NEWS & JUDAISM

Today is: FOURTH DAY, Elul 1, 5771 • 8 31, 2011

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Topics in the news

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The ruling Democratic Party of Japan selects Yoshihiko Noda as the country's new prime minister, following the resignation of Naoto Kan.

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Indian civil activist Anna Hazare ends his 12-day fast after the Parliament of India adopts a resolution to pass an ombudsman bill.

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Tony Tan Keng Yam is elected President of Singapore.

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Samples of asteroid 25143 Itokawa retrieved by the Hayabusa probe confirm that most meteorites originate from S-type asteroids.

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Current events

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Armed conflict and attacks

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Syrian Army troops reportedly raid neighbourhoods in the town of Hama looking for anti-government activists. (Jerusalem Post)

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Disasters

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Wildfires destroy dozens of homes in the US states of Texas and Oklahoma. (AP via Detroit News)

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Law and crime

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The High Court of Australia rules against plans by the government of Australia to send 800 asylum seekers to Malaysia. (The Courier-Mail)





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Today in Judaism

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On this day...

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August 31

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Independence Day in Malaysia (1957), Trinidad and Tobago (1962) and Kyrgyzstan (1991)

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1056 – After a sudden illness a few days prior, Byzantine Empress Theodora died without children to succeed the throne, ending the Macedonian dynasty.

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1888 – Mary Ann Nichols' body was found on the ground in front of a gated stable entrance in Buck's Row, London, allegedly the first victim of the unidentified serial killer known as Jack the Ripper (depiction pictured).

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1959 – A parcel bomb sent by Ngo Dinh Nhu, younger brother and chief adviser of South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem, failed to kill Sihanouk of Cambodia.

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1982 – Anti-government demonstrations were held in 66 Polish cities to commemorate the second anniversary of the Gdańsk Agreement.

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1997 – Diana, Princess of Wales, her companion Dodi Fayed, and their driver Henri Paul were killed in a high speed car accident in the Pont de l'Alma road tunnel in Paris.



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Today is: , Elul 1, 5771 • 8 31, 2011

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Rosh Chodesh Elul

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Today's Laws & Customs

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• Rosh Chodesh Observances

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Today is the second of the two Rosh Chodesh ("Head of the Month") days for the month of Elul (when a month has 30 days, both the last day of the month and the first day of the following month serve as the following month's Rosh Chodesh).

Special portions are added to the daily prayers: Hallel (Psalms 113-118) is recited -- in its "partial" form -- following the Shacharit morning prayer, and the Yaaleh V'yavo prayer is added to the Amidah and to Grace After Meals; the additional Musaf prayer is said (when Rosh Chodesh is Shabbat, special additions are made to the Shabbat Musaf). Tachnun (confession of sins) and similar prayers are omitted.

Many have the custom to mark Rosh Chodesh with a festive meal and reduced work activity. The latter custom is prevalent amongst women, who have a special affinity with Rosh Chodesh -- the month being the feminine aspect of the Jewish Calendar.

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• Elul Observances

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As the last month of the Jewish year, Elul is traditionaly a time of introspection and stocktaking -- a time to review one's deeds and spiritual progress over the past year and prepare for the upcoming "Days of Awe" of Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur.

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As the month of Divine Mercy and Forgiveness (see "Today in Jewish History" for Elul 1) it is a most opportune time for teshuvah ("return" to G-d), prayer, charity, and increased Ahavat Yisrael (love for a fellow Jew) in the quest for self-improvement and coming closer to G-d. Chassidic master Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi likens the month of Elul to a time when "the king is in the field" and, in contrast to when he is in the royal palace, "everyone who so desires is permitted to meet him, and he receives them all with a cheerful countenance and shows a smiling face to them all."

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Specific Elul customs include the daily sounding of the shofar (ram's horn) as a call to repentance. The Baal Shem Tov instituted the custom of reciting three additional chapters of Psalms each day, from the 1st of Elul until Yom Kippur (on Yom Kippur the remaining 36 chapters are recited, thereby completing the entire book of Psalms). Click below to view today's Psalms.

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Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3

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Elul is also the time to have one's tefillin and mezuzahs checked by an accredited scribe to ensure that they are in good condition and fit for use.

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• Good Year Greetings

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From the beginning of Elul and throughout the High Holiday season, we include the blessing "May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year" (Leshanah tovah tikateiv veteichateim) in letters and greetings to one another.

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Today in Jewish History

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• Moses ascends Sinai for 3rd 40 days (1313 BCE)

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On the early morning of the 1st of Elul of the year 2448 from creation (1313 BCE) Moses ascended Mount Sinai, taking with him the stone tablets he had hewn by divine command (see "Today in Jewish History" for yesterday, Av 30), for G-d to re-inscribe the Ten Commandments. On the mountain, G-d allowed Moses to "see My back, but not My face" (which Maimonides interprets as a perception of G-d's reality but not His essence) -- the closest any human being ever came to knowing G-d -- and taught him the secret of His "Thirteen Attributes of Mercy" (Exodus 33:18-34:8).

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Moses remained on the mountain for 40 days, until the 10th of Tishrei (Yom Kippur), during which time He obtained G-d's whole-hearted forgiveness and reconciliation with the people of Israel following their betrayal of the covenant between them with their worship of the Golden Calf. This was the third of Moses' three 40-day periods on Mount Sinai in connection with the Giving of the Torah. Ever since, the month of Elul serves as the "month of Divine mercy and forgiveness."

