This past week marked the beginning of the month of Elul, a time that carries immense weight and meaning for the Jewish people. Elul is the month that leads us into Rosh Hashanah, the Day of Judgment, when we stand before the Almighty and reflect on the year that has passed while anticipating the one to come. It is a month of preparation, a month of prayer, and a month of soul-searching.
Standing here at the Dan Family Aish World Center, with our address at 1 Western Wall Plaza, we are blessed to witness these days unfold in the very heart of Jewish history. From my office window, I gaze upon the Kotel Plaza and beyond to the Temple Mount, the holiest site in the world for our people, and I am reminded daily of the profound privilege it is to be rooted in this sacred place.
The Sephardic communities, our brothers and sisters of Middle Eastern descent, begin immediately with the selichot prayers on the very first night of Elul. Their voices rise deep into the night and at the crack of dawn, as they call upon the Almighty for mercy, for forgiveness, and for blessings for the world. The Ashkenazic communities, with roots in Europe, will begin later this month, yet the spirit is the same. The scene is breathtaking: thousands of Jews gathering under the stars, pouring out their hearts before God, asking Him to grant healing, clarity, and compassion.
Alongside this, the rhythm of Jewish life begins anew as yeshivot and seminaries return from summer break and launch into the Elul semester. Each night, as I look toward the Kotel, I see groups of young men with their arms locked together, swaying and singing in unison, their voices carrying across the Old City. They come with the strength of tradition, with the courage of youth, and with the yearning to draw close to the Creator.
The great sage Rabbi Yisrael Salanter once said that the loudest sound in the world is the sound of a habit being broken. Elul is precisely about this, shaking ourselves from spiritual slumber, breaking through our routines, and facing the truth of our lives. The Rambam teaches that the shofar blast in Elul is like a heavenly alarm clock calling out: “Awake, you sleepers, from your sleep.” When I hear the shofar, I do not only hear a call to return; I hear the voice of the Almighty pleading with us to recognize our greatness, to understand the mission He has given us, and to rise to the occasion.
Elul is not about guilt, it is about love. It is about God saying to each of us: I believe in you, I know you can do better, I know you can shine. What a profound gift it is to live in a time where we can still hear that call, and what a responsibility it is to answer it with passion and with courage.
It is in these moments that I feel the essence of Aish and our mission alive and vibrant. For Aish has always been about three core values that animate everything we do: wisdom, love, and responsibility. Jewish wisdom is not merely a guide to ethical living, though it is certainly that. It is our most direct path to connecting with the Almighty, to understanding His will for us, and to discerning the mission He placed upon us.
For more than three thousand years, we have been charged with repairing a broken world, and looking out today, one cannot help but see how fractured the world has become. The horrific shooting of children at a Catholic school in Minneapolis this past week was a devastating reminder of the darkness that plagues humanity. To those families and that community, we extend our love and stand arm in arm with them in their grief.
Our tradition teaches that through wisdom we find clarity, through love we find strength, and through responsibility we find purpose. Love must be at the center of all we do. The Almighty’s love for us is infinite, and our ability to mirror that love to others is what must define us as Jews. In a world so filled with hatred, especially as we are confronted with the most widespread wave of antisemitism in our history, we must respond with love. Our enemies may spew venom day and night, but we must counter with compassion, with kindness, and with unwavering commitment to life.
Responsibility then becomes the natural extension. We must take responsibility for our brothers and sisters, both physically and spiritually. I am so proud of the way Aish embodies this value every single day. On social media, a space often dominated by cynicism and hostility, Aish has become a beacon of hope, reaching millions with messages of Torah, love, and Jewish pride.
Our yeshiva continues to thrive, with record numbers of students who have come to Jerusalem to seek truth and purpose. Even more inspiring is the historic moment we are experiencing with the opening of the Suzana and Ivan Kaufman Aish Institute for Women’s Education. Just yesterday, forty young women moved into our new building on King George, an eight-story testament to the centrality of women’s Torah learning. Under the guidance of Rabbi Yitzchak Berkowitz, our Rosh Yeshiva, we envisioned this seminary three years ago, and now it stands as the largest overseas women’s learning institution in Jerusalem. This is the embodiment of our values taking root in the heart of our people.
As I have traveled across the globe this summer, I have been asked again and again: what is Aish? My answer is always the same. Aish is wisdom, Aish is love, Aish is responsibility. Jews everywhere are responding to this message. They are hungry for it. It is what powered our campaign for the World Zionist Congress under the banner of Aish Ha’am, and it is what will carry us forward into the next fifty years.
We have touched millions of lives already, yet our mission has only just begun. Elul calls upon us to examine ourselves, to return to the Almighty, and to recommit to building a world of morality and ethics. This is our task, this is our calling, and this is the legacy that we must strengthen together.
With heartfelt blessings for a meaningful Elul and a year filled with clarity, love, and strength.
