עַל שִׁשָּׁה חֳדָשִׁים הַשְּׁלוּחִין יוֹצְאִין, עַל נִיסָן מִפְּנֵי הַפֶּסַח, עַל אָב מִפְּנֵי הַתַּעֲנִית, עַל אֱלוּל מִפְּנֵי רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה, עַל תִּשְׁרֵי מִפְּנֵי תַקָּנַת הַמּוֹעֲדוֹת, עַל כִּסְלֵו מִפְּנֵי חֲנֻכָּה, וְעַל אֲדָר מִפְּנֵי הַפּוּרִים. וּכְשֶׁהָיָה בֵית הַמִּקְדָּשׁ קַיָּם, יוֹצְאִין אַף עַל אִיָּר מִפְּנֵי פֶסַח קָטָן:
For six months messengers go out. [When beth-din sanctified the New Moon, they sent out (messengers) to inform the exile which day they had sanctified, whether the thirtieth, so that the month past was defective; or the thirty-first, so that the month past was full. (And the messengers of beth-din may desecrate neither Shabbath nor yom tov.)]: For Nissan, as it affects (the date of) Pesach; for Av, as it affects the fast (of the ninth of Av) [more afflictions having befallen us then than on (the dates of) the other fasts.]; for Elul, as it affects Rosh Hashanah [They apprise us when it is Elul, and Rosh Hashanah is observed on the thirtieth of Elul in the exile. For on most years Elul is not intercalated. And even though there is the possibility that beth-din might intercalate it, they (those in the exile) have no way of knowing this, so that, perforce, they must follow the majority of the years. And if they did not know when Elul began, they would not know its thirtieth day.]; for Tishrei, as it affects proper institution of the festivals. [The messengers go out the day after beth-din sanctified Tishrei, and go as far as they can until the festival, apprising them whether or not beth-din had intercalated Elul, so that they not be apprehensive on Yom Kippur and Succoth (as to whether they are observing them in their proper times)]; for Kislev, as it affects Channukah; and for Adar, as it affects Purim. And when the Temple stood, they would also go out for Iyyar, as it affects "the minor Pesach" [Pesach Sheni].
Shaarei Teshuvah
And the fifteenth principle is prayer: A man should pray to God and request mercy to atone for all of his iniquities, as it is stated (Hosea 14:3), "Take words with you and return to the Lord; say to Him. 'Forgive all guilt and accept the good; and we will pay with the bulls of our lips'" - this is the matter of confession. "Say to Him. 'Forgive all guilt and accept what is good'" - this is the matter of prayer. And its explanation is, "accept the good" - the good actions that we did. For they, may their memory be blessed, said (Sotah 21a), "Sin extinguishes [the merit of] a commandment." But at the time of repentance, the iniquities will be atoned; so the merit of the commandment will arise, and its merit will shine. For before repentance, its light did not shine forth. And so it is written (Job 8:6), "If you are blameless and upright, He will now awaken [your merit] for you and grant well-being to your righteous home." And our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed said (Yerushalmi Rosh Hashanah 1:3), "It does not say, 'If you were blameless and upright,' but rather 'If you are blameless and upright' - since you have repented." "He will now awaken [your merit] for you" - now after the repentance that you have done, "He will now awaken" all of the righteousness that you had done before, and that which your home was wide open and you 'planted a tamarisk' for lodging, as it is written (Job 31:32), "I opened my doors to the road." But before your repentance, your righteousness did not protect you. However, after your repentance and [when] your iniquity was removed, "He will awaken [your merit] for you and grant well-being to your righteous home." "And we will pay with the bulls of our lips" - our confession will be considered like the bulls of sin-offerings, for our acceptance in front of You. And it mentions bulls, because the bull sin-offering was inside [the chamber] and they would sprinkle from its blood on the curtain and on the golden (incense) altar.
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