Who is Afraid of Elul?
In opposition to the call of the shofar that echoes
these days in our botei medroshos, the Soton raises
his voice and seeks to decrease and weaken the influence of
the shofar's call. As the shofar's call arouses
our hearts to strengthen ourselves in avodas Hashem,
the Soton claims there is no reason for this strengthening.
Many Eluls have passed, followed by Rosh Hashonoh and Yom
Kippur, and yet I have remained the way I am; I have not
progressed. If so, why should the hoped-for change occur
precisely this year?
This thought weakens all hands and all hearts that beat with
the avodoh of the days of Elul -- our sincere
avodoh in the days of Elul. In search of an answer to
this difficulty we should ask the Soton himself: What are
you afraid of?
As is known, when the Soton hears the shofar's blast
he is afraid that perhaps his time to be eliminated from the
world has come. Despite the fact that many Eluls and many
Rosh Hashonohs have passed, he is still afraid and becomes
afraid again anew each year. "Maybe the Great Shofar"
has arrived; maybe his time to disappear from the world has
come!
But did he not hear the shofar last year? Did they not
sound the shofar blasts two years ago, and three years
ago, and four? Why is he still afraid this year?
Maran HaRav Chaim Shmulevitz zt'l said that this
teaches us that the Soton himself knows and understands
correctly that "an awakening of the slightest amount is
liable to nullify him from the world. This is the reason for
his great fear!" (Sichos Mussar, 31, p. 105).
The Soton is aware of and understands the value of every
spiritual awakening. From the Soton we can learn that an
Elul and another Elul, a Rosh Hashonoh and another Rosh
Hashonoh, a Yom Kippur and another Yom Kippur have the power
to nullify the Soton from the world.
Every day in Elul, every moment in Elul, every deed in Elul,
every action and progress, whatever it is, even the
slightest, is inscribed on the toiling person's heart, on
his spirituality, and nullifies his inner Soton, until all
the evil disappears like smoke.
Tefilloh and Mussar of Elul
Maran HaRav Shach zt'l gave a talk in mussar in
Elul in which he emphasized that Elul is not a "certain
thing" in a person's behavior, but rather, everything about
the person needs to be different. All of our behavior needs
to change. Tefilloh in Elul needs to be in the special way
of Elul, a strengthening of the tefilloh and the study
of Torah, and also to keep a steady time for learning
mussar.
We have to understand that learning mussar is not a
gezeiroh that someone decreed to learn mussar.
Learning mussar is a matter that we should understand
on our own. A person has to make a spiritual accounting. If
someone found himself in the wilderness, he would have to
think carefully what lies before him and where he needs to
direct his way. So too we need to think about ourselves on
our own accord to know what lies before us. We do not need a
gezeiroh for this; it is obvious.
Every person lives in society; everyone has some kind of
surroundings. Maybe you have harmed someone? Maybe you are
not okay? If he does not check he will not know.
The Sages decreed to pray three times a day, and the mitzvah
of reciting the Shema is twice daily because one time
is not enough. It is not enough. We need another time in the
evening, another strengthening. Elul is, "Seek Hashem when
He is found." HaKodosh Boruch Hu brings Himself closer
to us. If regarding the Ten Days of Teshuvoh it is said that
it is: "When He is found," then this means in Elul He is
bringing Himself closer. This is these days. Now. This
moment.
Elul the Way It Was
Outside of the beis medrash as well, in mundane
affairs, we need to understand the meaning of Elul, added
Maran HaRav Shach zt'l, and not only in the beis
medrash should Elul be recognizable.
I remember in my youth, in Slutsk, when I was a guest with a
family for Shabbos. If the family would begin to speak
mundane words during the Shabbos meal, the ba'alas
habayis would say, "Today is Elul, we don't speak about
such matters."
This was the way a woman spoke back then. And today?
We need to strengthen ourselves!
Have We Seen?
We have seen. We, the residents of the Holy Land, have seen
the past year, in which many young lives were cut short
R'l in tragic events and difficult, terrible loss of
life. [This year with the Lebanon War this is an even
stronger sentiment. - Editor] Young men left their homes and
never returned. They walked the streets in perfect health
and found their death suddenly -- suddenly with no natural
explanation: Horrific traffic accidents; difficult, terrible
illnesses. "The eyes of flesh and blood have seen as well
that on almost every Rosh Hashonoh young men are judged
R'l for death, chas vesholom" (Ohr Yisroel,
Igerres 7).
We have seen. Have we learned a lesson to improve our ways?
Have we inscribed on our heart the vanity of this world and
its desires? Have we seen the judgment of Rosh Hashonoh:
"Who in his time and who not in his time?"
