The inner point and the Thirteen Attributes

והנה מזל אלול בתולה.

Now, the mazal of Elul is Besulah (Virgo, the Maiden).

The Sefas Emes draws meaning from the zodiacal sign of the month of Elul — the "maiden."

היינו שיש נקודה פנימית בנפש ישראל שאין שולט שם מגע נכרי.

That is, there is an inner point (nekudah penimis) in the soul of Yisrael over which no foreign touch holds sway.

Within every Jew lies an innermost point that remains untouched and undefiled by any outside influence.

גן נעול. מעיין חתום.

"A locked garden, a sealed spring" (Shir HaShirim 4:12).

This inner point is the "locked garden" and "sealed fountain" of which Shir HaShirim speaks — guarded and inaccessible to anything foreign.

ונק' בתולה וע"ז הנקודה נאמר אני לדודי שלעולם לא נתרחקה זו הנקודה מדביקות בשורשה.

And it is called "besulah," and concerning this point it is said, "I am my Beloved's" — for this point has never become distanced from its deveikus in its root.

This untouched point is the "maiden"; of it the verse "I am my Beloved's" (ani le-dodi) is said, because it has never for a moment been severed from its attachment to its source in Hashem.

ושמורה לשמו ית'.

And it is reserved for His Name, may He be blessed.

Like a betrothed maiden kept only for her intended, this inner point is preserved exclusively for Hashem.

אך לא בכל עת יכולין למצוא זו הנקודה.

However, one cannot find this point at every time.

Though the inner point is always present, a person is not always able to reach and reveal it.

ועתה הזמן גורם שנתעוררו בנ"י בתשובה.

And now the time itself brings it about that Bnei Yisrael are awakened to teshuvah.

Elul is a special eis ratzon: the season itself stirs Klal Yisrael to return.

ונתקרבו נפשות בנ"י אליו ית'.

And the souls of Bnei Yisrael are drawn near to Him, may He be blessed.

Through this awakening, Jewish souls come close to Hashem — uncovering that ever-loyal inner point.

וכמו כן דודי לי הוא ג"כ שיש למעלה מדות מיוחדים רק לבנ"י.

And correspondingly, "my Beloved is mine" (dodi li) means likewise that there are Above special middos (attributes) reserved only for Bnei Yisrael.

Just as we have an inner point reserved for Hashem ("I am my Beloved's"), so Hashem has, as it were, attributes set aside exclusively for Klal Yisrael ("my Beloved is mine").

כמ"ש הנה אנכי כורת כו' נגד כל עמך כו' אשר לא נבראו כו'.

As it is written, "Behold, I make [a covenant]… before all your people… [wonders] that have not been created [in all the earth]" (Shemos 34:10).

The covenant Hashem made with Yisrael includes wonders never set into the natural order — reserved uniquely for His people.

א"כ יש מדות מיוחדים לבנ"י.

If so, there are attributes special to Bnei Yisrael.

This proves that certain Divine "middos" operate solely on behalf of Klal Yisrael.

והם י"ג מדות כמ"ש הורית לנו לומר שלש עשרה.

And these are the Thirteen Attributes [of Mercy], as we say, "You taught us to recite the Thirteen."

The "attributes reserved for Yisrael" are the Yud-Gimmel Middos of Rachamim, which Hashem taught Moshe and which we invoke in our teshuvah.

וכפי התגלות נקודה פנימיות אני לדודי כך דודי לי.

And in the measure that the inner point is revealed — "I am my Beloved's" — so correspondingly, "my Beloved is mine."

The two halves of the verse are linked: the more a Jew uncovers his inner point and turns toward Hashem (ani le-dodi), the more Hashem reciprocates with the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy (dodi li).

ומו"ז ז"ל אמר כי ע"ז הנקודה נאמר מגן אברהם ע"ש.

And my grandfather, of blessed memory, said that concerning this point it is said "Magen Avraham (Shield of Avraham)" — see there.

The Sefas Emes cites his grandfather (the Chiddushei HaRim) that the protected inner point is what we call upon when we say "Shield of Avraham" — Hashem guards it like a shield.

והוא חתימת אות ברית קודש שחתם בבשרינו.

And this is the seal of the os bris kodesh (the sign of the holy covenant) that He sealed into our flesh.

This inner, untouchable point is sealed and signified by the bris milah engraved in our very bodies.

להיות משונה מכל הנפשות.

So as to be distinct from all [other] souls.

The bris marks the Jew as essentially different from all other beings — bearing this guarded holy point.

וע"ז רמזו גדולה מילה שנכרתו עלי' י"ג בריתות.

And concerning this Chazal alluded: "Great is milah, over which thirteen covenants were made."

Chazal note that the word bris appears thirteen times in the passage of milah, indicating thirteen covenants bound up with it.

שע"י שמירת אות ברית קודש מתגלין הי"ג מדות כנ"ל:

For through guarding the os bris kodesh, the Thirteen Attributes are revealed, as explained above.

The "thirteen covenants" of milah correspond to the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy: by safeguarding the holy bris — protecting the inner point — a Jew draws down and reveals those thirteen middos of rachamim, especially in the teshuvah of Elul.

Summary: The mazal of Elul, Besulah, signals the inner point in every Jewish soul — the "locked garden" never severed from Hashem. Elul's eis ratzon awakens us to reveal it ("I am my Beloved's"), and in measure Hashem reciprocates with the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy reserved for Yisrael ("my Beloved is mine"). This guarded point is sealed by the bris milah, over which thirteen covenants were made — so that by guarding the holy bris one unlocks the Thirteen Middos of Rachamim.