Elul opens with an ascent.
On the first of the month, Moshe climbs the mountain again—not for the first time, but for the third. He carries only two new rough stone tablets and the courage to begin again. Forty days. The very forty days we now enter, ascending together – thirty days of Elul and ten more to Yom Kippur.
From the mountains we receive not only Torah, but also water. Mountains are the meeting place of earth and sky, channels through which prayer ascends and abundance descends. And at the end of these forty days we begin praying for rain.
On Mount Sinai, lightning, fire, smoke, and thunder envelop everything. Revelation is mysterious and terrifying. Before we can receive, we must first sit in the discomfort of not knowing, in the anxiety of what’s to come, and all the fears of what might go wrong. Life is so precious and precarious.
Rebbe Nachman teaches that before a person can reveal words of Torah, they must first draw words like flaming coals from the Supernal Heart. Only after the heart breaks open can prayer begin to flow, like the water that burst forth from the rock Moses struck.
כְּדֵי לְעוֹרֵר לֵב הָעֶלְיוֹן לְהַשְׁפִּיעַ עָלָיו דִּבּוּרִים כְּגַחֲלֵי־אֵשׁ, וְאַחַר־כָּךְ יַתְחִיל לְבָאֵר, כִּי אַחַר־כָּךְ נִפְתָּח הַצּוּר וַיָּזוּבוּ מֵימָיו; הַיְנוּ בֵּאוּרֵי הַתּוֹרָה.
“This is so that he may arouse the Supernal Heart to inspire him with words that are like flaming coals. Afterwards he can begin to teach, because then the rock has been opened and its waters—the lessons of Torah—begin to flow.” (Likutei Moharan 20:2)
Fire first. Then breaking open. Then water.
The journey of Elul and the High Holidays mirrors the turning of the seasons: from the fire of summer to the waters of autumn; from the hardness of mountain rock to the softness of a flowing spring; from a guarded heart to the grace of prayer.
May this season kindle the fire of our most honest prayers, soften what has grown hard within us, break our hearts open with compassion, and prepare us to receive Torah—and the blessing of rain—once again.
About the Author:
Itamar Cohn is a Jewish leader, educator and community builder with a background in earth-based Judaism, sustainability, and peace education. He spent 10 years with Outward Bound California in leadership and training roles and later served as Head of Pedagogy and Instruction for Halom Hadash in Israel. He co-founded the EcoME Center and has helped develop the Adama ecovillage. He holds degrees in Outdoor Education and Peace and Conflict Management.
