The {signs} and the {seasons}

 "Let there be lights in the dome of the sky to divide the day from the night; 

let them be for signs, seasons, days and years...Genesis 1:14

You made the moon to mark the seasons,

and the sun knows when to set. Psalms 104:19

The hebrew word for season in both of the verses above is mo'ed which means appointed time and/or place. Tonight at sundown begins the 17th day of Elul, the month in the Hebrew calendar that leads up to the three fall mo'edem: Rash Hashana, Yom Kippur and Sukkot. In these particular 60 days of preparation, we are meditating on Teshuva [return]. It is a month of deep introspection and setting apart, a time of repentance that turns from our wicked ways and returns back to the Father. A time of diligently re-aligning ourselves to HaShem and what He has instructed of us. Looking at our Father's appointed times [mo'ed], His Feasts, Shabbats, seasons, we glimpse the bigger picture of the incredible order and love of our Heavenly Father and how He truly prepares and works in our lives in Season. 

It is said that "Elul is a haven in time, a "city of refuge" from the ravages of material life; a time to audit one's spiritual accounts and assess the year gone by; a time to prepare for the "Days of Awe" of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur by repenting the failings of the past and resolving for the future. Elul is the opportune time for all this because it is a month in which G-d relates to us in a more open and compassionate manner than He does in the other months of the year. In the terminology of Kabbalah, it is a time when G-d's "Thirteen Attributes of Mercy" illuminate His relationship with us." (source)

The letters of Elul אלול spell the acrostic of the following verse: "I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine" -Songs 6:3. [Ani ledodi vedodi li]

ℵ : The numerical value of "Elul אלול" is also equivalent to "life chayim חַיִּים". Repentance/Return [teshuva] brings life!

We repent and turn from the sin in our life which brings us closer to our Beloved who cares so deeply for us and has given to us this season of teshuva and drawing close to Him. 

Elul. A season of preparation of our hearts and lives. Lechoo Veynashuva [Let us return] May our eyes be opened to the signs and seasons, may we humbly introspect our lives, pray with courage and steadfastly seek HIS face. May we turn from our wicked ways and *return* to Him.

Look up, the King is in the field.