Part II
"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 were translated for the
English-reading public.
In the first part, HaRav Walkin recalled how his mother
had said that in Radin even the fish trembled in Elul, and he
explained in the name of HaRav Mordechai Mann zt"l
that the idea was that the idea of Elul pervaded the people's
consciousness so deeply that even when they looked at the
fish they thought of Elul. He also explained the exhortations
of the halochoh seforim to take upon oneself extra
chumros that one does not do the entire year not as a
desire to "fool Hashem," as it were, but as a push to put us
at the better end of our natural range of behavior. He also
said, in the name of the Alter of Kelm ztvk'l, that
Mussar is the search for truth in the very depths of one's
heart. Also, that Mussar is the "sword" that defines the
limits of what we must do.
*
I am accustomed to saying and remembering the words in
Mesillas Yeshorim (perek III) which presents a parable
of a maze of tall shrubbery planted in a garden for
amusement's sake. Its paths are convoluted and seem to be all
alike, but only one leads to the inner chamber which is the
goal. They are there to fool a person. But once he has
reached the center, he can look back, or look from above, and
see which paths were true and which were deceptive. And he
can guide those who are floundering around and tell them:
`This is the path you must follow.'
Ostensibly, it appears that the lesson does not quite follow
from the example. In the garden maze, the one in the center
can offer very explicit directions to those wandering about.
Those who are in control of their evil inclination also know
the exact way to follow. The explanation can be found in the
words of the Gra in Mishlei on the verse, "One who
walks in his uprightness fears Hashem" (14:2).
Uprightness is a relative thing. Something that appears to be
straight to one, is not necessarily so to another. Every
person must know that he has obligations, that he has his own
trials and tests, his own yetzer hora, and he must
plan his tactics accordingly.
When a person studies Mussar and makes his personal
accounting, he is able to discern precisely which path to
pursue, no less than in the garden maze.
This is the definition of Mussar, as we said in the
beginning: to discover the truth of one's essence which is
buried in the depths of one's heart, and then to face it
frontally.
Q. Mussar, itself, also had different schools of thought.
The Mussar of Kelm is certainly not the same as that of
Novardok and so on.
Each yeshiva most certainly forged its own unique line and
direction. But this is Mussar, be it in Mir, Telz, Slobodka
or Novardok. The main goal is to extract the best in a
person, to speak to him in the context of his environment.
The direction and guidance provided in yeshivos was to have a
person reach his ultimate perfection.
Today, too, we see differing approaches in the study of
Mussar, but the end purpose is surely common — to
attain shleimus.
Q. Still, we do not see the same Mussar avodoh that
existed in Kelm or Slobodka. Would this not also be
applicable to our own generation?
In his final years, Maran R' Eliyohu Dessler liked to discuss
the story told in the gemora of Choni Hame'agel who
slept for seventy years. When he subsequently came to the
beis medrash, he was told that Choni died and his
grandson was now in his place. When Choni saw that his
opinion was not being honored, he asked that he be removed
from the world.
R' Dessler asked: What did Choni actually want? Honor? Public
opinion? The answer is that each generation has its own
measure of Divine revelation. "Generation by generation shall
praise Your works." The trials that existed fifty years ago
are not our tests of today, so that Choni really belonged in
the world of the previous generations. His avodoh was
outmoded, archaic. This is why he felt he had to depart from
the world.
I heard from the gabbai of the previous Admor of Ger
ztvk'l that before the war, he possessed manuscripts
of chiddushei Torah which he buried in Ger before
fleeing to Eretz Yisroel. He later sent several
delegations to unearth them, but they could not find
anything. Resigned to the fact that they could not be
retrieved, he said, "Apparently, the words of Torah which I
said then were directed only for that generation. And just as
that generation went up in fire, so must those Torah messages
be relegated to the fire of oblivion."
Prophecy that related to future generations was recorded, but
each generation has its own arousal. In Novardok, under the
threat of the Bolsheviks, one needed staunch mesirus
nefesh of fearlessness and determination. Their school of
Mussar was, therefore, one of forging boldly against the
stream. Similarly, the Mussar of every generation is directed
towards the specific needs of that particular generation.
If this is true, you will undoubtedly ask: What is the
particular avodoh in Mussar of our generation?
Our generation is blessed with a plethora of talented minds,
holy writings and gifted writers producing Torah works
be'iyun and in bekiyus. Our task is to absorb
and integrate all of this Torah so that the interior be no
less than the exterior.
