Elul story by the sea

 

Blowing the shofar at Elul is like the little shofar before the BIG Shofar Blast that we are approaching at the Feast of Trumpets.  Lining up our little selves with our BIG and great LORD and King!   I love taking my little shofar and blowing it each day of this month of Elul  in "preparation" .  As you may have noticed from the number of Elul posts!!  

How do we  prepare for the Day of the Big Feast of Trumpets (Yom Teruah, Rosh Hashanah)  and the Big Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) ?  One daily way is, Repentance in the small things (big things too of course, but hoping that some of the big ones have been clear and of course Salvation is the only way to do that!)!   Seeking God for where we need to clear out those parts of us that still need to be gotten right  -- the bitterness in our hearts, unforgiveness, what else? --- ask Him to show us---there are always those places---!!

When we seek Him with a desire to see His face and to  draw closer to Him, He answers!  Sometimes it is through the Holy Spirit showing us a cloud that takes the shape of the shofar and gets longer and wider!! Sometimes it is with a blue sky that appears on a super cloudy day. ...  you had brought a raincoat with you on your ride, as it was getting grayer and grayer and then as you meditate on His greatness,  the next time you look up what do you know,  the sky has cleared and is all blue.  Can we "blow away" the clouds ?? No, we cannot do anything in and of ourselves.  Can we ask Him to show us where we need to grow and stretch and enlarge our tents?  Yes, we can seek His face and we can take a step each day to draw closer in wanting to know His heart.   The story of Elul, from Shayndel's reflections today,  is to step out in action and take the small steps to seek Him.  As we read each day of this month in  Psalm 27, Your Face Lord I seek!  

In Your behalf my heart says:

"Seek My face!"

O Lord, I seek Your face.

Psalm 27:8b

(JPS Hebrew-English Tanakh )

Blessings and a happy Elul day to you!!

 

Love,

♡

Shayndel

Enlarge the place of your tent, 

stretch out your tabernacle curtains.

Do not hold back--

lengthen your cords,

strengthen your stakes.

Isaiah 54:2  

(from this week's Haftarah reading)

A shofar "centerpiece"on the Shabbat table during the month of Elul

S H A B B A T      S H A L O M !!!

Shabbat Shalom!

 

Related post on this blog, with a little more explanation about Elul, HERE
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For a Torah Teaching on repentance in the month of Elul, Teshuvah (Repentance) and this week's  Parsha Ki Tetze , HERE .  This teaching and inspiration is on a weekly podcast by Jewish pop singer and Torah Teacher Ari Goldwag  

Psalm 27:4~6

One thing I have asked of ADONAI,

that will I seek:

to dwell in the House of ADONAI 

all the days of my lfe,

to behold the beauty of ADONAI,

and to meditate in His Temple.

For in the day of trouble

He will hide me in His sukkah,

conceal me in the shelter of His tent,

and set me high upon a rock.

Then will my head be high above 

my enemies around me.

In His Tabernacle I will offer sacrifices 

with shouts of joy.

I will sing, yes, sing praises to ADONAI.

--Psalm 27: 4~6

Elul!!

In His Tabernacle I will offer sacrifices with shouts of joy.

I will sing, yes, sing praises to ADONAI.

--Psalm 27:6

 On the Hebrew calendar, it is the month of Elul!
The 6th month and last month of the calendar "year" as next month will be Rosh Hashanah, the head of the year, and the beginning of the Fall Feasts and end of one Torah cycle and beginning of the next!

 It is a Jewish tradition to blow the shofar every day of this month except the last day, in preparation for Rosh Hashanah.  Another tradition is to read Psalm 27 morning and night.  I love both these customs and when I found out about Elul just last year for the first time, I found doing them to be a wonderful way to deepen our experience of this special month.  In the Psalm, there are so many verses that bring us close to the LORD at this time of year and any time of course, but as in it there are references to the trumpet (offering shouts of joy), to the Succa (which comes after Yom Kippur, to dwell in the Succa), and maybe just overwhelmingly the theme of seeking His face, it is a wonderful Psalm to read and prepare for this time of repentance and renewal. 

 It is also said that "The King is in the fields" so this is another special aspect of this month as we can really seek the LORD very close by, as He is said to be in the fields, and there is a sense of His presence being very near.  So enjoy the month and a time to take stock of the past year and to seek Him for where we need to repent and also a time to clear and re-new, from things buried in our hearts, to things we put off, to seeking clarity and vision for the upcoming year, always with  thanks in each day.  And much more, but that is my brief introduction to Elul in this post!! 
 This is a little verse I wrote about Elul, and now that you read these paragraphs above, it might just make a little sense!  Happy Elul!!

Blow the shofar!
It`s Elul!!
This just might be my favorite month,
you know,
It is said, The King is in the Fields!

So sound the trumpet and proclaim His glory
 morning, noon and night
 Prepare our hearts for the Head of the Year

The LORD is our light,

Him shall we fear!

Fear in the sense of revere Him with awe
Read Psalm 27 and confess our sins,
Coming to the end of the scrolls 
prepare to usher a New Year
In!!  As we approach the season of coronation,
and to welcome the Messiah, the eternal King!!

The Beloved is mine and I am His.

Catching up!

Happy Elul!!

For my first  post about Elul please see HERE!! It is a post I wrote last year this time when I first became aware of this month on the Hebrew calendar!!
For a moving picture with sound (video) of me blowing my shofar, you can click HERE!! I still need practice in sounding the shofar, as you will hear!!

One thing have I asked of ADONAI, 

that will I seek:

to dwell in the House of ADONAI

all the days of my life,

to behold the beauty of ADONAI, 

and to meditate in His Temple.

--Psalm 27: 4

Psalm 27, morning glories, and a little about Elul

 One thing I ask of the LORD,

only that do I seek:

to live in the house of the LORD

all the days of my life,

to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD,

to frequent His temple.

---Psalm 27:4

This month is Elul, the sixth month on the Hebrew calendar.  It is the  last month of the Biblical Year 5777.  The first day of the next month will be the `Head` of the year, Rosh Hashanah,  also known as the Feast of Trumpets.  Rosh Hashanah is the start of the Fall Feasts and days of repentance leading up to Yom Kippur.  The month of Elul is a time of preparation for the Fall Feasts and a time to seek forgiveness as we reflect on the past year and seek to better ourselves and draw nearer to God in the year to come. 

There is a Jewish custom to blow the shofar and read Psalm 27 every day in the month of Elul (excluding the last day, the day before Rosh Hashanah).  I have been incorporating these and love reading the Psalm in the morning and evening.   I have a small shofar, and don`t get a big sound, but the morning glories reaching out over the balcony seem to amplify the sound...   It feels as though they are echoing the call of the shofar to wake up to God`s glory!  

With blessings and Shalom to you in this month of Elul!

♡

Your face, Lord I seek!

---Psalm 27:8

It is good to give Praise to our Maker and rejoice and give thanks to Him as we seek repentance and to draw closer to Him in this month of Elul!

Elul Story, Jerusalem dress

I sacrifice in His tent with shouts of joy,

singing and chanting a hymn to the LORD.

--Psalm 27:6

♡

Blessings and Shalom!

Love,

Shayndel