We are currently in the of the Jewish month of Elul , the time to prepare for the High Holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur through personal introspection and increasing our Torah study and Mitzvah observance.

I recently read a beautiful story of a boy who had the opportunity to be blessed by the Lubavitcher Rebbe in honour of his upcoming Bar Mitzvah. As was standard practice, the Rebbe inquired about the boy’s studies and was surprised that in addition to Talmudic topics, he already studied some Chassidic philosophy, specifically the famous discourse about the month of Elul from the Alter Rebbe, Rabbi Shneur Zalman, the founder of Chabad, entitled “Ani Ledodi.”

This foundational text is an entry point for many Chabad youngsters into the fascinating world of Chassidism. The core question of the discourse is why mystical Jewish teachings compare the mundane days of the month of Elul to the solemn and hallowed days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. The answer comes in the guise of a story about a king who is always in the royal palace far away from his subjects. Once in a while, the king chooses to go out to the fields and meet the common folk on their turf. There he is informal and joyous, everyone can approach him, and he is gracious and giving with a beaming smile. Later, when the king has returned to his palace, those who have greeted him in the field are able to use their connection to petition the king.

Likewise, the Alter Rebbe concludes, during the month of Elul G-d is close to us, similar to the closeness of the High Holidays. However, in Elul, G-d is like the smiling king in the field as opposed to the formal king in the royal palace we experience on the High Holidays.

When the Bar Mitzvah boy mentioned this discourse, the Rebbe asked, “Did you learn about the king in the field?”

“I did.”

“Did you ever meet the King?” the Rebbe asked, and after a brief pause the Rebbe continued, “Every time you say a blessing with the words “Blessed are You, L-rd our G-d,” you are meeting the King in the field.”

With this, the Rebbe anchored the centuries-old analogy to modern-day reality. The benevolent King of Kings is not a theoretical concept only accessible to scholars and mystics in the context of spiritual ecstasy. Simply drinking a glass of water brings the opportunity to encounter G-d face to face, so to speak, informally and joyously.

As we begin the important task of preparing ourselves for the awesome divine coronation on Rosh Hashanah and to merit atonement on Yom Kippur, let us be more mindful of the small yet powerful opportunities we have to connect with G-d on a personal level, specifically in the mundane and regular aspects of life.

Blessings before food are an inherent part of observant Jewish life. We have a guide to making the proper blessings before eating food on our website here .

Let’s go greet the smiling King!