The Zohar calls Rosh Hashanah-היום. This parashah – parashas Re'eh begins with the words היום לפניכם נותן אנכי ראה, which can be translated as, "See that I am giving you days before Rosh Hashanah (היום לפניכם), so you can prepare yourselves on these days for the judgment of Rosh Hashanah. This alludes to the month of Elul when we prepare ourselves with teshuvah and tefillah to merit good judgment for the new year.
When a person presses the brakes, the car doesn't stop instantly. The wheels gradually slow down until the car stops. But if someone pulls the emergency hand brake, the vehicle will stop short immediately and abruptly. There are times when teshuvah is compared to someone pressing on the brakes of a car. This alludes to the gradual approach to change, where a person gradually stops his past ways and improves his ways. This is the standard path for teshuvah. But there are times when one should make an immediate change. Rosh Chodesh Elul is such a time. Although change is generally done gradually, step-by-step, Elul is a time to make an abrupt change and improve one's ways. About this, it states (Yeshayah 55:7) יעזב 'ה אל וישב מחשבתיו און ואיש דרכו רשע, "The wicked shall give up his way, and the man of iniquity his thoughts, and he shall return to Hashem."
