There are two nearly identical Pesukim that seem to be mirror images of each other in שיר השירים.
2:16 דודי לי ואני לו, הרועה בשושנים
6:3 אני לדודי ודודי לי, הרועה בשושנים
One is much more famous than the other since this new month of אלול is an acronym for the beginning of that Pasuk. אני לדודי ודודי לי. אלול. Examining these two Pesukim, the main difference is who comes first, who initiates the commitment to the relationship. In the Pasuk representative of אלול we the Jewish people begin by committing ourselves to Hashem, and He then reciprocates. The other Pasuk, Hashem begins by “committing” Himself to us so to speak and we then reciprocate. (In both I believe that shepherding in a rose field is indicative of cultivating and caring for the relationship in a beautiful environment, but I am not entirely sure). It would seem from here like the month of אלול is about taking the first step, by us starting to reach out to Hashem in preparation for the coming ימים נוראים. This sounds like a nice idea but let’s see if we can give it some depth and perspective.
A few weeks ago, when reading the פרשה I noticed that there are two unassuming characters that reminded me of this famous Pasuk. Let’s give a little background: במדבר פרק יא, Moshe has had enough and he tells Hashem, “I can’t do this anymore, I can’t carry these people by myself. Did I carry them in pregnancy or give birth to them that You should ask me to carry them as a mother carries her child? If this is what you have in store for me, kill me”. Moshe throws in the towel, he is ready to resign. Hashem then gives him chilling instructions. Gather 70 elders from the people, bring them to the אהל מועד and I will take from the spirit that you have within you and I will place it upon them. The unspoken message here is that “Moshe, you have no idea what you are capable of, you do have it within you the power to carry and support this entire nation if you want to”. But Moshe does not, and the 70 elders are created to aide him in his role of leadership.
Then we hear about אלדד and מידד. There is a מחלוקת whether they were included in the count of the 70 elders or not, but they stayed inside מחנה ישראל and they were prophesizing. The גמרא in סנהדרין יז: tells us that they were saying, Moshe is going to die and יהושע will lead the people into the land of Israel. יהושע says to Moshe, lock them up in jail! And Moshe answers, why are you so jealous for me? Everyone would be able to prophesize if Hashem would put His spirit upon them?
אלדד and מידד, translate their names. אל דד, מ(י) דד, to my beloved, from my beloved. אני לדודי, ודודי לי I am “to my beloved” and my beloved is to me, i.e. I receive “from my beloved”. Their names sound an awful lot like a reference to the Pasuk we all associate with this new month… what could this possibly mean? What do 70 elders and two people who stayed behind have to do with teshuva and the month if אלול as we know it?
Moshe will die and יהושע will bring the people into the Land. We have spoken before about two prototypical relationships with Hashem. The “incubator” relationship, that of the מדבר under Moshe’s leadership, where their every need was met and cared for. Hashem is easily seen, and can’t be taken for granted. In contrast, we have the “farmers” relationship, that of entering the land under the leadership of יהושע, where they needed to till the land, and wait patiently while our Loving Father cared for them from behind the mask of nature. Hashem is hidden and needs to be sought after, researched and found.
According to this, what אלדד and מידד were saying was that the incubator days are numbered. The dynamic of your relationship with Hashem is going to change. This is a scary thought but also an empowering one, we are about to learn to walk on our own two feet as a nation which is difficult and requires a lot of falling and getting back up, but at the same time it opens the possibility for us to truly achieve our own sense of accomplishment.
These two individuals who represent the month of אלול start prophesizing right after Moshe says, “I can’t do it anymore”. The message obviously being “yes you can”, and if you don’t think you can, then יהושע will lead the new generation to conquer the land and to stand on their own two feet on the holy ground of the Land of Israel.
And I think that Moshe’s answer to יהושע shows that he got the message. The Torah tells us that the 70-elder’s received spirit from Moshe, and therefore they were limited to be 70. But Moshe tells יהושע, if Hashem’s spirit were to rest on all and any of the Jewish people they would all be prophets. And the way to have Hashem’s spirit rest on you is to have the outlook of the נבואה of אלדד and מידד, that I am going to take the first step into the Land and Hashem will help me. אני לדודי ודודי לי. I commit myself, and when I do I extend myself to make room for Hashem’s spirit to rest upon us.
I think the message for אלול can be that of אלדד and מידד. We all have different forces within us. Forces of Moshe and forces of יהושע. Days where we feel great and connected and it is as though Hashem is guiding us by hand through the day, those are “Moshe” days. But then there are “יהושע” days. Days where the summer just ended and vacation is still fresh on our minds. The weather is still gorgeous and we try to push off the seriousness of the fact that ראש השנה is a mere 30 days away. It’s on days like that where we need the נבואה of אלדד and מידד. You want to make it into the land? Know that “יהושע” is the one who leads you there.
In light of today’s eclipse (sorry I had to), I’d like to add an eerie thought. In no way am I purporting to know the message behind such an awesome event but, the גמרא tells us that the face of Moshe was like the face of the sun and the face of יהושע is likened to the face of the moon. It is chilling and intriguing that earlier today on ערב ראש חודש אלול, almost as if as a preparation for the work required of us in this month we saw “the face of יהושע” cover the “face of Moshe” …
Please let me know what you think I’d love to hear. Have a happy ראש חודש and a successful month of אלול.