Although Elul takes place in August - Septemeber, this seems like a fitting post as we go into a new year.
"With the beginning of Elul, one awakens to teshuva—repentance—turning back to the path. Hearing the shofar helps to make for such an awakening. Elul is a period of preparation. It involves "introspection, review of the year, and preparation for repentance." Selichot, or penitential prayers, are said the Saturday before Rosh Hashanah, for a minimum of 4 days beforehand. On the first night of Selichot, prayers are said at midnight. This intensifies the approach to the "Days of Awe," the ten days encompassing Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.1 "
"So perhaps Elul can be seen as kind of a Jewish Lent. It is a time of anticipation, meditation and penitence, leading up to the greatest days of the Jewish year, especially the Sabbath of Sabbaths—Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. This is similar to Christians anticipating Resurrection Sunday, whether in a formal sense (Lent), or a less formal reflection on the season. As a Jewish believer in Jesus, I feel the parallel keenly."
From The Website Jews For Jesus by Eric Verby
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