English translation — אלול

Sicha 1<pg>95</pg>

A.

Regarding the blowing of the shofar in the month of Elul, the Rebbe, my father-in-law, the Admor, instructed

(as printed in "Hayom Yom"),

"that during the day

(the first of Rosh Chodesh)

they blow to learn,

and they begin to blow after the prayer from the second day of Rosh Chodesh"<sup>1</sup>.

And seemingly it requires understanding, what is this that "they blow to learn" during the day of the first of Rosh Chodesh,

for seemingly in any case it is not understood: if he does not know how to blow, it is obvious that he needs to learn

(and what does it teach us)

and afterwards he will also blow on that same day; and if he already knows — then there is no longer a need to blow

(on the first of Rosh Chodesh in order)

"to learn"?

Simply, one can say,

that the intention of the Rebbe, my father-in-law, the Admor, is to decide between the opinions when the blowings of Elul begin — if on the first of Rosh Chodesh Elul

(the thirtieth of Menachem Av)

or on the second day of Rosh Chodesh

(the first of Elul)<sup>1</sup>

— and in this is the decision,

that the obligation of the blowings of Elul begins from the second of Rosh Chodesh,

except that in order to fulfill the opinion of those who say that they begin from the first of Rosh Chodesh,

"they blow to learn",

meaning that they blow,

but not as an obligation,

but only for learning alone.

But the language "they blow to learn" requires explanation,

and not simply — they blow and not a blowing of custom,

obligation and the like.

And therefore it seems,

that there is a special matter in the blowing that is "to learn" alone,

and this blowing is relevant to the first day of Rosh Chodesh Elul,

as follows.

B.

And now, according to what we have learned in the explanation of the practice of "they blow to learn" — one must investigate in the case of the first of Rosh Chodesh Elul that falls on Shabbat

(as in this year

(event,

'_dyn_edn_2')

">*),

that it is impossible to blow: if you say that the custom to blow to learn is as a preparation for the blowings that come afterwards

(from the second day of Rosh Chodesh)

— reason dictates,

that in such a case,

they learn on the eve of Rosh Chodesh; but according to what we have learned that

(the main)

intention of the blowing of this day

(the first of Rosh Chodesh),

is to fulfill the opinions that this is the time of the beginning of the blowings of Elul

(because then is the beginning of the forty last days that Moses ascended the mountain)<sup>2</sup>,

behold there is no relevance to this blowing on the eve of Rosh Chodesh Elul.

And according to this, in such a case — the beginning of "they blow to learn" is missing.

But simply, one can say that there is no deficiency in this — because it is like every Shabbat in the month of Elul,

on which there is no blowing at all.

And in the inwardness of the matter,

it is understood according to the explanation of our master, the Alter Rebbe<sup>3</sup>

regarding that they do not blow on Rosh Hashanah that falls on Shabbat,

that the inner reason for this is,

because on the day of Shabbat there is no need for the blowing of the shofar

(in the country),

for what is effected through the blowing of the shofar,

is effected automatically through Shabbat itself

(which is sanctified and established)

; and the same applies in our case,

the blowings of the month of Elul,

that what the blowings would need to effect on this Shabbat,

is effected automatically through Shabbat itself.

<pg>96</pg>

And the reason simply: the shofar-blasts of the month of Elul come to warn the people to do repentance<sup>4</sup>,

and behold our Rabbis of blessed memory said that Shabbat is the letters of teshuvah (תש"ב)<sup>5</sup>,

meaning that the essence of the day of Shabbat brings a person to repentance

[except that the repentance of the day of Shabbat is a very lofty level,

"supernal repentance",

which is above the mention of sins etc.,

as explained at length in Iggeret HaTeshuvah<sup>6</sup>

and in many places].

But according to the above

(end of section 1)

it is not smooth

(part)

to explain thus regarding the blast of the first of Rosh Chodesh Elul — because the reason for this blast<sup>7</sup> is not

to warn for repentance,

but rather,

as explicit in the language of my revered father-in-law, the Rebbe — in order "to learn",

and how can it be said,

that Shabbat

(in its own right)

effects the "to learn"?

3.

