Rav Steinsaltz's Elul Guide (Part 2)

In this deep and stirring Elul episode, Rav Shlomo Katz reflects on a teaching from Rav Adin Steinsaltz about Tehillim 27 — “L’David Hashem Ori V’Yishi” — a chapter we say every day throughout Elul, but rarely pause to enter fully.David HaMelech is surrounded by enemies. He’s under siege. And yet, his spontaneous, gut reaction isn’t a battle cry or a plea for escape — it’s a yearning: “One thing I ask… to dwell in the house of Hashem all the days of my life.” Why is that his instinct? What does it reveal about who David really is — and what does it invite us to ask about ourselves?Rav Shlomo explores how it’s not in our crafted responses, but in our spontaneous ones, that our truest self is revealed. Elul, then, becomes not just a time to check off what we’ve done wrong, but to ask something much deeper: Where is my heart anchored? What do I truly long for when no one is watching?Teshuva, in this light, is less about perfecting your record and more about redefining your belonging. It's about standing, even in confusion or failure, and saying: “Ribono Shel Olam — I want to be Yours.”You don’t have to be there yet. But you can start.elul, steinsaltz, tshuva, king david, chassidut, shlomo katz, shirat david