Since Chai Elul represents the bond of Jewry with G-d, we should specifically increase our service of prayer from Chai Elul onward – for prayer, by definition, is the bonding of the Jew with his Creator.
Shemonah Esrei corresponds to the spine “Note that it is explained in Likutei Torah how the spine is a parable for prayer. [As our Sages state, “These eighteen blessings of the Amidah, correspond to the eighteen vertebrae that form the spine.”]
Chai Elul: The Spine of Elul
The reason for this relationship is because [the spine] supports and establishes all the other limbs of the body, and it is through the spine that life-force is drawn from the brain to all the limbs. [The parallel to the function of the “spine,” i.e., the Amidah, within the month of Elul, is Chai Elul. It is then that the bond between the Jews and G-d, the bond that constitutes the very life-force of our Divine service and likewise of our souls, is emphasized – Ed].”
Eighteen: Vertebrae, Blessings and Chayus
“This is alluded to in the number of vertebrae within the spine, and the corresponding number of blessings in the Amidah, which total eighteen (Chai)!”