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Daily Quote

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Said Rabbi Yossi: May it be my lot to be counted among those who are accused of something of which they are innocent

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- Talmud, Moed Katan 18b

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Daily Study

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Chitas and Rambam for today:

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Chumash: Shoftim, 4th Portion Deuteronomy 18:6-18:13 with Rashi

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Tehillim: Chapters 1 - 9

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Tanya: Iggeret HaKodesh, middle of Epistle 10

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Rambam:

• Sefer Hamitzvos:

• 1 Chapter: Shechenim Chapter Five

• 3 Chapters: Biat Hamikdash Chapter 5, Biat Hamikdash Chapter 6, Biat Hamikdash Chapter 7

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"Today's Day"





WednesdayElul 1, Rosh Chodesh5703

Torah lessons:Chumash: Shoftim, Revi'i with Rashi.

Tehillim: 1-9. Also 1-3.

Tanya: Now, because the (p. 441) ...where penitents stand..." (p. 443).





When the Tzemach Tzedek was nine years old the Alter Rebbe said to Him: I received from my Rebbe (the Maggid) who received from his Rebbe (the Baal Shem Tov) in the name of his well-known Rebbe1 that from the second day of Rosh Chodesh Elul until Yom Kippur we are to say three chapters of Tehillim every day. Then, on Yom Kippur, thirty six (chapters): Nine before Kol Nidrei, nine before sleeping, nine after Musaf, and nine after Ne'ila. Whoever did not start on the second day of Rosh Chodesh is to start with the Tehillim of the particular day on which he realizes his omission, and complete the missing Tehillim later.

FOOTNOTES

1. Achiya HaShiloni.

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Today's Mitzvah

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A daily digest of Maimonides’ classic work "Sefer Hamitzvot"

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Negative Commandment 75

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A Ritually Impure Priest Serving in the Holy Temple

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"They shall separate themselves from the things which the children of Israel make holy, and they shall not profane My holy name"—Leviticus 22:2.

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A ritually impure priest is forbidden from performing any service in the Holy Temple.

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Negative Commandment 76

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A "Tevul Yom" Serving in the Holy Temple

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"They shall not profane the name of their G‑d"—Leviticus 21:6.

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[A tevul yom is an individual who was impure and immersed himself in a mikvah (ritual pool). Though he is now pure, there are still certain restrictions upon him until the sun sets that day.]

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A priest who is a tevul yom, though pure, is forbidden from doing any service in the Holy Temple until the sun sets.

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Positive Commandment 24

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Sanctification of a Priest before Service

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"And Aaron and his sons will use it to wash their hands and feet when they enter the Tent of the Assembly"—Exodus 30:19.

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The kohanim (priests) are commanded to wash their hands and feet before entering the Holy Temple's sanctuary and before commencing any of their Temple duties.

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Negative Commandment 69

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A Blemished Priest Entering the Holy Temple

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"He shall not approach the curtain, nor come near to the altar..."—Leviticus 21:23.

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A priest who possesses a physical blemish is forbidden from entering the Holy Temple's sanctuary or the area between the Outer Altar (including the altar) and the Sanctuary.

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Negative Commandment 70

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A Blemished Priest Serving in the Holy Temple

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"...who has any blemish shall not approach"—Leviticus 21:17.

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A priest who possesses a physical blemish is forbidden from serving in the Holy Temple.

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Negative Commandment 71

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A Priest with a Temporary Blemish Serving in the Holy Temple

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"Any man that has a blemish, shall not approach"—Leviticus 21:18.

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A priest who possesses a temporary physical blemish is forbidden from serving in the Holy Temple—so long as the blemish exists.

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WHAT DID TMH DO ON THE FOURTH DAY?

יד וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים, יְהִי מְאֹרֹת בִּרְקִיעַ הַשָּׁמַיִם, לְהַבְדִּיל, בֵּין הַיּוֹם וּבֵין הַלָּיְלָה; וְהָיוּ לְאֹתֹת וּלְמוֹעֲדִים, וּלְיָמִים וְשָׁנִים. 14 And God said: 'Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years;

טו וְהָיוּ לִמְאוֹרֹת בִּרְקִיעַ הַשָּׁמַיִם, לְהָאִיר עַל-הָאָרֶץ; וַיְהִי-כֵן. 15 and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth.' And it was so.

טז וַיַּעַשׂ אֱלֹהִים, אֶת-שְׁנֵי הַמְּאֹרֹת הַגְּדֹלִים: אֶת-הַמָּאוֹר הַגָּדֹל, לְמֶמְשֶׁלֶת הַיּוֹם, וְאֶת-הַמָּאוֹר הַקָּטֹן לְמֶמְשֶׁלֶת הַלַּיְלָה, וְאֵת הַכּוֹכָבִים. 16 And God made the two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night; and the stars.

יז וַיִּתֵּן אֹתָם אֱלֹהִים, בִּרְקִיעַ הַשָּׁמָיִם, לְהָאִיר, עַל-הָאָרֶץ. 17 And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,

יח וְלִמְשֹׁל, בַּיּוֹם וּבַלַּיְלָה, וּלְהַבְדִּיל, בֵּין הָאוֹר וּבֵין הַחֹשֶׁךְ; וַיַּרְא אֱלֹהִים, כִּי-טוֹב. 18 and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness; and God saw that it was good.

יט וַיְהִי-עֶרֶב וַיְהִי-בֹקֶר, יוֹם רְבִיעִי. {פ} 19 And there was evening and there was morning, a fourth day. {P}