Elul and the Rhapsody of Zion’s Redemption

As we hear the sounds of the shofar and get ready for Selichos and Rosh Hashanah, it is easy to forget about another very fundamental theme of the month of Elul: Tzion. Tzion, you may wonder? Who is talking about Tzion now,  wasn’t that for Tisha Baav?  Well, not exactly….Chazal Hakedoshim actually want us to think about Tzion right now. Really?

Yes,  while there are sources in Chazal that suggest that Elul is a month for teshuva,( such as the Pirkei d’Rabbi Eliezer that says that Moshe Rabenu went up for the second luchos on Rosh Chodesh Elul)-Chazal did not institute any of the minhagim associated with teshuva that are performed during this time. The custom of blowing the shofar is a much later custom that is only performed in Ashkenazic communities, and not Sephardic ones. And the custom of Selichos, while mentioned in the Rishonim, was not instituted by Chazal ( the sages of the Mishnah and Talmud). So what did Chazal institute for this time of year? Something else completely. Tosafos in Megillah 31B ( D’H Rosh) , mentions a Midrash ( the Psikta) that tells us that after Tisha Baav, Chazal instituted that we read 7 haftorahs that discuss the comfort of Zion or what we call the “zayin denechemta”.  This Shabbos we read the final one which is really the crescendo of all seven.

All of these haftorahs are taken from the last section ( after chapter 40) of the book of Yishaya ( Isaiah).  This last section of the book of Yeshaya deals with glorious prophecies about the return of the Jewish people to Tzion, the restoration of our Holy Land and the coming of Mashiach-a process that has clearly begun in our time, as we are witnessing the rebirth of the land after many years of barrenness and the return of millions of Jews from all over the world, an unprecedented event.  The late chief Rabbi of England, Rabbi J.H. Hertz ( author of the well known Hertz Chumash) calls this last section of the book of Isaiah, ” The rhapsody of Zion’s redemption”. 

So reading these prophecies about the restoration of Zion ( and not  the regular haftorahs that are usually associated with the respective parsha) is the only takanah that we have from Chazal for the month of Elul. Yes, all the customs that have emerged during later times are of great importance, but reading the seven prophecies of comfort ( which 4 of them are read in Elul) is what Chazal wanted us to also focus on.

And this is where the almost extreme disconnect between what Chazal instituted and the current social consciousness of most kehillos is so striking. With the exception of a few thoughts perhaps on Shabbos Nachamu, it appears that almost nobody talks about the seven haftarot of Nechama. We have many gatherings during this time of year to talk about teshuva, personal kaballos and other teshuva- Elul related topics. Ashreichem Yisroel!  But Tzion, no one seeks her out?  It is almost as if every shul just reads the haftorah, because we have to, but the message of the haftorah is just not a part of our social/spiritual consciousness.

Is it perhaps, that after a very long galus, in which the Jewish nation was torn apart and reduced to a bunch of individual congregations- the message of national redemption, which can only take place with the return to our Holy Land, has escaped our consciousness? Has Elul become a month where we focus ,in an extreme way, on just the individual but perhaps have forgotten the ‘Clall’, the “Clall” Chazal Hakedoshim so much wanted us to recall?

In truth, however,  these two Elul related themes of personal teshuva and  the restoration of Tzion are deeply connected. For without the first step of individual teshuva it will be very difficult to return Tzion to her glory. Teshuva is the first step but the goal is not just that “I have a good year”-but that Hashem’s glory should be expressed to the entire world, as expressed so eloquently in the tefillos of Rosh Hashana. And Tzion is the only place where this can happen.

And to end, I would just like to share with you what I feel to be the most powerful pasuk ( verse) from all the amazingly powerful pesukim that we read during this incredible seven week period of Zion’s comfort. In this week’s haftorah, the Navi Yeshaya cries out from the depths of his neshamaa ( 62:1) :    לְמַעַן צִיּוֹן לֹא אֶחֱשֶׁה, וּלְמַעַן יְרוּשָׁלִַם לֹא אֶשְׁקוֹט, עַד-יֵצֵא כַנֹּגַהּ צִדְקָהּ, וִישׁוּעָתָהּ כְּלַפִּיד יִבְעָר. ” For Zion’s sake I will not be silent , and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not be still, until her righteousness emanates like bright light, and her salvation blazes like a torch” .

Just take a step back and let yourself listen for a moment and feel the cry of the prophet.  We don’t need to intellectually analyze this verse, or reveal its ‘hints’ or secrets. We just need to  listen to the cry of Yeshaya and let it fill our being. And ,b’ezrat Hashem, together we will do true teshuva and merit to reveal the great light of Tzion!

אור חדש על ציון תאיר ונזכה כולנו במהרה לאורו!