Getting in the right frame of mind

27 Av 5770

Shabbos Mevarchim for Chodesh Elul

The pasuk tells us in this week's parsha:

(דברים יא:כו)

ראה אנכי נותן לפניכם היום ברכה וקללה

Behold I place before you today a blessing and a curse.

There is a similar phrase in Parshas Nitzavim:

(דברים ל:טו)

ראה נתתי לפניך היום את החיים ואת הטוב ואת המות ואת הרע

Behold I have placed before you today life and good, and death and evil.

Why does the Torah switch from blessings and curses to life and death? What is the pasuk in Nitzavim adding? We already know the formula from Parshas Re'eh: mitzvos=blessings, aveiros=curses. What more do we need to know?

The משך חכמה refers us to the few psukim earlier in Parshas Nitzavim. There Moshe Rabbeinu discusses the concept of Teshuva for the first time. Bnei Yisrael are introduced to the idea of a second chance; if at first you don't succeed, try try again. And again. And again. All the way up until the day of your death.

Now, explains the משך חכמה, we can understand what happened between Parshas Re'eh and Parshas Nitzavim. Blessings and curses are things that come in the future, and Moshe is foretelling the potential judgment based upon this year's actions. By Parshas Nitzavim, we've already been introduced to the concept of Teshuva, and we're already at the life and death stage. Either a person chooses life, or he chooses death ח"ו, both in this world and the next.

Rav Mordechai Willig once pointed out that Parshas Re'eh and Parshas Nitzavim always bookend Chodesh Elul in some form or another. This year Re'eh was Shabbos Mevarchim. Sometimes it's the first shabbos in Elul. But whatever the case, these pesukim really get us focused on the proper mindset for the month. During the year we have earned Brachos and Klalos. We have future reward or ח"ו punishment ahead of us. Now we have a month to think about that. We have a month to focus on Teshuva. And at the end of that month, we will have furthered our choice, and now the stakes will be even higher. Did we choose life? Or ח"ו death?

Now is the time to choose. You can't just wake up Rosh HaShana morning and say, okay, time for Teshuva. It has to begin now. May הקב"ה give us all the strength to analyze our actions and change them for the better, אמן כן יהי רצון.

Back for a Third Season

1 Elul 5769

Shalom Aleichem Rabosai! It looks like another Elul is upon us. I pray that this will be the Elul where all of Klal Yisrael return fully and wholly to Hashem. And to help facilitate that, this blog will be back for a third season, giving semi-daily (i.e. 3-5 times a week) teshuva-oriented blurbs that will hopefully aid the Teshuva process through the long month of Elul and Aseres Yimei Teshuva.

And away we go...

For me, Elul is the hardest time of the year. Because every year I go through the following thought process (and I would assume that you do too): I know I have sinned, I know I'm probably slated for some kind of punishment, and I know that if I do Teshuva, I can avoid said punishment.

But all of that is very: a) depressing, and b) theoretical. It's depressing in the sense that I feel like I have a debt that's unrepayable, and that's a pretty horrible burden to carry around. It's theoretical in the sense that I cannot possible grasp how many sins I've committed, nor what the punishment will be for those sins. And do I know that I'm definitely going to get punished? How bad is that punishment going to be? Maybe the sins are worth it? Or maybe the punishment is so great that I can't possibly do Teshuva for it? Everything is extremely esoteric.

We'll get to all of the above questions in due time. Al regel achas, don't ever feel that you can never do Teshuva for your sins - the Torah is clear and adamant that we can always do Teshuva, even for a lifetime of sins. But let's work with one part of the above statement for a second: How do you know that if you sin, you're going to get punished?

So in reality, this is not a concept found in Chodesh Elul. Elul teaches us that we can return to Hashem, no matter how terrible our predicament. But how do we know that we need to return to Him? What proves to us that there is a concept of sin, and for that sin there is punishment?

This is what Chodesh Av teaches us. The horrible experiences that us Jews have suffered in Chodesh Av - on both a national and personal level - teaches us about the consequences of sin. We read the Kinnos, Megillas Eichah, the Haftorahs of Chodesh Av, the parshiyos of Chodesh Av - all of these writings illustrate the following simple equation: sin=punishment. Period, end of story. So if we're having a hard time conceptualizing the idea that our sins are going to land us in hot water, just take out that Kinnos or Megillas Eicha that you put away behind the Haggadahs for next year. Or simply read through Moshe's speeches in the first few parshiyos of Sefer Devarim. They're eye-opening reminders.

Now, as I mentioned before, all this is extremely depressing. What, then, is Chodesh Elul all about? Is it about depressing ourselves to the point where we feel that we have to do Teshuva? Does Elul make us focus on our iniquities so much so, so that we feel insignificant and terrible? Chas VeShalom. Elul is something much greater, much more exciting. But that's for another day, and another post. Until then, I wish you much siyata d'shmaya in all your endeavors.

Hatzlacha Raba!

Elul Acronyms

3 Elul

Ani L'Dodi V'Dodi Li
Mishloach Manos Ish L'Re'ehu U'Matanos L'Evyonim

I know it works out a little better with the Hebrew, but these are two of the acronyms that Elul (Alef Lamed Vav Lamed) comes out to.

The first one, Ani L'Dodi V'Dodi Li, comes from a pasuk in Shir HaShirim, where Shlomo HaMelech explains the relationship that he has with HKBH. It is a level to strive for, where everything you do is for HKBH - I am to my Beloved, and my Beloved is to me. On such a level, HKBH reciprocates our love for Him back to us. This acronym highlights the bein adam l'makom aspect of Elul and Teshuva.

The second acronym is, naturally, from Purim. These are the two mitzvos that exist on Purim bein adam l'chavero - Mishloach Manos (sending food gifts) and Matanos L'Evyonim (giving tzedaka). This acronym highlights the bein adam l'chaveiro aspect of Elul and Teshuva.

It seems to me that people are generally excellent in one of the above areas. You may disagree, but many of the people I meet excel in one but not the other. One Jew may be incredibly devout in their beliefs and medakdek (careful) in their mitzvos, but they may be lacking a little in their manners or their interactions with others. Another Jew may be the nicest guy in the world, but he'll slack off a little in terms of his bein adam l'makom observance.

We have to be able to grow in both areas. We cannot solely focus on one aspect of Yiddishkeit - there were two sides to the Luchos, two realms of mitzvos which we must master. iy"H if we put in our efforts in both areas, we will be matzliach.