kagan sobriquet as The Chofetz Chaim was an influential Eastern European rabbi, Halakha, and ethics whose works continue to be widely influential in Jewish life....
(1933)
25 Elul - The 1st day of Creation

Creation according to Genesis

Creation according to Genesis is the creation myth found in the Hebrew Bible, . It describes the making of the Firmament and the Earth and of the first humans by God in Abrahamic religions ....
(3761 BCE)
25 Elul - Jerusalem

Jerusalem

Jerusalem is the capital of Israel and its List of Israeli cities in both population and area, with a population of 747,600 residents over an area of if Positions on Jerusalem East Jerusalem is included....
Walls Rebuilt (335 BCE)
25 Elul - Death of Rabbi Elazar son of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai (2nd century CE)
27 Elul - Death of Belzer Rebbe

Shalom Rokeach

Rabbi Sholom Rokeach, , also known as the Sar Sholom , was the first Belz er Rebbe.His father was Rabbi Elazar, a member of the Brody Kloise sages....
(1855)

Other uses

Eylül is also the name for September in Turkish
Turkish language

Turkish is a language spoken by over 63 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Cyprus, with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo, Albania and other parts of Eastern Europe....
; this is derived from the Arabic
Arabic language

Arabic is a Central Semitic language, thus related to and classified alongside other Semitic languages languages such as Hebrew language and Aramaic language....
form Aylul, used in the Levant
Levant

The Levant describes, traditionally, the Eastern Mediterranean at large, but can be used as a geographical term that denotes a large area in Western Asia formed by the lands bordering the Eastern shores of the Mediterranean, roughly bounded on the north by the Taurus Mountains, on the south by the Arabian Desert, and on the west by the M...
(see Arabic names of calendar months
Arabic names of calendar months

The Gregorian calendar was constructed to give a close approximation to the tropical year, which is the actual length of time it takes for the Earth to complete one orbit around the Sun....
). It was also used in Akkadian
Akkadian language

Akkadian or Assyrian-Babylonian is a Semitic language that was spoken in ancient Mesopotamia. The earliest attested Semitic language, it used the cuneiform writing system derived ultimately from ancient Sumerian language, an unrelated language isolate....
, in the form .
In the story of Xenogears
Xenogears

is a console role-playing game developed and published by Square Co. for Sony Computer Entertainment's PlayStation. It was released on February 11, 1998 in Japan and on October 21, 1998 in North America....
, Elul is the name of a country, named after the Hebrew month. In the official English
English language

English is a West Germanic language that originated in Anglo-Saxon England and has lingua franca status in many parts of the world as a result of the military, economic, scientific, political and cultural influence of the British Empire in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries and that of the United States from the mid 20th century onwa...
translation
Translation

Translation is the hermeneutics of the Meaning of a text and the subsequent production of an Dynamic and formal equivalence text, likewise called a "translation," that communicates the same message in another language....
, however, it was transliterated Elru.

Elul

Elul in Jewish history

Other uses

External links