The end of the year in any enterprise is a serious time. Whether it’s a business, school or government agency, every twelfth month there is an urgency in the air. Projects are due, accountings are expected and preparing for the new cycle brings with it an extra level of focus.
Judaism is the same and our annual month to account for the past and prepare our proposal for the future begins this Sunday at the start of the month of Elul. Gearing up to Rosh Hashanah, we add in our daily prayers and blow the Shofar every day (aside for Shabbat) reminding us of higher purpose and divine service. But strangely enough its daily routines are religiously no different than any other weekdays of the year.
Over 200 years ago Chabad Chassidic teachings introduced a powerful new perspective to the month of Elul in the guise of a story of a benevolent king typically ensconced in the palace surrounded by guards, servants and ministers. Gaining a royal audience is impossible for regular subjects and on the rare occasion someone is granted entry to the throne room, they must dress in special clothing and behave according to strict protocol.
Once a year the king wishes to meet the commoners on their turf. He dons peasant clothing and ventures out the fields alone, without the regular entourage of ministers and guards. It is there, sans the usual pomp and ceremony, that the king is in a marvelous mood and becomes accessible to all. Different realities of our world can be defined as “palace” and “field.” Holy days and spaces are the “palaces” of G-d’s kingdom and the mundane regular times and spaces in our lives are the “fields.” Those “palace” days and spaces come with certain expectations and protocols and provide a context in which one feels more easily elevated and spiritual, whereas the “fields” are informal and devoid of accessible inspiration. It’s only natural to feel more Jewish and fulfilled when praying in the synagogue on Shabbat than while sitting in standstill traffic on the way to work on a Tuesday morning. It’s easier to be aware of higher purpose when studying Torah than while running on the treadmill following doctor’s orders. The month of Elul, with its paradoxical mundaneness and elevated spirituality, teaches us that our proposal for the next year must include more than just our commitment to increasing our synagogue attendance or adding to our Torah study schedule. We need to appreciate that even the mundane areas of life can and should be more G-dly and serve a higher purpose. As in the story of the king, G-d wants to be present in our “fields” - in our regular daily routines - just as He is present in our “palaces” - our special holy days and spaces. Reflect on how everything in life is orchestrated from Above and how every encounter, event and enterprise can be the conduit for added goodness and meaning in our world. May we all be inscribed and sealed for a good and sweet new year.