Shoftim, judges, mentioned in Amidah, 11th blessing [Amida], "Hashiva SHOFTenu k'va rishona" [restore our judges as in earliest times]
Rabbi Union of the Jewish Learning Exchange in Los Angeles:
At 18:19 "Tamim tihyeh im HaShem Elokekha."
Tamim: translated as "wholehearted" - has many deeper meanings.
· Being Exclusive with HaShem, and not worshiping idols · Motivation must be out of conviction and a desire to do the will of HaShem, and not self-interest · Tocho kavaro - same on the outside as on the inside, sincere, practice what you preach, be consistent - don't have two sets of weights · Being without internal contradictions
These are all ways of being "Tamim," they are difficult, no one is perfect, but these are all things to aspire to.
At 17:14 - you shall set a King over YourSELF - he has to carry Torahs to learn Yirat HaShem
Melekh - Every bracha contains it We bow in Aleinu until melekh (Jordan Lee Wagner)
Yirat HaShem is so important, it's the second thing we say in the morning after "Modeh Ani." Yirah is more than fear - it is the awe and mystery, the irrational love of our children, and our fear for them. It is our love of life, and our fear of death. It is the most precious thing to us, our life, and hopefully, what we are contemplating at our last moment." There's the midrash that when saying "Shema," the Jew should be ready to die - perhaps this means that when we are saying the "Shema," we are ready for the Big Flash, because that is our most elevated moment, when we are deepening our Relationship with the Infinite. - forget "duck and cover," say "Shema."
Our brachas all put the immediate right next to the infinite, always reminding us of the simultaneous intimacy and Trancendence of HaShem.
From: Rabbi Shraga Simmons
"""" Ever since the creation of Adam and Eve, Rosh Hashana has been the day when every human being is created anew. We stand before our Creator and say: "This is how I have utilized my resources, and this is my plan for the future."
Life is not to be taken for granted. Life is a precious gift from Above. It is delicate and tenuous and can be taken away at any moment.
There are a few special customs that Jews perform during Elul, to help awaken us to the task ahead. One is the daily recitation of Psalm 27. There, King David exclaims: "One thing I ask ... is to dwell in the house of G-d all the days of my life."
King David tells us a tremendous insight: If I was stripped bare and could only choose one thing, it would be a relationship with HaShem A relationship with G-d supercedes all else, for He is the source of everything.
Coming to this realization is what Elul is all about.
The reason we lose touch and make mistakes is that we don't take the time every day to reconnect with our deepest desires and essence. Therefore, the solution is obvious: Spend time alone everyday to ask: "Am I on track? Am I focused? Am I pursuing goals which will make the greatest overall difference in my life and in the world?"
This week's Parsha begins:
"You shall appoint judges and police for yourself in all your gates" (Deut. 16:18).
The commentators explain this verse metaphorically: You should set guards at "your gates" -- i.e. at the openings of your body. Guard your ears from gossip. Guard you mouth from falsehood. Guard your eyes from straying after frivolity.
Elul is the time to construct a sincere, realistic model of where we've fallen short in the past and how we expect to change in the future.
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Elul - from Shulkan Aruk Chapt 128, page 70 the acrostics - among many acrostics drawn from "Elul" the most famous is "I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine," the initials of which [in Hebrew] spell "Elul."