As the last month of the Jewish year, Elul is traditionally a time of introspection and stocktaking -- a time to review one’s deeds and spiritual progress over the past year and prepare for the upcoming “Days of Awe.”

The days of Elul are called the days of “Divine forgiveness and kindness”. This is embodied in the word Elul. It is written in the Song of Songs (6:3) Ani l’dodi v’dodi li. . . (I am for my beloved and my beloved is for me. . .). The acrostic of the first letters of this phrase spells Elul. The last letters of the words of the phrase are all “Yud”. The numerical value of “Yud” is 10. 4 x10=40, the number of days that Moshe spent on Mt. Sinai when he received the second set of the Ten Commandments. He went up on Rosh Hodesh Elul, as God pardoned the people for the event of the Golden Calf. When he came down forty days later it was Yom Kippur, the day of ultimate expression of the reunification of God and His people. These days of Elul are therefore the beginning of a special time of favor and conciliation. Each morning of Elul we blow the shofar; tekiah, shevarim, teruah and Tikiah as a call to repentance.

The Baal ShemTov called the days of Elul “the days when the King is in the field.” He explained with a parable. Normally, in order to gain an audience with the King, one must go through a lengthy procedure. He must travel to the capitol city, arrange an appointment, and then get permission to enter the palace. Even when permission is granted it may be days or weeks before he is finally allowed to enter. When he does finally get to see the King, the audience is likely to be short and very formal. The citizen, not used to the royal surroundings doubtlessly feels out of place, and maybe even regrets his decision to see the King. From his great fear and uneasiness, he may forget to put his request before the King.

Once a year, the King leaves his capitol to visit the various regions of his Kingdom. Now a King can’t just enter a city unannounced. When he reaches the outskirts of the city he is to visit, his entourage sets up a camp while a special delegation goes ahead to the city to make preparations for the King’s visit.

In the meantime, the King is in the field; relaxed and enjoying the early fall weather. He doesn’t stand on the same formality that he does when in the palace. The common folk are allowed to come out to greet the King and receive his blessing.

During the month of Elul, the King is in the field and he is easily accessible. We need only make the effort to go out and greet Him. The customs of Elul are meant to help us tune into the spirit of the times and to attune ourselves.

The Zohar, the primary text of Kabbalah explains that at the beginning of Elul we are “back to back” and by the end of Elul we are “face to face.” But how can it be that we are back to back? Wouldn’t that imply that God has His back turned to us as well? Is it not the month when God is more accessible than ever, when He is waiting for us to greet Him, when He is there for us in the “field” of our everyday lives?

It is the month of Elul that teaches us the necessity of being willing to turn around. The King is in the field, our Creator is there, and no matter how we may feel, He has never had His back turned. All we need to do is turn ourselves around to realize that He is there and waiting for us. The “back to back” that we experience in the beginning of the month is based on our misperceptions, our fears, our assumptions. Only when we turn around do we realize the truth, the inner essence, and then we are “face to face” which does not only mean that we can finally look at each other, but more so, that we can look in each other, for the root of the word for face in Hebrew is the same as the word which means “innerness.”