The relationship between man and fellow man should be pure
and not superficial; the rich exterior should be matched by a
rich interior. All the values of sanctity and modesty should
be core values. We must strengthen our relationships,
empathize with our fellow man in his joys, accord him the
honor due him, but from a genuine vantage point, not just as
words mouthed for appearance' sake.
Similarly, a ben Torah who assumes any public office
should do so with full integrity; his Mussar toil should be
to, "Know today and to direct to your heart . . . " that
whatever he does be from the inner core of truth in his
being.
Q. Is there any specific way to arouse avreichim and bnei
Torah to study Mussar?
It appears to me that in the same manner that we succeeded in
popularizing the approach of study characteristic of Maran
HaRav Chaim of Brisk ztvk'l, with the sweetness of
lomdus, in similar manner did Hashem enrich the world
with the figure of R' Yisroel Salanter, his followers, and
the followers of those followers, to show us how Mussar
revives the soul and that it is a gateway to entering
avodas Hashem, as a new way of approaching the
teachings of Chazal.
To this must be added the words of R' Daniel Mowshovitz
ztvk'l, Hy'd of Kelm, of whom Maran R' Elchonon
Wasserman ztvk'l, Hy'd said that a third of the world
exists in his merit. He expounded on the verse, "And your
life will be suspended before you . . . " which, the
gemora in Menochos 150b explains, refers to one
who keeps grain from one year to the next. "And you shall
fear night and day" — refers to one who stashes away
grain from one week to the next. "You shall not believe in
your life" — refers to one who relies on a baker [and
has nothing in storage].
But do we not similarly fit this definition of having our
lives "suspended before us"? Is, then, any person who goes to
the grocery in the morning to buy bread considered to be
living in fear and indecision?
Maran R' Chaim Shmulevitz explained that a person can be
given something that is considered a blessing, whereas
another person, who lacks faith, transforms this very
blessing, this very Gan Eden, into a Gehennom on earth. He
lives in proximity to the [benevolent] King, and still feels
that his life is suspended in uncertainty and insecurity.
R' Doniel of Kelm explained that each person has his own
spiritual range, with its upper and its lower limit. Chazal
in Erchin 16b illustrated this, saying that suffering
can even begin with a person's reaching into his pocket for
three coins and coming up with only two.
One who believes in the holiness of Chazal and has in his
possession grain to last a full year, enters the category of
one whose life is suspended before his eyes. If, G-d forbid,
he is sentenced to the [above] punishment of the
Tochochoh, he discharges it by having to go to the
grocer to buy bread, for this is also included in "and you
shall not have any security in your life" even without
suffering a fatal disease.
A person who is permeated with faith in the sayings of Chazal
will not open a store of the same type as his neighbor's in
close proximity, for he will bear in mind what they expounded
on the verse, "And he did not defile his neighbor's wife
— that he did not seek to compete with his neighbor's
profession." He will refrain from that kind of business
competition.
Similarly, if he is about to become angry, he will
immediately remind himself of the teaching of Chazal,
"Whoever is angry — is likened to one who practices
idolatry." He will conjure before his mind's eye entering a
pagan temple and bowing down to its deity. With this so
vividly before him, he will surely not succumb to anger!
This is the purpose of the study of Mussar: to take the holy
teachings of Chazal and imbue them with life. This way, one's
entire life is transformed into pure spirituality. The study
of Mussar will connect him to Torah and sanctity.
Let us study what Maran the Mashgiach of Ponovezh, R'
Yechezkel Levenstein ztvk'l, wrote in a letter to a
great person: "I wish to send you something in return for
your gift, an aid which I have found to save my soul through
the mercy of Hashem. Here, then, is my good advice and
resolution: Know that precisely through the study of Mussar,
one can fulfill the entire Torah, step by step" (Igros Ohr
Yechezkel, Letter 120).
When a person studies Mussar every day as he should, he
becomes aroused. This is all the more so in the month of
Elul, when Hashem extends an open hand to us, presenting a
spirit of holiness and purity. This is the labor of Elul:
self-introspection, reckoning and calibrating one's deeds
through intensive, serious thought.
The more one takes advantage of this opportunity, the greater
is his Heavenly assistance to gain a kesivoh vachasimoh
tovoh, to be inscribed in the books of the ultimate
righteous.
