Elul's awakening from below and the covenant of the second luchos

על חודש אלול רמזו הפסוק אני לדודי ודודי לי ר"ת אלול.

Concerning the month of Elul they hinted with the pasuk "Ani l'dodi v'dodi li (I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine)" (Shir HaShirim 6:3), whose initial letters spell "Elul."

The Sefas Emes begins with the well-known allusion: the four initial letters of "Ani l'dodi v'dodi li" form the name of the month Elul, marking it as a time of mutual love between Hashem and Bnei Yisrael.

דהנה בר"ח אלול נתרצה הקב"ה לישראל במ' ימים האחרונים.

For behold, on Rosh Chodesh Elul the Holy One, blessed be He, became reconciled with Yisrael during the final forty days.

Historically, Rosh Chodesh Elul began the last set of forty days that Moshe spent on Har Sinai, the period in which Hashem became reconciled to Bnei Yisrael after the sin of the golden calf.

ונתגלה הי"ג מדות.

And the Thirteen Attributes (of mercy) were revealed.

It was during these forty days that Hashem taught Moshe the Yud-Gimmel Middos, the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy.

כמ"ש הנה אנכי כורת ברית וזה הי' ע"י התעוררות התשובה של בנ"י וכן לעולם יש התגלות הי"ג מדות בימים האלה לבנ"י בכח התעוררות התשובה.

As it is written, "Behold, I am forging a covenant" (Shemos 34:10); and this came about through the awakening of teshuvah of Bnei Yisrael; and so it is forever — there is a revelation of the Thirteen Attributes in these days to Bnei Yisrael through the power of the awakening of teshuvah.

The covenant and the revelation of the Thirteen Attributes came about because Bnei Yisrael first stirred themselves in teshuvah. This is not a one-time event: every year in these Elul days, the Thirteen Attributes are revealed anew — but only through Bnei Yisrael's own arousal of teshuvah from below.

דהנה עיקר גילוי הי"ג מדות הם בתשרי כדאיתא בזוה"ק בשביעאה.

For behold, the primary revelation of the Thirteen Attributes is in Tishrei, as it is brought in the Zohar HaKadosh, "in the seventh (month)."

The Sefas Emes now draws a contrast: the fullest revelation of the Thirteen Attributes actually occurs in Tishrei, the seventh month, as the Zohar indicates.

והוא בחי' בהמצאו שמצד שאז נברא העולם מתגלה ידו הפשוטה לקבל שבים להמציא עצמו להנבראים במדותיו הטובים.

And this is the aspect of "when He is found" (b'himatzo) — for since the world was created then, His outstretched hand to receive those who return is revealed, to make Himself available to the creations through His good attributes.

Tishrei, the time of creation, is when Hashem is "found" (Yeshayahu 55:6, "seek Hashem b'himatzo"). Because creation itself flows from Tishrei, this is when Hashem extends His "outstretched hand" to receive baalei teshuvah, making His goodness and His Thirteen Attributes accessible to all His creatures.

אבל באלול ההתגלות בכח התעוררות בנ"י וזהו אני לדודי.

But in Elul, the revelation is through the power of the awakening of Bnei Yisrael — and this is "Ani l'dodi (I am my beloved's)."

The difference is in the direction of the initiative. In Elul the awakening rises from below, from Bnei Yisrael toward Hashem — "I am my beloved's," the soul reaching first toward its Beloved.

ודודי לי היא בתשרי שכפי התעוררות באלול כך זוכין בתשרי.

And "v'dodi li (and my beloved is mine)" is in Tishrei, for according to the awakening in Elul, so does one merit in Tishrei.

"My beloved is mine" — the response from above — comes in Tishrei. The measure of revelation we receive in Tishrei corresponds precisely to the strength of the teshuvah-awakening we generate in Elul.

ובאמת כמו שבנ"י קדמו לעולם.

And in truth, just as Bnei Yisrael preceded the world.

Chazal teach that the thought of Bnei Yisrael preceded creation — and the Sefas Emes now applies this priority to the order of Elul and Tishrei.

כן צריך להיות תמיד שבר"ה נתחדש הבריאה ובנ"י מקדימין באלול שהם קודמין להתחדשות הבריאה.

So it must always be — that on Rosh Hashanah the creation is renewed, and Bnei Yisrael come first in Elul, for they precede the renewal of creation.

Just as Bnei Yisrael preceded the original creation, so each year their teshuvah-awakening in Elul precedes the renewal of creation that takes place on Rosh Hashanah. Their stirring from below must come first, before the world is recreated.

וצריך איש ישראל להתחזק באלה המ' יום שקרבנו הקב"ה ברצון כי לוחות הראשונות היו בחי' הבחירה בבנ"י.

And a Jew must strengthen himself in these forty days, in which the Holy One, blessed be He, drew us near with favor; for the first luchos were the aspect of "choosing" Bnei Yisrael.

One must take hold of these favored forty days of Elul. The Sefas Emes contrasts the two sets of tablets: the first luchos represented Hashem's initial choice of Bnei Yisrael, a gift from above.

ובאחרונות בחי' התקרבות כמ"ש תבחר ותקרב.

And the latter (luchos) were the aspect of "drawing near," as it is written, "You shall choose and bring near" (Tehillim 65:5).

The second luchos, given on Yom Kippur after the forty days of Elul, represented "drawing near" — a closeness achieved through Bnei Yisrael's own teshuvah and effort, beyond the initial choosing.

ומ"מ עיקר הברית הי' באחרונות כמ"ש אנכי כורת ברית אנכי היא התורה ולפי שהאחרונות היו הלוחות מלמטה והכתב מלמעלה ה"ז כריתות ברית והתקרבות התחתונים לעליונים וזה הברית שהגם שנתרחקנו ממדרגה הראשונה עכ"ז כרת ברית אתנו.

And nevertheless the essential covenant was in the latter (luchos), as it is written, "Behold, I forge a covenant" — "Anochi (I)" is the Torah; and because in the latter ones the tablets were from below and the writing from above, this is a forging of a covenant and a drawing near of the lower to the upper. And this is the covenant: that even though we became distant from the first level, even so He forged a covenant with us.

The deeper bond was sealed specifically with the second luchos, for which Moshe hewed the stones from below while Hashem inscribed them from above — a true partnership joining the lower world to the upper. This is the essence of a "covenant": even after Bnei Yisrael fell from the lofty level of the first tablets, Hashem still bound Himself to them through their own efforts from below.

ובאמת קודם החטא כ' בני עליון כולכם.

And in truth, before the sin it is written, "you are all sons of the Most High" (Tehillim 82:6).

Before the sin of the calf, Bnei Yisrael stood at the exalted level of the first luchos — "sons of the Most High," a closeness given entirely from above.

ואח"כ הי' בבחי' כריתות ברית כנ"ל:

And afterward it was in the aspect of forging a covenant, as above.

After the fall, the relationship was rebuilt as a covenant — a bond formed through teshuvah and mutual drawing-near from below, which is precisely the avodah of Elul.

Summary: Elul, spelled by the initials of "Ani l'dodi v'dodi li," is the time of the final forty days when Hashem reconciled with Bnei Yisrael and revealed the Thirteen Attributes. The revelation in Elul comes through Bnei Yisrael's awakening from below ("I am my beloved's"), and the corresponding response from above comes in Tishrei ("my beloved is mine") — for their stirring must precede the renewal of creation on Rosh Hashanah. This mirrors the two luchos: the first were Hashem's gift of choosing from above, but the deeper covenant was sealed with the second, hewn from below and inscribed from above, binding the lower world to the upper through teshuvah even after the fall.