The Yeshivah "Tomchei Temimim Lubavitch", the first to integrate the "revealed" part of Torah (Talmud and Halachah) with the esoteric teachings of Chassidism in a formal study program, was on this date founded by the fifth Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Sholom DovBer Schneersohn.
As the last month of the Jewish year, Elul is traditionally a time of introspection and stocktaking -- a time to review one's deeds and spiritual progress over the past year and prepare for the upcoming "Days of Awe" of Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur.
As the month of Divine Mercy and Forgiveness (see "Today in Jewish History" for Elul 1) it is a most opportune time for teshuvah ("return" to G-d), prayer, charity, and increased Ahavat Yisrael (love for a fellow Jew) in the quest for self-improvement and coming closer to G-d. Chassidic master Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi likens the month of Elul to a time when "the king is in the field" and, in contrast to when he is in the royal palace, "everyone who so desires is permitted to meet him, and he receives them all with a cheerful countenance and shows a smiling face to them all."
Specific Elul customs include the daily sounding of the shofar (ram's horn) as a call to repentance. The Baal Shem Tov instituted the custom of reciting three additional chapters of Psalms each day, from the 1st of Elul until Yom Kippur (on Yom Kippur the remaining 36 chapters are recited, thereby completing the entire book of Psalms). Click below to view today's Psalms.
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Elul is also the time to have one's tefillin and mezuzot checked by an accredited scribe to ensure that they are in good condition and fit for use.
Links: More on Elul
When you value human beings, you avoid speaking about their faults at all costs. As G-d did with Esau.
As Isaac aged, his eyesight weakened. (Genesis 27:1)
This was in order that Jacob would be able to take the blessings of Esau. (Rashi)
This is puzzling. If G‑d wanted Jacob to receive Isaac’s blessings, He could have simply revealed to Isaac that Esau was wicked.
Especially since Isaac already had reason to believe something was up with Esau. He knew that Esau had wives who offered incense to idols. He knew that mention of G‑d was not part of Esau’s mode of speech.
So all G-d needed to do was to fill Isaac in on the whole story.
But G‑d didn’t want to speak badly about Esau.
We call this lashon hara—speaking badly of another person even when what you say is true.
Now consider this: For the sake of wicked Esau, G‑d declined to speak unkind words—although that meant Isaac would have to be confined to his home and barely alive for 57 years.
For a fellow human being who may have slipped up a few times in life, isn’t it worthwhile to suffer the silence of our mouths for a moment or two?