6043 – The Month of the Intelligent Spy? -
Q. Our Dearest Rabbi, Why do we use the name of Elul, meaning to spy, for this upcoming and most important last month of the year?
A. The name of the month Elul, like the names of the rest of the Hebrew calendar months, was brought from the Babylonian captivity, and originated from the Akkadian word for "harvest."
The name of the month of Elul in Aramaic also means “to search.” As Mefarshim point out, the word ויתורו, meaning to spy, the targum translates as (ויאללון (אלול. (the word ויתורו, meaning to spy, the targum translates as (ויאללון’ Shelach-Licha, 13:2 h.
Rabbi A. Bartfeld as revised by, Horav Yaakov Hirschman, Horav Dovid Pam, Horav Aharon Miller, Horav Chanoch Ehrentreu and Horav Kalman Ochs Shlit’a
Answered by: Hagaon Rav Shlomo Miller Shlit'a
Published: August 8, 2026