Or perhaps we have stiffened our neck, preferred not to
look, not to think about what happens, not to turn the head,
and to just continue in our way. Stiff-necked?
Our Rabbis have explained that stiffness of the neck is not
only a transgression. Stiffness of the neck is the drug of a
situation, of an unwillingness to change, of a sinking into
and a making permanent of an improper way, without the hope
of teshuvoh, R'l.
Strengthening
Someone who tries to exercise his ability to do something in
the days of Elul seeks to "strengthen himself"
(lehischazeik) in his spirituality. However, the word
chizuk sounds so heavy and difficult, to the point
where we think twice before we are prepared "to come to
chizuk" . . . And the reason for this is a mistaken
understanding in the meaning of chizuk.
What does chizuk really mean?
A building whose foundation is feeble, or a table whose
joints are falling apart -- what do they do? Do they build a
new building? Or buy a new table? No. They simply strengthen
what they have. They strengthen the existing structure and
are careful to use it properly. In this way they return it
to stability.
The same applies to us. In order to strengthen himself a
person is not required to begin any new things. He is not
being asked to add on to his deeds. Chizuk means to
strengthen what exists! Do what you are doing: better,
stronger, not weakly and feebly. Chazak.
The Last Request
The atmosphere in the home was stressful, tense; a severe
mood blanketed the entire home. The long, difficult, and
complicated treatments did not help. The doctors despaired
and left no hope. The files and mountains of paperwork that
accompanied the sick person all the time were removed from
the table. "The patient only has a week to live," declared
the doctor. There was nothing the hospital could do. The
patient was brought home to spend his last days.
The suffering family diligently prepared the home to receive
the sick one. They had no idea what he would say in this
difficult and painful hour. What was there to say? "The only
thing I ask," the patient said in a weak voice, "is to have
the opportunity for some more mitzvos, as many as possible."
This was his request.
The neighbors and the family joined together for a regular
minyan for tefilloh that was held in the sick
person's room. Every omein, every brochoh, every
answering of borchu was heavy with eternal meaning;
every bircas hamozone or omein on a
brochoh was done with great exactness and awesome
intent at the head of the sick person's bed.
Everyone felt they were providing the sick person with
eternal treasures, life in the World to Come. No one was
lazy; no one tried to push things off; no one thought of
trying to avoid responsibility. They felt and knew that the
last days were the last chance to seize more mitzvos, to
grab another omein -- for who knows what will be
tomorrow? What will be in another hour, another moment?
***
"There are people who do not feel the matter of death in
order to make preparations for the journey, to rectify their
deeds. They do not consider the day of death until it comes.
They are compared to beasts that do not think anything about
death until the day of slaughter" (Shaarei Teshuvoh, 2,
17).
Realization of death or the lack of realization, "Who shall
live and who shall die," is like the difference between man
and beast.
Resolution for the Future Also in the Last Minute
Until the last moment of Yom Kippur, and including the last
moment as well, a person needs to devote himself to making a
resolution for the future, what he accepts upon himself and
how he intends to keep it. Maran HaRav Aharon Kotler
zt'l would bring the words of the Yalkut Shimoni
(Tehillim 25, 702) in reference to this:
"To what is this compared? To a king who made a festive meal
and invited guests, but they did not come. The fourth hour
came but they did not come. The fifth and the sixth hours
came, but they did not come. Towards evening, guests began
to come. He said to them: `I owe you a great debt, because
if not for you I would have to throw the meal I prepared for
you to the dogs.'
"Thus Hakodosh Boruch Hu said to Yisroel: "I owe you a
great debt, because it was for your sake that I created My
world. If it were not for you, to whom would I give all the
goodness I prepared for the future?"
Hakodosh Boruch Hu Prepared a "Meal" of Teshuvoh
Hakodosh Boruch Hu prepared for us a "meal" on Yom
Kippur.
The meal is ready and waiting. From the point of view of
Hakodosh Boruch Hu's direction of the world,
everything is prepared. Now everything depends only on us,
that we should come even if it is already the "time of
evening."
*
"Elul" for Every Soul / The Sefer
Elul is the month that the very mention of its name causes
hearts to tremble. Is it only for those who sit in the
beis medrash? How can a man whose time is not in his
hands contemplate and awaken himself in these days?
The sefer Otzros Yemei Elul is a fitting answer for
these thoughts. This sefer is not just to explain the
nature of these days. It also provides practical tools for
any person and every soul to awaken and internalize ethical
lessons to improve his ways.
Since the sefer has appeared on the bookshelves, it
has won broad public acceptance.
