Elul Hallel I
“Moshivi akeret Habayiy, eim habanim semeicha, Halleluyah!” “He transforms the barren wife into a glad mother of children, Halleluyah!” (Psalms 113:9)
Sitting, as in Yeshibah: The first meaning given to this term in our language was that of being seated. Thus, “Now Eli the priest sat upon a seat.” (Samuel I 1:9) But in view of the fact that a sitting individual is in a state of the most perfect stability and steadiness, this term is used figuratively to denote all steady, stable, and changless states. Thus when promising Jerusalem permanence and stability while she is in the highest of ranks, Scripture says, “She will rise and sit in her place.” (Zechariah 14:10) And it also says, “He makes the barren woman to sit in her house,” which means that He makes her firm and steady.
In the latter sense it is said of God, may He be exalted, “You, O Lord, sit for all eternity.” (Lamentations 5:19) “O You Who sits in the heaven.” (Psalms 123:1) “He that sits in heaven.” (Psalms 2:4) That is, the stable One Who undergoes no manner of change, neither a change in His essence – as He has no modes besides His essence – nor a change in His relation to what is other than Himself. (Maimonides, The Guide Of The Perplexed 1:12, Translated by Shlomo Pines)
Elul, the time of Teshuva – also related to Yeshibah – is a time of intense and unchanging love. We use this paragraph of Hallel to celebrate that Teshuva allows us to maintain a sense of permanence to our relationship despite the distance that may have developed since the previous Rosh Hashanah.
Author Info:
Learn & discover the Divine prophecies with Rabbi Simcha Weinberg from the holy Torah, Jewish Law, Mysticism, Kabbalah and Jewish Prophecies. The Foundation Stone™ is the ultimate resource for Jews, Judaism, Jewish Education, Jewish Spirituality & the holy Torah.