We are all familiar with the Rabbis’ teaching that “Elul,” the name of the month of repentance that precedes Rosh Hashanah, can be read as an acrostic representing the verse, “Ani Le’dodi Ve’dodi Li” (“I am for my Beloved, and my Beloved is for me” – Shir Hashirim 6:3). This name expresses the responsibility we have during the month of Elul to work toward strengthening our connection to Hashem.
The Arizal (Rav Yishak Luria, Safed, 1534-1572), however, found a different – and far more mysterious – allusion in the name “Elul.” He taught that the name “Elul” references a verse in the Book of Shemot (21:13) that speaks of a situation of accidental murder. The Torah there writes that if a person had no ill intent, “Ve’ha’Elokim Ina Le’yado” – and G-d brought upon a situation whereby he mistakenly killed somebody, then “Ve’samti Lecha Makom Asher Yanus Shama” – G-d will designate a place where the killer can find refuge from the victim’s angry relatives. This refers to the “Areh Miklat” – the cities of refuge where accidental killers were protected. The Arizal noted that the first letters of the words “Ina Le’yado Ve’samti Lecha” in this verse spell the word “Elul.”
According to the Arizal, then, Elul is our “city of refuge,” where we seek protection.
We must understand, however, why we require the kind of protection provided for an accidental killer. We certainly have all made mistakes, and need to work to improve ourselves. But how many of us have mistakenly taken somebody’s life? Why do we need an “Ir Miklat”?
To answer this question, let us consider a Halacha relevant to the unfortunate situation of a “Goses” – a person who is breathing his final breaths of life. The Rambam rules that it is forbidden to even touch a “Goses,” or close his eyes, because this could cause the patient to die a moment sooner than he would otherwise. If one accelerates the patient’s death, the Rambam writes, even by just a moment, then he is guilty of murder.
Rav Chaim Friedlander (1923-1986) noted the broader implications of this Halacha. If it is considered murder to take away one moment of life from an ill, incapacitated patient, then we cannot even imagine the severity of wasting time that could have been used productively. If we are healthy and able to produce, achieve, accomplish, give, contribute and make a difference, but we instead use our time for vain, useless activities – or, as they say in our society, if we “kill” our time – then we have, in a certain sense, committed suicide. We have taken time away from our lives.
This is why we require Elul, our “city of refuge” where we repent – because we are guilty of inadvertent “murder.” We of course never intend to waste our time. Nobody gets up in the morning planning to have unproductive day. But we get distracted, we get lazy, we are tempted by the many lures around us, and we end up wasting so much precious time, such that we commit “murder.” Hashem has given us Elul as our “Ir Miklat,” our opportunity to cure this ill, to earn atonement for the large chunks of time that we have “killed.”
When I am asked to speak about the spiritual challenges posed by modern-day technology, this is, generally, the point that I try to emphasize. Of course, there are real challenges presented by the inappropriate, destructive content that technology makes available at all times. But even if somebody is able to protect himself from this content through filters, he is still prone to “kill” enormous amounts of time. Not everything that isn’t inappropriate is valuable. So much of what people do on their phones is not necessarily forbidden, but is terribly wasteful. Time that could be used for Torah learning, for Hesed, for family time, for strengthening our relationships with family members, and other valuable pursuits, is being wasted on sheer nonsense.
This Elul, as we have entered the “Ir Miklat,” let us work on correcting this problem. Let us resolve to use our time properly, to limit our screen time, to direct our focus and attention on the things that really matter. And if we use our time well, then Hashem will give us more time here in His world, many more long, healthy years in which to achieve, be productive, and fulfill the mission for which we were sent here.