The four letters of the word Elul, "Aleph" "Lamed" "Vav" "Lamed" is said to form an acronym for four Hebrew words: "Ani L'Dodi V'Dodi Li" "I am my Beloved's, and my Beloved is mine" a beautiful phrase from Shir Hashirim 6:3.

According to tradition, the month of Elul is the time that Moses spent on Mount Sinai preparing the second set of tablets after the incident of the golden calf. (Ex. 32; 34:27-28)

He ascended on Rosh Chodesh Elul and descended on the 10th of Tishri, at the end of Yom Kippur, when repentance was complete. Other sources say that Elul is the beginning of a period of 40 days that Moses prayed for God to forgive the people after the Golden Calf incident, after which the commandment to prepare the second set of tablets was given.

In Aramaic, the word "Elul" means "search." This is a time of year when we deeply search our hearts and souls, trying to find areas for improvement in our own behavior.

All of us have relationships that need improvement. Perhaps you have wronged a child or a parent. Perhaps you shared harsh words with a sibling or spouse. Maybe a friendship is in need of repair after a misunderstanding grew into something much greater.

Our tradition understands this and provides each of us with a gift: The Month of Elul, a month in which we must work to improve and hopefully permanently repair these broken relationships.

May God in Heaven grant each of us the strength to do what is right and necessary to heal our relationships, our friendships, and ourselves. For in doing so, the redemption of the world is hastened.