The King is in the Field

​The summer has come to an end, and school has resumed. My son Srolik started at Gan where he will be spending time with other children and some very talented Morahs, getting a great Jewish education. Levi and Shaina are also enjoying their online school, where they spend time with children of Chabad rabbis from communities without a local Jewish day school, including classmates from Athens, GA, Missoula, MT, Quad Cities, IA, Bangor, MN, Barbados and St Maarten, among others. Their school has over 1000 children! As every parent knows, there is much preparation, practical and emotional, for the new school year. 
There are special times in life when we eagerly anticipate an upcoming occasion. A bride and groom before their wedding, a parent before the birth of a child, a student before the first day of school, or your first job interview. For each of these occasions, we prepare as best as we can for that specific occasion, ensuring that when the big day arrives we are fully present.
On the Jewish calendar we are now in the month of Elul, the final month in the year, and it is the time to prepare for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
We do so by auditing our spiritual accounts and assessing our behavior of the past year; by regretting and fixing the failings of the past, making resolutions for a better future, and by increasing our Torah study, prayer and charitable giving.
Elul is the opportune time for all this because it is a month in which G‑d relates to us in a more open and compassionate manner than He does in the rest of the year. The Alter Rebbe, Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, taught the following metaphor:
The king's usual place is in the capital city, in the royal palace. Anyone wishing to approach the king must go through the appropriate channels in the palace bureaucracy and gain the approval of a succession of secretaries and ministers. He must journey to the capital and pass through the many gates, corridors and antechambers that lead to the throne room. His presentation must be meticulously prepared, and he must adhere to an exacting code of dress, speech and mannerism upon entering into the royal presence.
However, there are times when the king comes out to the fields outside the city. At such times, anyone can approach him; the king receives them all with a smiling face and a radiant countenance. The peasant behind his plow has access to the king in a manner unavailable to the highest ranking minister in the royal court when the king is in the palace.
The month of Elul is when the king is in the field. During the special days of this month, each one of us, no matter our background, level of education, observance, or social status, has unfettered access and equal opportunity to approach the King - Al-mighty G-d.
If you knew you would soon be meeting G-d, how would you prepare? What would you want to say?