Opening the Gates of Heaven Perry Stone

Israel’s behalf to prevent God from destroying the nation. He returned the second time with a second set of commandments written on stone. This second forty days, by tradition, was thought to have begun in the first of Elul and concluded forty days later on the Day of Atonement. 2 The word Teshuvah is a word that means to “turn, as to repent and change your direction.” In Hebrew the word turn is shuv, meaning to turn back. The word shuv is the root word of the Hebrew word Teshuvah. The time frame for Teshuvah begins on the first day of the month Elul and continues the entire month for thirty days, then for ten more days in the month of Tishri prior to the Day of Atonement. Through the entire month of Elul the shofar is blown daily to indicate the season of repentance has begun. During these thirty days, devout Jews spend time searching their hearts and repenting of any sin or actions that may have affected other people or affected their own spiritual lives. It is also a time to reflect upon your future destiny and to obtain mercy from the Almighty prior to the Day of Atonement, which is set on the tenth day of the seventh month. Thus the forty days begin with the first day of Elul and conclude on the Day of Atonement (called Yom Kippur ). The thirty-first day of Teshuvah falls on the first day of Tishri, the seventh month, and the day of the Feast of Trumpets. On this day, one hundred trumpet blasts of the shofar are sounded. Nine days later is the Day of Atonement. The first ten days of Tishri are named the