לקוטי שיחות חלק י״ט - אלול ב

The two aspects of the month of Elul—the rectification of the past year and the preparation for the coming year—are alluded to in the name Elul itself.

By way of introduction:

The Tzemach Tzedek explains that Elul can be read as the letters לא לו.

The word לא refers to Kesser, while לו refers to Ze’ir Anpin.

My father explains Elul differently: as או together with two letters ל.

The א represents Kesser of Malchus, and the ו represents Daas of Malchus. The two letters ל correspond to the thirty qualities through which kingship is acquired. There are thirty levels associated with each of these two aspects of Malchus.

The connection between these two explanations is as follows:

From the perspective of Kesser of Malchus, which is removed and elevated above the worlds, the verse is read “בכל צרתם לא צר”—“in all their distress, He is not distressed.”

From the perspective of Daas of Malchus, however, the verse is read “לו צר”—“He is distressed.”

Now, the avodah of preparing for the coming year is the concept of “Tamlichuni aleichem”—“Make Me King over you.” This means drawing down the Divine will for kingship, which corresponds to Kesser.

The avodah of repairing the past year, by contrast, consists of correcting whatever was lacking in Torah and mitzvos. This relates to a drawing down within Seder Hishtalshelus, the ordered chain of Divine revelation.

These two forms of avodah are united in the name Elul.

The intent is to draw the Divine will for kingship into Seder Hishtalshelus—to draw לא into לו.

At the same time, the rectification of the past year is accomplished through the revelation that is above Seder Hishtalshelus, a level at which the actions of those below do not affect the Divine revelation.