King in the Field

A King decides to leave his palace, leave his large city, and enter the fields where the simple farmers work. There, all are able to come and meet the King, who embraces them with a shining and happy countenance. (Alter Rebbe, Likkutei Torah 32b)

Thus the Mystics describe by way of analogy, the spiritual dynamic of the last month of the year which we are in the middle of now - Elul. Falling in the fall season, Elul directly precedes the special month of Tishrei, full of the “high holidays” of Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot, where we take stock of our deeds of the past year and decide upon an improved life course for the coming year. The Mystics liken Rosh Hashanah and the high holidays to a time when the people come to crown their king in his palace. However, in the month of Elul it is the king who comes to the field to visit his people. In Elul it is God who reveals Himself to our souls and draws us closer in, providing a more accessible path to connect and feel closer. We are given a special opportunity and ability in this month to get in touch with our heritage and spirituality in a much smoother fashion than usual. Notice that the King comes to his people in the field; in their domain. He lacks royal clothes, his throne and his air of superiority; he approaches in his natural state. Just as God approaches us vulnerably, we too must approach God in our natural state. There’s no fasting, lengthy prayer, or white clothes of Yom Kippur. I approach God as myself, including all of my faults and desires. I still want to connect and have a relationship.

This experience of renewed connection is known in Hebrew as ‘Teshuva.’ Often improperly translated as ‘repentance,’ the real meaning is ‘returning’. This slight variation is significant, as it represents the Jewish view that even when we mess up, our natural state remains pure and wholesome; we merely have to return to who we really are under the mess. But returning to our soul and its mission means to change from our daily patterns of action, and who likes to change? Many of us suffer from what psychologists call a “victim mentality”. For example, there are times when certain unfortunate people feel the need to resort to begging for a livelihood (often out of need). At first ashamed, a pauper who begs can oftentimes pass a certain threshold where it isn't hard anymore for him to beg. It even becomes hard to stop and extract oneself from this new mentality. A friend of mine living in New York once saw a man whom he recognized as a beggar, driving a nice Volvo! Someone explained to him that the guy had become comfortable with begging.

While we can be thankful that we are not paupers, and we should give those begging the benefit of the doubt, we ourselves may be acting like the paupers who suffer from a victim mentality. Maybe we’re stuck in a rut, doing things simply because it has become a part of our daily routine and mentality. One can slip to such a point in behavior where he believes, ‘I am who I am. This is me. I may as well accept my mediocrity.’ It’s very difficult to come to the realization that we’re not living the way we should be and that we’ve fallen below our capabilities. And it’s even harder to extract ourselves from this new mentality we may have. Comes the months of Elul and Tishrei, an opportune time to get back in touch with one’s true inner identity. Teshuva means returning to one’s true self - not the worldly mentality we have become accustomed to, but rather the internal, Divine mentality we naturally possess in our souls. The King is in the field and accessible, smiling and awaiting our approach; all we have to do is go out to greet Him.

Shabbat Shalom!