Elul: The Mikvah of the Year - Rabbi Eli Deutsch

The Benei Yissachar teaches that Elul is the mikvah of the year. Just like you have a mikvah in terms of space, a person enters into a mikvah, so also you have a mikvah in terms of time. And that's what the 30 days of Elul plus the 10 days from Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur is all about. That a mikvah is made up of 40 se'ah of water, and so also this mikvah of the year is made up of these 40 days. As a matter of fact, this is hinted to by Ani Ledodi Vedodi Li, which is Rashei Teivot acronym Elul, is also Sofei Teivot, the last letters of each word is gematria is of four yuds, which is gematria 40, hinting to these 40 days of the year. Also, the mikvah is made up of 960 lug. Similarly, these 40 days are made up of hours. So, just like we a person goes into a mikvah in order to refine themselves, so also a person steps into these 960 hours of Elul in order to refine themselves. Now, when a person goes into a mikvah, they're doing a bittul bishishim sort of on themselves. Why? Because a person is made up of eish, ruach, mayim, and afar, the four yesodot, the four elements, fire, wind, water, and earth. And each one of those four is also made up of four, which means that they at the person at the base is made up of these 16 components. Now, when a person takes these 16 components of themselves and goes into a mikvah, they have which is made up of 960 lug, it comes out that you have 60 lug of water to each component of a person. And so, in this manner, the Benei Yissachar teaches, a person is doing a bitul b'shishim on themselves. Similarly, when a person enters into these 960 hours of Elul, they are taking also themselves and putting themselves into this mikvah of Elul, and they have 60 hours of Elul corresponding to each aspect of themselves. In this manner, we're stepping forward to do a bitul b'shishim in this mikvah called Elul and Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur.