Rabbi Wachsman on Elul

Teshuva means coming back to a situation of perfection.  When you do Teshuva you are coming back to the situation of before the sin.  Chet is moving away from your true essence, Teshuva is coming back to your true essence. Elul is the sixth month and Tishrei is the seventh month.  Elul is like Erev Shabbas, and Tishrei is like Shabbos.  If we don't work on Erev Shabbos, doing Teshuva, what kind of Shabbos (Tishrei) will we have.  Preparation for Rosh Hashana is the basis of our ability to continue to grow through the Yomin Tovim and beyond.  To prepare for Rosh Hashana we have to cleanse ourselves of negativity and bring Kedusha into ourselves.  We have to learn to  value the work of preparation, without work we will not grow.

We can't have Torah with out preperation, Shabbos without Erev Shabbos, and Rosh Hashana without Elul.  The preperation for the Mitzvah is where I am doing something special for my neshamah.

from a Shiur by Rabbi Efraim Wachsman, Reflections of Elul,part one