DAY 3 The King Is in the Field

ELUL Journal day 3

The deepest form of closeness is trust

There is a beautiful teaching about the month of Elul:

The King is in the field.

A king normally remains in his palace.
But during Elul, He leaves His palace and comes into the field — into the ordinary places where we live our lives.

No gates.
No ceremony.
No need to be perfectly prepared.

He simply comes closer.

And perhaps the deepest meaning of this closeness is not only that God is near.

It is that we are invited to trust.

“Hashem Ori VeYishi”

During Elul, we recite Psalm 27:

“Hashem is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?”

And later:

“Lule he'emanti…”
“If I had not believed that I would see the goodness of Hashem…”

The word he'emanti comes from the same root as Emunah — faith, trust, faithfulness.

And there is another expression that captures this relationship:

Ani batachti.

I have trusted.

Not: I understood.

Not: I knew what would happen.

I trusted.

The oldest language of our people

Perhaps this trust is part of our story from the very beginning.

When the Jewish people left Egypt, they walked into the wilderness without knowing the entire road ahead.

They followed.

They trusted.

Jeremiah describes this moment as the love of a bride who follows her beloved into an unknown wilderness.

This is more than obedience.

Obedience says:

I do this because I was told.

Emunah says:

I don't see the whole path, but I trust the One who leads me.

Perhaps this is one of the deepest expressions of love.