Seeking Spiritual Refuge in the Month of Elul
Shoftim - Elul
The month of Elul is well-known for its acronyms, most famously the verse from Shir Hashirim, אני לדודי ודודי לי - “I am to my Beloved and my Beloved is to me”. The Kitzur Shulchan Aruch references additional pesukim whose Roshei Teivos spell Elul, one of which is the verse אנה לידו ושמתי לך.
This verse discusses the law of the Ir Miklat which serves as a refuge for someone who unintentionally took a life. The verse states “and G-d caused it to come to his hand, and I will provide a place for you that you may flee there.” The month of Elul is like an Ir Miklat, giving us the opportunity to do Teshuvah.
The Ir Miklat is discussed in a number of Torah passages, including in Parshas Shoftim, which is always read in the month of Elul.
In Mesechta Makkos, Rabbi Yochanan teaches an interesting law, that if a Rabbi unintentionally kills someone and must move to the Ir Miklat, his entire Yeshivah is sent there to join him. This is because the verse states “he shall flee there and live”. Our sages deduce that we must provide “life” to one who is exiled to the Ir Miklat. For a Torah teacher, this is his ability to teach students.
The Gemara challenged this teaching. Rabbi Yochanan himself taught דברי תורה קולטין - the words of Torah provide refuge in place of the Ir Miklat. Rabbi Yochanan derives this from the juxtaposition of the cities of refuge that Moshe established on the Eastern side of the Jordan, to the Pasuk וזאת התורה אשר שם משה. So why should a Torah teacher need to go to the Ir Miklat?
One of the answers is that the teaching of Rabbi Yochanan that Torah study created a refuge, refers to protection from the Angel of Death. It does not substitute the need for the Ir Miklat in the case of one who actually took a life by accident.
But why does Rabbi Yochanan specifically liken the Torah’s protection from the Angel of Death to the protection of the Ir Miklat?
There is a fascinating Midrash that asks why after Yom Kippur, Hashem instructs us to leave our houses and enter the Sukkah. The Midrash explains that we are judged on Rosh Hashana and this judgment is sealed on Yom Kippur. Should we be found liable to be “exiled”, we can be Yotzai with leaving our homes and moving into the Sukkah.
In his work Aruch Laner, Rabbi Yaakov Ettlinger (Germany 1798-1981) asks why after the Teshuvah of Yom Kippur should we still be liable? And if we are still liable for our sins, most sins do not have the punishment of exile.
In order to answer this question he shares another enigmatic Midrash. The Midrash relates that they asked the “Attribute of Justice” what should happen to a person who has sinned. The Middas Hadin responds that one who has sinned shall die. They then asked Hashem what should happen to a person who has sinned. Hashem responds that the sinner shall do Teshuvah and they will be atoned.
The Aruch Laner asks why the Middas Hadin responds that a sinner shall die, without distinguishing between the different types of sins, most of which do not require execution or death at the hands of Heaven.
In Parshas Noach, the Torah teaches that a murderer must be put to death; שופך דם האדם באדם דמו ישפך, “one who spills the blood of a man, by man his blood shall be shed”. The verse gives the reason for this; כי בצלם אלקים עשה את האדם, “for in the image of G-d, He made man”. The murderer’s liability is for having extinguished the image of G-d within their victim.
Each person is made in the Tzelem Elokim, the image of G-d. This image of G-d rests upon us when we act in accordance with His laws. When a person sins, they erase their Tzelem Elokim, effectively shedding the blood of their own image of G-d. When the sin is performed intentionally, it is like a willful act of murder. This is why the “Attribute of Justice” demands that every sinner should die.
But in His great mercy, Hashem gives us the opportunity to do Teshuvah.
The Gemara teaches that when is motivated to do Teshuva out of a sense of fear, their Teshuvah has the power to mitigate their intentional sins to become considered like unintentional sins. This is in contrast to Teshuvah that is performed out of love, that is able to transform even intentional sins into merits.
Since most people are only able to attain the lower level of Teshuva out of fear, after doing Teshuvah, our intentional sins are considered like unintentional sins. This means that our “intentional” murder of our Tzelem Elokim through our sins, is commuted to an act of unintentional murder.
This is why the Midrash teaches that after our Teshuvah on Yom Kippur we may still require exile, akin to the exile to the Ir Miklat which is the punishment for the unintentional murderer.
Like the unintentional murderer, even when we sin unintentionally, we can still be pursued by the “avenger”, which in the case of sin, is the Angel of Death. In this case, it is not the physical walls of a city that give us refuge, but rather the protective walls of Torah-study - דברי תורה קולטין.
The month of Elul is like a City of Refuge and so is the study of Torah. By increasing our Torah learning in this special month as part of our Teshuvah, we draw down a double merit of protection. In this Zechus, may we be blessed with a Kesiva Vechasima Tovah and may it serve as a force of protection for Jews around the world and particularly in the Holy Land.
This verse discusses the law of the Ir Miklat which serves as a refuge for someone who unintentionally took a life. The verse states “and G-d caused it to come to his hand, and I will provide a place for you that you may flee there.” The month of Elul is like an Ir Miklat, giving us the opportunity to do Teshuvah.
The Ir Miklat is discussed in a number of Torah passages, including in Parshas Shoftim, which is always read in the month of Elul.
In Mesechta Makkos, Rabbi Yochanan teaches an interesting law, that if a Rabbi unintentionally kills someone and must move to the Ir Miklat, his entire Yeshivah is sent there to join him. This is because the verse states “he shall flee there and live”. Our sages deduce that we must provide “life” to one who is exiled to the Ir Miklat. For a Torah teacher, this is his ability to teach students.
The Gemara challenged this teaching. Rabbi Yochanan himself taught דברי תורה קולטין - the words of Torah provide refuge in place of the Ir Miklat. Rabbi Yochanan derives this from the juxtaposition of the cities of refuge that Moshe established on the Eastern side of the Jordan, to the Pasuk וזאת התורה אשר שם משה. So why should a Torah teacher need to go to the Ir Miklat?
One of the answers is that the teaching of Rabbi Yochanan that Torah study created a refuge, refers to protection from the Angel of Death. It does not substitute the need for the Ir Miklat in the case of one who actually took a life by accident.
But why does Rabbi Yochanan specifically liken the Torah’s protection from the Angel of Death to the protection of the Ir Miklat?
There is a fascinating Midrash that asks why after Yom Kippur, Hashem instructs us to leave our houses and enter the Sukkah. The Midrash explains that we are judged on Rosh Hashana and this judgment is sealed on Yom Kippur. Should we be found liable to be “exiled”, we can be Yotzai with leaving our homes and moving into the Sukkah.
In his work Aruch Laner, Rabbi Yaakov Ettlinger (Germany 1798-1981) asks why after the Teshuvah of Yom Kippur should we still be liable? And if we are still liable for our sins, most sins do not have the punishment of exile.
In order to answer this question he shares another enigmatic Midrash. The Midrash relates that they asked the “Attribute of Justice” what should happen to a person who has sinned. The Middas Hadin responds that one who has sinned shall die. They then asked Hashem what should happen to a person who has sinned. Hashem responds that the sinner shall do Teshuvah and they will be atoned.
The Aruch Laner asks why the Middas Hadin responds that a sinner shall die, without distinguishing between the different types of sins, most of which do not require execution or death at the hands of Heaven.
In Parshas Noach, the Torah teaches that a murderer must be put to death; שופך דם האדם באדם דמו ישפך, “one who spills the blood of a man, by man his blood shall be shed”. The verse gives the reason for this; כי בצלם אלקים עשה את האדם, “for in the image of G-d, He made man”. The murderer’s liability is for having extinguished the image of G-d within their victim.
Each person is made in the Tzelem Elokim, the image of G-d. This image of G-d rests upon us when we act in accordance with His laws. When a person sins, they erase their Tzelem Elokim, effectively shedding the blood of their own image of G-d. When the sin is performed intentionally, it is like a willful act of murder. This is why the “Attribute of Justice” demands that every sinner should die.
But in His great mercy, Hashem gives us the opportunity to do Teshuvah.
The Gemara teaches that when is motivated to do Teshuva out of a sense of fear, their Teshuvah has the power to mitigate their intentional sins to become considered like unintentional sins. This is in contrast to Teshuvah that is performed out of love, that is able to transform even intentional sins into merits.
Since most people are only able to attain the lower level of Teshuva out of fear, after doing Teshuvah, our intentional sins are considered like unintentional sins. This means that our “intentional” murder of our Tzelem Elokim through our sins, is commuted to an act of unintentional murder.
This is why the Midrash teaches that after our Teshuvah on Yom Kippur we may still require exile, akin to the exile to the Ir Miklat which is the punishment for the unintentional murderer.
Like the unintentional murderer, even when we sin unintentionally, we can still be pursued by the “avenger”, which in the case of sin, is the Angel of Death. In this case, it is not the physical walls of a city that give us refuge, but rather the protective walls of Torah-study - דברי תורה קולטין.
The month of Elul is like a City of Refuge and so is the study of Torah. By increasing our Torah learning in this special month as part of our Teshuvah, we draw down a double merit of protection. In this Zechus, may we be blessed with a Kesiva Vechasima Tovah and may it serve as a force of protection for Jews around the world and particularly in the Holy Land.