So Chai Elul would seem to be a good day to tune in to the teachings of one of these three holy teachers and to see the world through their eyes. (For instance, if you want to "tune in" to the Baal Shem Tov on his birthday, check out the book "Your Word Is Fire: The Hasidic Masters on Contemplative Prayer" [Jewish Lights]--there's a nice teaching about prayer from the Baal Shem Tov called "Meet Him in the Word.")
Chai Elul has yet another significance. It marks a 12-day period before Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. Elul is the month of contemplation and repentance in preparation for the New Year.
There is a teaching Reb Zalman heard from his own rebbe, Rabbi Joseph Isaac Schneersohn, which goes like this: There are 12 days from Chai Elul to Rosh Hashanah. So on each day, beginning with Chai Elul, you go over what happened last year. Each day gives you a chance to check back on a month. So on the first day, you meditate on what you were doing last year around Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur; on the second day you meditate on what you were doing in the month of Heshvan (more or less, October); and on the third, what you were doing in Kislev (which includes Hanukkah).
With those prompts to memory, you may begin to reflect on any people you might have harmed or injured, and use that as an occasion to repair the damage. You can then call up someone you've distanced yourself from and make up for any harm you might have done. It's our tradition that the harm we do to others must be repaired before we can ask forgiveness from God on Yom Kippur. So, using Chai Elul as a marker, each day, month by month, you can reflect on the previous year, so that when you come into the New Year, you have prepared yourself for renewal--and atonement.
Getting started on reflection and repentance isn't always easy. So what's helpful about this teaching is that when you begin, you can call on the aid of some powerful teachers. In this way, you unlock the mystery of "Chai." These teachers may be dead, but their teachings can be made to live again just in time for the New Year.
