Explaining the month of Elul

We are currently in the midst of the month of Elul and rapidly approaching Rosh Hashanah – broadly translated as New Year, although the term actually means the head of the year.

From the perspective of our calendar as per references in the Torah, this is actually problematic. As we will read on Rosh Hashanah in the maftir from parashat Pinchas (Bamidbar 29:1) and the musaf service, the day we refer to as Rosh Hashanah is simply a day of blowing, a “holy calling” and rest day “bachodesh hashvi’i b’echad lachodesh – in the seventh month on the first of the month”.

Hardly the beginning of a new year – it is (assuming 12 months in a year) literally mid-year. It is regarding the month of spring in which Pesach occurs that we are told: “Hachodesh hazeh lachem Rosh Chodashim – this month shall be to you the first of the months”. (Shemot 12:2)

And the answer is, as spelt out in the first Mishnah of tractate Rosh Hashanah, that in the Jewish calendar there are four dates referred to as Rosh Hashanah – that is three aside from Rosh Hashanah as we refer to the pending festival on Tishrei 1.

Elul 1 is the “financial new year” for the herdsman who had to calculate his dues in terms of animals born in his flock during the preceding 12 months; Tu b’Shevat is the New Year for trees and various agricultural laws. And the months themselves are counted from the beginning of Nisan in the northern hemisphere spring when the first grain crop is ripening, not from this Rosh Hashanah occurring in autumn.

Which brings us, however, to the subject of references to months in the biblical text.

Throughout the Chumash and the books of the Nevi’im (prophets) months are referred to by numbers. This is the case whether in reference to festival dates or historical events. The names we use for the months did not exist at that time.

True, in regard to our duties during the month of Elul prior to Rosh Hashanah commentators (and even the Kitzur Shulchan Aruch, the abbreviated popularly used “Code of Jewish Law”) refer to various verses that have a sequence of words beginning with the letters Aleph, Lamed, Vav and Lamed that make up the word “Elul”.

Those verses are taken to imply that during this month we need to dwell on self improvement, mitzvot between man and man and mitzvot between man and God as hinted at in the content of those verses.

But while these are useful hints – call them a form of mnemonic – the name of the sixth month as “Elul” is only found in the post exilic book of Nehemiah. There we are told regarding the period of return from Babylon(Nehemiah 6:15): “And the wall (of Yerushalayim) was completed on the 25th day of Elul, after 52 days.” (Incidentally it is interesting to ponder the implications of completion of rebuilding Yerushalayim on the very date considered Day One of creation that led to Rosh Hashanah, Day Six, as the day of creation of man. Completing rebuilding of Yerushalayim has the significance of creation of the world of which Yerushalayim is the focal point).

And, of course, that sole biblical mention of Elul ties in with the fact that all the names of the months as we know them originated during the time of the first exile. For most of us at least some familiarity with names of months as we know them begins with the book of Esther, where we find mention not only of Adar, but also Nisan (when Haman drew lots), Sivan (when the riders went forth with the King’s proclamation), and Tevet (when Esther was originally called to King Achashverosh.

The Jerusalem Talmud (Rosh Hashanah 1:2) explicitly tells us that the modern names of the months “came up (to Israel) with (the returnees) from Babylon”; this would have been at the onset of the second Jewish commonwealth, in approximately 350 BCE.

All of which leads to the question, why did we begin to use these names? Given that some even refer to pagan practices, why would they enter Judaism? Why didn’t we stick with the biblical practice of referring to months by their number?

As Rabbi Menachem Posner noted (in an article accessible on Chabad.org) Ramban (Nachmanides), commenting on the verse referred to above, stating that “this month (i.e. Nisan) shall be the first of the months”, suggests that this is consistent with Jeremiah’s prophecy: “Therefore, behold days are coming, says God, and it shall no longer be said [by one who wishes to pronounce an oath], ‘As God lives, who brought up the children of Israel from the land of Egypt’, but rather, ‘As God lives, who brought up the children of Israel from the north land [Babylon]. . .’.” (Jeremiah 16:14).

The original system was to count months in numeric order, starting from Nissan. Thus, any time a person mentioned a month, he was in effect recalling the exodus from Egypt. If we are in, say, the sixth month, it was the six months since the month of the Exodus. Thus, the numeric naming served as a constant reminder of our deliverance from Egypt.

After we were delivered from Babylonian captivity, however, we started using the names that we became used to using in Babylon. And now, these names served to remind us that God has redeemed us from this second exile, thereby fulfilling Jeremiah’s prophecy.

In the merit of our so following in the ways of our predecessors, may we soon experience the final redemption.

Shabbat shalom
Ketivah vachatimah tovah
Yossi

Yossi Aron OAM is The AJN’s religious affairs editor.

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