An Elul Sourcesheet I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine…
PERMISSION TO U N P L U G
(Ani L’Dodi v’Dodi Li) Song of Songs 6:3
There is a hint in the verse 'I am my Beloved's and my Beloved is mine' that the first letters spell Elul and the last letters have a numerical value of 40. This alludes to the forty days from the beginning of Elul until Yom Kippur for during these forty days repentance is [more readily] accepted so a person should bring their heart near to their Beloved [the divine] with teshuva (return, sometimes translated as repentance), and then the Beloved will be close to them to accept the teshuva with love. Mishnah Berurah 581:1
Why do we hear that, in Elul, the king is in the field? Before a king [or monarch] enters their city, its inhabitants go out to greet them and receive them in the field. At that time, anyone who so desires is granted permission [and can] approach them and greet them. They receive them all pleasantly, and show a smiling countenance to all…
Essentially this is our time during the year to have an audience with the divine (who is referred to throughout High Holidays liturgy as king and with royal imagery).
Likutei Torah, the Alter Rebbe
When we forget the essence of our own soul… everything becomes confused and in doubt The primary teshuva (returning), that which immediately lights the darkness, is when a person returns to themselves, to the root of their soul – then they will immediately return to the divine, to the soul of all souls. Rav Kook, Orot HaTeshuva
What does Unplugging have to do with it? Wellbeing [is] part of the path to the divine, for it is impossible to understand or have any knowledge of the Creator when one is not well. Therefore one must avoid anything that may harm the body and one must cultivate healthful habits. Maimonides, Hilchos De'os 4:1
What does Shabbat have to do with it? On Shabbat, when the divine bestows blessings for the entire week, time connects to something beyond it. Similarly, Elul, just before the new year, is a time when even in this world, one can connect to the eternal. Sefat Emet, Deuteronomy, For the Month of Elul 3:2
What is the deal with Permission to Unplug? Remember Shabbat and keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath of the divine: you shall not do any work… For in six days the divine made heaven and earth and sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the divine blessed Shabbat and made it holy. Exodus 20:8-11