And one can say the explanation of this,

with the preface of the explanation of our master the Alter Rebbe<sup>8</sup>

regarding the custom that they blow on Yom Kippur after Neilah one blast — that this blast is like the blast of the "great shofar" of the future,

that the blasts of Rosh HaShanah

(which are one hundred sounds,

and in several types of sounds,

tekiah shevarim teruah)

are "shofar" plain,

but the great blast that they blow at the conclusion and seal of the Days of Awe,

after the Neilah prayer of Yom Kippur,

which is one simple blast,

behold it is the ultimate elevation of the shofar-blast — akin to the "great blast" of the future.

Explanation of the matter: it is explained in many places<sup>9</sup>

that the inner content of a shofar blast is — the inner voice of the soul,

which is an inner cry and "simple",

specifically a "simple voice".

[And this is the explanation

(the inner one)

of the halachah<sup>10</sup>

"All sounds are valid for the shofar" — because the main aspect of the shofar is specifically a simple voice,

and therefore the "shape" of the sound does not matter,

rather the essence of the shofar sound].

And this is the aspect of the "one blast" that they blow after the Neilah prayer,

which is one simple blast,

for its aspect is the inner cry from the essence of the soul which is above any matter of "shape",

even from the "shape" of the tashrat of Rosh HaShanah which is also called a simple voice relative to the sounds of musical instruments<sup>11</sup>

[except that in order to reach this simple voice of Yom Kippur,

one must preface the blasts of one hundred sounds of Rosh HaShanah,

and through this one comes afterward to the ultimate elevation in the shofar,

the one blast of the Neilah of Yom Kippur].

4.

And now, according to the known matter of "general and particular and general",

that just as there is the "general" that comes after the particulars,

so too there is the "general" that comes before and as an introduction to the particulars,

so it is also in our matter,

that just as after the particulars of the one hundred sounds of Rosh HaShanah one comes to the "general" and its general content of the shofar — one simple blast

(specifically a simple voice)

of the Neilah of Yom Kippur,

so too is it at the beginning of the forty days<sup>12</sup>,

<pg>97</pg>

that before the work in the particulars of the matter of shofar blowing

(also of the month of Elul,

that they blow ten sounds<sup>13</sup>)

— there must be the starting point,

the "general" that precedes the particulars,

in which their general content of the particulars that come afterward is emphasized<sup>14</sup>.

For one can say that this is what "they blow to learn" — that this is analogous to and like the one blast that they blow at the conclusion of the forty days,

and as one sees simply,

that when they begin to blow in order to learn,

behold the beginning of the learning is,

that a simple voice emerges

(and afterward they learn the particulars of the sounds,

tekiah shevarim teruah)

— for it is the point of the aspect of "all the sounds" of the shofar,

the simple voice that is above the one hundred sounds of Rosh HaShanah.

5.

And according to the above,

that the intention in "they blow to learn" is not only the learning of how to blow simply

(which they can do also before the first of Rosh Chodesh Elul),

but primarily — the beginning of the aspect of the cry of the soul,

a simple voice — it will also be understood regarding such a determination that the first of Rosh Chodesh Elul falls on Shabbat,

that even though it is impossible to blow simply,

nevertheless,

the content of the aspect of "they blow to learn" they can and therefore also must [do] on the day of Shabbat,

and when a person does his work in accordance with the inner content of the day of Shabbat,

Shabbat is the letters of teshuvah (תש"ב),

which is supernal repentance as above,

behold he reaches a simple voice,

from the essence of his soul.

But if he knows in his soul that for whatever reason he did not do this work on this Shabbat — he must do it as above.

And one can say,

that when the first of Rosh Chodesh Elul falls on the day of Shabbat,

behold just as Shabbat benefits regarding the matter of Rosh Chodesh<sup>15</sup>,

so too is it conversely,

that the segulah of the day of the first of Rosh Chodesh Elul

(the day Moshe ascended the mountain,

according to the opinion that they begin to blow on the first of Rosh Chodesh Elul)

"benefits",

that the supernal repentance of the day of Shabbat

(in general)

will be in a more elevated manner,

until an inner cry from the essence of his soul,

until akin to the "great shofar" of the future.

(From the talk of the first day of Rosh Chodesh Elul 5742)