Part I
"In the days gone by, which I knew, every person would be
seized with dread at the sound of the holy cry of `Elul!'
This fear bore fruit by intensifying a person's service to
Hashem, each one according to his level . . . In these Days
of Awe, we must prepare ourselves for the upcoming judgment
of Rosh Hashonoh, by establishing a study schedule in works
conducive to G-d-fear," writes Maran HaGaon R' Yisroel
Salanter ztvk'l in his letter. We wanted to know if,
in these contemporary years, one still experiences that
`dread' which R' Yisroel mentioned. What is the impact of the
study in sifrei yereim throughout the year, and
especially, during the days of rachamim and
selichos? Does the school of the Mussar of Kelm,
Slobodka, Telz and other yeshivos still exist?
In order to ascertain this, we initiated a meeting for a
Torah-Mussar discussion with the mashgiach of Yeshivas Ateres
Yisroel, HaRav Chaim Walkin. This is a record of that
discussion, approved by the Mashgiach, that first appeared in
the in Musaf Shabbos Kodesh, and has been translated for the
English-reading public.
*
Q. Does `Elul' still exist within the halls of the holy
yeshivos? What, in effect, is Elul?
My mother o"h was born in Radin and grew up in the
very home of the Chofetz Chaim ztvk'l. (His
grandfather was HaRav Moshe Landinsky zt'l, rosh
yeshivas Radin, and they lived in the same building.) She
told us: "By us in the village, they used to say that in
Elul, even the fish in the water trembled!" The ambience of
Elul was felt not only in the yeshiva itself, but it
enveloped the entire village of Radin!
R' Mordechai Mann ztvk'l explained it thus: In the
nature of things, a person views everything in relationship
to the particular aspect which interests him. When a tailor
sees a person, he immediately notices what clothes he is
wearing; a shoemaker looks at a person's shoes and so on.
Elul permeates the very being of every single person to the
degree that when one sees fish swimming in the river, he
cannot help asking himself: Why are they swimming so
frantically? It must be that they are trembling from the fact
of its being Elul.
In other words, everything was seen and interpreted in the
eyes of `Elul.' This was how it felt like within the yeshivos
of yore, with the impact of the season diffusing to the
entire environment.
In the towns of yore, people knew that during Elul, one's
mouth did not stop speaking words of Torah or prayer and
beseeching. Indeed, the Elul atmosphere in yeshivos was
altogether different.
Let me tell you a story from my days in Yeshivas Telz in
America. It was during the summer session. The rosh yeshiva,
HaRav Boruch Sorotzkin ztvk'l, had just returned from
a trip to Eretz Yisroel, deeply moved by an experience he had
had.
R' Boruch had attended a simchah where he had met
Maran HaRav Eliyohu Lopian ztvk'l. The joyous
atmosphere had exceeded the parameters of propriety and was
getting rowdy. R' Eliyohu rose up and declared, "How can one
be so lightheaded now? We are already in the middle of
Tammuz, soon to be followed by Av. And Av is, of course, the
month right before Elul!"
R' Boruch could not get over the way R' Eliyohu had related
to Elul — already from Tammuz!
In our yeshiva, we usher Elul in with a talk based on that of
Maran HaRav Eliyohu Dessler ztvk'l. It is written in
the Zohar that the Tzitz headpiece of the Kohen
Godol had a special property, whereby whoever gazed upon it
would immediately be seized with embarrassment for his sins
and would repent.
Rav Dessler explained, in Michtav MeEliyohu IV p. 276,
that this was due to special Divine assistance that was
present in the Beis Hamikdosh, whereby if one glanced
at the Tzitz even for a moment, he would be aroused to
introspection. A person needed to seize that opportune moment
of special guidance presented to him from Heaven in order to
improve himself.
Elul is a season of Heavenly goodwill, of siyata
deShmaya, as the Mishnah Berurah states (in the
introduction to siman 581). He quotes, "I am to my
Beloved and my Beloved is to me." These form the acronym of
ELUL, while the end letters add up to forty,
corresponding to the forty days from Rosh Chodesh Elul until
Yom Kippur.
These forty days are especially conducive to drawing closer
to Hashem through repentance. And this, correspondingly,
draws Hashem closer, as it were, to receive his repentance-
through-love. A person should utilize these propitious days
of Elul to their fullest, as a springboard to continuing his
spiritual progress.
For this very reason, the days of Elul have always been
exalted, uplifting days. They have been compared to a child
who is on the verge of walking: his parents wish to help him
and walk by his side, giving him a supportive hand. Very
soon, he is able to go by himself.
Elul is a spiritual gift which leads a person to the work of
self-improvement through Mussar, beginning with Rosh
Chodesh and ending with the sealing of the judgment on Yom
Kippur.
Q. Would you say that there is a thirst, in these times,
for Mussar and soul-searching such as existed in previous
generations? Do we fulfill R' Yisroel Salanter's requirement
of learning Mussar "with burning lips, a questing, thirsting
soul and a receptive heart?
We are still thirsty for Mussar, even in this generation.
Young boys and avreichim wish to hear vaadim
and come to imbibe messages of Mussar. And yes, there are
some isolated, exalted few who learn with `burning lips.'
Entire groups can be said to be impassioned with Mussar and
the implementation of its lessons, in the manner which R'
Yisroel bequeathed to us.
