Marginal Mayven

Reb Hillel of Paritch related, in the name of Reb Levi Yitzchak the Berditchover Rav, an explanation of a Gomorrah that cautions, “it is better to run in front of a lion than to walk behind a young girl.”

The Berditchover explains that the constellation [Mazal] of the month of Av is the Lion and the constellation of the month of Elul is the Young Girl. He interprets the Gomorrah to teach that it is better to run in front of a lion [to do tshuva in Av] than to walk behind a young girl-- to wait for Elul to do tshuva.