The Ramban comments on the Pasuk in Bereshit (49:21) נַפְתָּלִי אַיָּלָה שְׁלֻחָה הַנֹּתֵן אִמְרֵי שָׁפֶר – Naftali is a gazelle-like messenger, he delivers pleasant sayings. It was a custom among the rulers of countries to send deer to one another, and this was the manner in which it was done: Deer which were born in the territory of the king of the north country would be raised in the palaces of the king of the south country. They would then attach a written message to its horns, and it would run speedily and return to its original habitat, and in this way the king of the north country could be apprised of any news. This is the meaning of the phrase הַנֹּתֵן אִמְרֵי שָׁפֶר, meaning that he is a dispatched deer sent who bears good tidings. This practice is mentioned in the Yerushalmi, in Tractate Shevi’it:
They said, if they go, they return, and if you want to test them, bring good ones and send them to a distant land, in the end, they return. He did so and brought good ones, covered their horns with silver, and sent them to Africa, and after thirteen years they returned to their place, for they were released after thirteen years and immediately returned.
Chazal say, had this deer been released from its leash earlier, it would have returned even sooner – immediately upon being unleashed! Hakadosh Baruch Hu is called צְבִי, and so is Knesset Yisrael – and if Knesset Yisrael is called צְבִי, it will always return to Hakadosh Baruch Hu! If someone has left the path, it is merely a sign they are bound by the chains of the Yetzer Hara, but the moment you release them from these shackles they will immediately return! Like a gazelle! This is the power of the days of Elul – just as the gazelle returns to its place, so too will Yisrael return to their Father in Heaven!
We asked, why did Rabbi Yehuda ben Tema specifically choose the צְבִי and not another animal like the cheetah? Chazal say, the gazelle has one characteristic – it is always running! The cheetah can run after the giraffe like no other animal, but after catching it and feasting, it becomes like a zombie, lying down with no movement whatsoever for some time! But the gazelle runs without stopping – at every little sound, it immediately dashes and runs. Always. The song of the צְבִי is brought in Perek Shira:
צְבִי אוֹמֵר. וַאֲנִי אָשִׁיר עֻזֶּךָ וַאֲרַנֵּן לַבֹּקֶר חַסְדֶּךָ כִּי הָיִיתָ מִשְׂגָּב לִי וּמָנוֹס בְּיוֹם צַר לִי:
The Gazelle is saying: “And I shall sing of your strength, I shall rejoice of your kindness in the morning, for you were a refuge to me, and a hiding place on the day of my oppression.”
Just like a gazelle, so too a Jew is always running! The Mishna (Avot 4:2) says: הֱוֵי רָץ לְמִצְוָה קַלָּה כְבַחֲמוּרָה וּבוֹרֵחַ מִן הָעֲבֵרָה – Be quick in performing a minor commandment as in the case of a major one, and flee from transgression; The Jew is always running – either fleeing from sin or running to a Mitzvah, and