You can often see an outstanding young man taking a verse or
essay and reviewing it many times until it is firmly
entrenched and integrated within his heart in order to
fortify him from any nisyonos that come his way.
There is an important point to add: Maran HaRav Eliyohu
Dessler ztvk'l deals often and at length with the
concept of nekudas habechiroh, the point of free
choice for every individual, according to his particular
level at a particular time. There are acts which a person
would never do, red lines which he would never cross.
With every trait, there is an ultimate level and a bottom
line to that middoh. According to this, we can
understand the words of the Shulchan Oruch (siman 603,
se'if 3) that even if one is not careful about eating
bread baked by a non-Jew (pas shel kusim) all year
round, he should abstain from it during the Ten Days of
Repentance.
We must first ask: Are we trying to fool Hashem, as it were?
What difference will it make in the long run if we abstain
from such bread for only those ten days?
This can be understood in the following light: Every person
has his starting point and his finish line, his goal. That
is: he has his range of activity. During Aseres Yemei
Teshuvoh, he must aim for the upper level of his own range.
He must strive for his own maximum. During Elul, a person
must endeavor to reach his own maximum of toil-in-Torah, of
prayer, of good conduct and of yiras Shomayim.
During Elul, a person must be on his very best behavior! And
this is his true core, the fulfillment of his fundamental
being. It does not mean that he sheds one form and assumes
another which is foreign to him. Rather, this is his
essential character; this is his inner nucleus, his true
quintessence.
I was aroused by the haftorah of Parshas Eikev,
"Listen to me, you pursuers of justice, seekers of Hashem.
Look at Avrohom your patriarch and at Soroh, your progenitor.
For I called him unique, and I blessed him and I loved
him."
The prophet Yeshayohu does not address the wicked, but
precisely those who pursue justice and seek Hashem. Is it,
then, precisely those who must be aroused to contemplate
Avrohom the Patriarch? Should he not address those who have
turned their backs on Hashem and bid them, `Return, remember
your origins, realize that you are a son of Avrohom Ovinu?'
Not those who are already seeking Hashem . . .
The meaning must surely be thus: There is an emphasis on the
words, "For I called him unique." The prophet is telling us:
"Be unique! Be excellent and outstanding!" Chazal tell us
that Avrohom intuited the Torah from his own intellect, his
own heart and understanding.
Each one of us is required to be exceptional, to evoke the
best that lies latent in him. One must not try to mimic
anyone else's avodas Hashem. Be original! Be your
unique you! Bring out your own fire, enthusiasm. "For I
designated him as unique!"
Elul is a time especially conducive to expressing our
innermost longing for our Father Above. A person detaches
himself from all of his other `obligations,' to immerse
himself in the tent of Torah, in the study halls of the
yeshivos and kollelim. This is his opportunity to express his
innermost feelings towards the Ribono Shel Olom.
In my youth, I studied in a yeshiva which boasted one of the
luminaries of the yeshiva world. During the year, this rosh
yeshiva would only come to deliver his shiurim, but in
Elul, he would also attend the seder mussar. My ears
still ring with the words of Rabbenu Yonah, which he would
intone aloud, "And my son, be even more careful to repent
every day, and to purify your soul, even if you do not see
any special reason to arouse you and the daily events
distract your thoughts. When you remember your Creator, and
that memory should be enough to restore your soul from the
ways of the events of a clod of earth."
Without any extras — just "that memory should be enough
to restore your soul from the ways of the events of a clod of
earth."
This is Elul!
Q. What is Mussar?
Maran the Alter of Kelm ztvk'l defined it very
clearly: Mussar is the search for truth in the very depths of
one's heart.
What this means is that Mussar does not always come to
intercept or confront the truth head on. Mussar is the time
which a person devotes to himself, when he secludes himself
with the truth within his own heart. And truly, every person
has a truth in his heart, but it can be hidden and buried.
The truth, however, is there to be found.
My father z'l told me that when he learned in Yeshivas
Mir, he heard the Mashgiach, HaRav Yeruchom ztvk'l
tell about the Haskalah movement in Lithuania, which swept up
so many into its arms. And R' Yeruchom said, "I cannot vouch
for each and every yeshiva student and what will become of
them. But I can declare that they will taste no enjoyment
from this world. They are being tested to grapple with the
truth. But Truth can be found only in the yeshiva, not
outside."
We, in the yeshivos, learn about a person's obligation in
this world, whereas Mussar teaches us how to live with this
knowledge and information.
Mori verabi Maran HaRav Chaim Shmulevitz
ztvk'l, was in the habit of quoting the gemora
in Sanhedrin which deals with the strength of Boaz and
the modesty of Palti ben Layish. Palti stuck his sword in
firmly for all to see and declared, "Whoever becomes involved
with this subject, will be pierced with [the sword]."
Said R' Chaim, "The sword is not such a big barrier [as a
physical deterrent] but it does serve as a reminder to a
person: this is a clear moment of truth. Know unmistakably
how you must conduct yourself. Remember it. And that is
Mussar."
With the passage of time, a person is distracted from the
truth; but this is the purpose of Mussar, to remind him.
In Elul, there are two daily sessions of Mussar in the
yeshiva, as an additional reminder of a person's obligations
towards his Maker and his obligations towards his fellow man.
This is the proper definition of Mussar.
End of Part I
