The Yeshivah "Tomchei Temimim Lubavitch", the first to integrate the "revealed" part of Torah (Talmud and Halachah) with the esoteric teachings of Chassidism in a formal study program, was on this date founded by the fifth Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Sholom DovBer Schneersohn.
As the last month of the Jewish year, Elul is traditionally 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.
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."
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.
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Elul is also the time to have one's tefillin and mezuzot checked by an accredited scribe to ensure that they are in good condition and fit for use.
Links: More on Elul
You are Jacob. This is the story of your soul.
As Jacob journeyed from Beersheva to Haran, so your soul journeyed from the wellspring of all souls to this formidable world.
As Jacob made a vow as he departed, so too your soul made such a vow, Jacob’s vow. She said:
“If G-d will be with me and protect me on this journey and provide me the bread of Torah wisdom to enlighten my soul, and the clothing of mitzvahs to shine light in places where it has never shone before...
“And if I make it through the turmoil of earthly life, the burdens, the passions, the anxieties, the fears, the utter noise and cacophony of a fragmented, confused universe...
“...to find the Infinite G-d in all these ways of humankind, to imbue them with my soul’s sense of divine purpose, to render them, as well, a way of knowing G‑d...
“'...then G-d will be my G-d and this stone that I have set as a monument will be the House of G‑d.' (Genesis 28:20)
“My soul will find peace within her most inner self, in the ultimate bond with the Infinite.
And the world I entered will also be redeemed, until even the stones beneath my feet and the granite of the building in which I work will cry out, “We, too, are a place for the Infinite Light to dwell!”
You are Jacob, bearer of light, warrior of peace.