Elul's avodah of self-nullification and closeness

מו"ז ז"ל אמר רמז על אלול לא אנחנו הקרי והכתיב.

My grandfather, of blessed memory, gave a hint regarding Elul from the "keri and kesiv" (the read-form and written-form) of "lo anachnu" / "lo anachnu" (Tehillim 100:3).

The verse is written with "lo" spelled with an aleph ("not us") but read with a vav ("we are His"). The Chiddushei HaRim found in this very dual reading a hint to the avodah of Elul.

ע"י שלא אנחנו ומבטלים עצמינו לכן לו אנחנו עמו וצאן מרעיתו שאמרו א' באלול ר"ה למעשר בהמה עכ"ד ז"ל.

Because of "lo anachnu" (it is not us) — that we nullify ourselves — therefore "lo anachnu" (we are His), "His people and the flock of His pasture"; which is why they said that the first of Elul is the new year for the tithing of animals; these are his words, of blessed memory.

When we recognize "it is not us" and engage in bittul, we become "His people and the flock of His pasture." This is why Rosh Chodesh Elul is the Rosh Hashanah for animal tithes — Elul is the season of becoming Hashem's humble "flock."

ויש להוסיף על דבריו כי גם להיפוך כן הוא שע"י שמתקרבים אליו ית'.

And one may add to his words that the reverse is also true: that through drawing close to Him, may He be blessed.

The Sefas Emes expands the idea: the relationship runs in both directions. Bittul leads to closeness, but closeness also leads back to bittul.

ממילא מתבטלים בעיני עצמם.

Consequently, they become nullified in their own eyes.

The very experience of nearness to Hashem automatically makes a person feel small and self-effaced — closeness produces humility.

כמאמר בהמות הייתי עמך דכ' אדם ובהמה תושיע ה' דרשו חז"ל שערומין בדעת כאדם ומשימין עצמן כבהמה.

As in the verse "I was like a beast with You" (Tehillim 73:22), and as it is written "Man and beast You save, Hashem" (Tehillim 36:7), which Chazal expounded: those who are shrewd in knowledge like a man, yet make themselves like a beast.

Asaf's "I was like a beast with You" describes how closeness to Hashem ("with You") produces beast-like self-nullification. The highest level is one who has full daas like a person yet humbles himself like a simple animal.

כנראה שא"י לבוא לזה הביטול רק להיות מקודם ערומין בדעת אח"כ מבינים לבטל עצמם לכן כ' אדם ובהמה.

It appears that one cannot arrive at this bittul except by first being shrewd in knowledge, and afterward they understand how to nullify themselves; therefore it is written "man" and "beast."

The order is deliberate: "man" precedes "beast." True self-nullification is not ignorance — it requires first acquiring genuine daas, and only then can a person knowingly choose to make himself humble like a beast.

וכ"כ ואתנה צאני צאן מרעיתי אדם אתם.

And so it is written: "And you, My flock, the flock of My pasture, you are men (adam)" (Yechezkel 34:31).

The verse calls Israel both Hashem's "flock" (the beast aspect) and "adam" (man), uniting both qualities in one people.

פי' שזה הסימן ע"י שבהמות הייתי עמך חל עליהם צורת האדם.

The explanation: this is the sign — that through "I was like a beast with You," the form of "man" rests upon them.

Precisely because Israel makes itself a humble "beast" before Hashem, it earns the elevated title and "form" of adam — the beast-bittul is what confers the human dignity.

ודרשו אתם קרויין אדם ולא האומות שאין להם בחי' ביטול הנ"ל כמ"ש אתם המעט שממעטין עצמן.

And Chazal expounded: "You are called adam" — and not the nations — for they do not have the aforementioned aspect of bittul, as it is written "you are the fewest (ha-me'at)" — that they make themselves small (mema'atin).

Only Israel merits the name adam, because only Israel possesses this trait of self-nullification. The phrase "you are the fewest" is read as "you who make yourselves small" — Israel's greatness lies in its smallness before Hashem.

וי"ל ג"כ כי שניהם אמת וכביכול הבורא ית' אינו מחזיק טובה לעצמו ואמר צאן מרעיתי אדם אתם פי' שע"י הביטול כבהמה זכו להתקרב להיות אדם אתם.

And one may also say that both are true, and the Creator, as it were, does not claim the credit for Himself, but says "the flock of My pasture, you are adam" — meaning that through the bittul of being like a beast, they merited to draw close and to be "adam."

Both directions are valid. Hashem graciously gives Israel the credit: He declares that through their beast-like bittul they earned the elevation to be "adam," drawing close to Him.

ובנ"י ממעטין עצמן ואומרים עמו בחי' אדם ע"י שקירב אותנו אליו ית' אח"כ צאן מרעיתי שע"י התקרבות באנו להביטול כנ"ל:

And Bnei Yisrael make themselves small, saying that "His people" — the aspect of "adam" — comes about because He drew us close to Him; and afterward "the flock of My pasture," for through the closeness we came to bittul, as explained above.

Israel humbly attributes everything to Hashem: we became "adam" (close to Him) only because He drew us near, and that very closeness brought us back to the bittul of being His "flock" — a continuous cycle of nearness and humility that defines the avodah of Elul.

Summary: Reading the keri/kesiv of "lo anachnu" as both "it is not us" and "we are His," the Sefas Emes (citing the Chiddushei HaRim) teaches that Elul's avodah is bittul: by nullifying ourselves we become Hashem's flock. He adds that the cycle runs both ways — closeness to Hashem produces self-nullification, and that nullification draws us closer still. True bittul requires first acquiring daas like a "man" and then humbling oneself like a "beast," which is why only Israel, who "make themselves small," are called adam.