The Month of Elul, the number 40 and Teshuva.

By: Chaviv Danesh

The period of time between the first day of Elul until Yom Kippur is 40 days.

The number 40 occurs in Judaism quiet often. If we look closely we will see that every time the number 40 is used it is in connection with a transformation of one sort or another. Let’s look at some examples:

The flood lasted 40 days and 40 nights. The Midrash along with many other sources state that the world became radically different after the flood. From the nature of the people to the land everything changed. In a sense the world was reborn and given a second chance for their misdeeds.

The Jewish people were in the desert for 40 years. The time the Jewish people spent in the desert was a punishment for the spies who searched the land for 40 days and for the people believed their bad report. Therefore, here the 40 years were 40 years to compensate for the mistake they made and get them spiritually clean of that sin so that they can enter the land. Here again we see the number 40 transforming the Jewish people from guilty for the sin of spies to being forgiven for it and along with that being given a second chance.

The number of Makot (lashes) that a person received in the times of the beit hamikdash for certain sins is 40 (40 minus 1 according to chachamim). The lashes transformed a person from being guilty to innocent and thereby purified him of sin.

The number 40 also represents the 40 days and nights that Moshe Rabbeinu spent on the mountain before coming down with the Torah. The second time he went up he went on the first of Elul and came down 40 days later on the tenth of Tishrei which is Yom Kippur. Incidentally this is why Yom Kippur is on the tenth of Tishrei; because there is a special energy of forgiveness in the world at that time originating from when Moshe rabbeinu came down with the tablets the second time; symbolizing the fact that Hashem had forgiven them for the making of the golden calf.

There are many other examples of this as well. The amount of water in a kosher mikveh (a well of water which transforms a person from impure to pure) has to be 40 seah. The number of days until a baby is formed according to the Gemara is 40 days (this was scientifically proven as until 40 days the electrical charge of the body is not present), and there are many many more examples.

Moreover, the first letter of the words that are associated with the ideas mentioned previously is the letter “mem,” i.e. Mikveh, Matan Torah (giving of Torah), Makot (lashes), Midbar (desert), Mabul (flood), Moshe. The letter “Mem” in Hebrew has a numerical value of forty. An intelligent person would not attribute this to chance.

As we can see the number 40 has associated with it the power to transform. Therefore, these 40 day we must transform ourselves into righteous people by becoming stricter in following the mitzvoth.

It has been a tradition to do something extra on Elul that you don’t do the whole year. This could be praying with more kavana (concentration) or doing acts of kindness for others, fixing some character flaws which one might have or anything else a person feels like he/she must do to elevate themselves.

It is interesting to note that the word Elul is also found in Megilat Ester. In the verse (9:22) where it talks about giving gifts to the poor Ish lereihu omatanot laevyonim, the first letters of that verse spell Elul. Therefore giving more tzedakah in this month is also very important.

In this month one should do teshuvah. The Rambam says that the mitzvah of teshuvah has three steps: confession, regret and saying that one would not do it again. It is important to note that all three steps have to be said out loud. There are many reasons for this and one is that just like the sin was done with a physical act so too the teshuvah for it has to be done with a physical act in this case being speaking.

What shall a person take out of this practically? In the month of Elul one must feel like he/she has no place. Just like the person who is in a city of refuge has no place one must feel that in the month of Elul. One must feel like he/she is on a shaky bridge and any false move would tip it over. Therefore we must take every precaution not to treat this month lightly and on the contrary to utilize the transforming power of this month and these 40 days to hopefully transform ourselves into the kinds of people we know we can become.