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HaRav Chaim Kluft shlita says: We Must Arouse Ourselves for Elul
"Sometimes, when we think about our duty in Elul and how to prepare for Rosh Hashonoh..." These are the opening words of HaRav Chaim, who continues, "we become confused. I suggested to the avreichim that they lend more of a hand in the home because of the upcoming Day of Judgment. One young man said in Elul, he has taken upon himself to refrain from going out to the tumult of the street, which he considers as a good practice of not being 'subject to a test.' I protested: Chas vesholom! Where it is necessary, one should not argue thus; it is an pointless excuse.
The truth is that one should have a general view regarding our duties towards Hashem; one must asses a person's obligation in this world and what the Torah expects from us, to begin with, and what the month of Elul demands, in particular...
"This is what Hakodosh Boruch Hu said: "From all of the nations which I have created, I love only Yisroel, as is written: 'For Yisroel is a youth and I love him.' From all that I have created, I love only justice, as is written, 'For I, Hashem, love only justice.' My sons, I swear that in the merit that you preserve justice, I preserve" (Shofetim Rabba 5).
The splendid and most beloved palace was given to us: the Days of Judgment. Throughout the love which He feels towards us, this is the greatest gift of all.
With the commencement of the study in Maseches Nozir, a daily shiur has been introduced, summarizing 8 pages of the gemara on each day, under the title of 'Siach HaTorah.' This follows the regimen of study of Shas which Rabbenu Sar HaTorah followed in his self-obligated course of study from Erev Pesach to Erev Pesach.
It is known that since his passing, the initiative of Siach HaTorah was instituted as a subsidiary of Siach Emunah in his memory, in which the course of study is followed according to Maran's practice — eight pages a day. In this structure of study, hundreds of erudite students follow a strict and demanding regimen of eight pages of gemara a day, and succeed honorably in maintaining it.
From whatever aspect we look at the situation, we cannot help but be dizzy. To the devout public of those who fear Hashem, the upcoming elections are fateful, decisive and critical. "A day of judgment," as our rabbonim, from the beginning of state, defined it, all the more so when we are subject to a ruthless, brutal and merciless persecution against the chareidi public as a whole, and the public of Torah students in particular.
This is not only the stated declaration of the Opposition parties which have agreed to sit alongside the Hamas representatives from the 'Moslem Brotherhood' rather than with the chareidim, to say nothing about their outspoken agreement to join the "Democrat," an extreme Leftist who regards the IDF soldiers as those "who murder children as a hobby," and not with the representatives of large families which they believe should be starved.
Their unconcealed goal is to impair, in every way possible, the electoral power of the chareidi public and to reduce it as much as possible so that it can be trodden down to the dust.
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This essay was originally published thirty years ago.
Part 2
The first part developed the importance of tefillah and its centrality in human life. It underlies all success and Chazal say that Hashem might engineer a person's circumstances in order to encourage him to pray more and better.
In these two articles, in honor of Elul, we will dwell upon some of Reb Yeruchom's insights into man's specific kochos hanefesh. Reb Yeruchom dedicated his life to perfecting himself as well as others and he certainly became an expert in this field. One ability that is specifically given to Klal Yisroel is the koach of tefillah.
Each Man's Special Midda
In another shmuess (1, 103-4) Reb Yeruchom affords us a very important insight into each man's avodas Hashem.
The posuk says in Vayechi (49:28) that Yaakov blessed his sons, "Each man in a sense similar to his brochoh." The phrase, "in a sense similar to his brochoh," is a very complex one.
When Yaakov chose to give his sons brochos, he chose areas in which they already excelled. Reb Yeruchom understood from the posuk's description of Yaakov that in character traits, brochoh serves only to enhance strengths of character which are already present.
One could ask, "Wouldn't it be more advisable for Yaakov to give brochos in other areas, so that his children would excel in all their middos?"
Reb Yeruchom answers that just the opposite is true.
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Opinion & Comment
How to Do Teshuvah
by HaRav Yitzchok Yeruchom Bordiansky
During Elul, Maran the mashgiach of Yeshivas Ponevezh, HaRav Yechezkel Levenstein zt'l, would advise the students to designate certain topics to concentrate on primarily during the coming year. He would urge them to adopt the contemporary gedolim's guidance not only in matters affecting Klal Yisroel but in questions of how to conduct one's private life, too. The gedolei Torah have always instructed yeshiva talmidim to be mindful to daven consistently in the yeshiva's beis midrash, to fix times for studying mussar and halocho, to follow the yeshiva's study schedule carefully, to beware of the various sorts of gezel, including gezel sheinah, and to behave strictly according to the takonos of behavior established by the roshei yeshivos for their talmidim. Each ben Torah should cling to his rav and seek individual guidance from him. In this way he will fulfill "and you shall cling to Him" (Devorim 10:20), as the Rambam (Hilchos Dei'os 6:3) writes, and will come nearer to Hashem and His Torah.
@Big Let Body=If you see a talmid chochom committing an aveiro at night, do not think ill of him in the morning, for he surely did teshuvah" (Brochos 19a). Let us understand this better. Why should we be so confident that this talmid chochom who has sinned has done teshuvah? Is it so easy to do teshuvah?
To make the above Chazal more intelligible let us paraphrase its wording as follows: If you saw a talmid chochom committing an aveiro this year, do not think ill of him during the next year, since Elul and the Yomim Noraim have passed and he has surely done teshuvah.
The Teshuvah of a Talmid Chochom
"An am ho'oretz cannot be a chossid" (Ovos 2:5). Rabbenu Yonah explains this as meaning that "an am ho'oretz is someone who gets along well with others, possesses virtuous attributes and some correct opinions, knows how to beware of aveiros, and can be a tzaddik by doing and fulfilling what he is told that he is commanded to do. However, only a godol beTorah can reach the level of chassidus, since this is a virtue requiring purity of heart and refinement of nefesh, and the am ho'oretz does not have the wisdom to turn himself from the middle course of behavior to its uttermost extreme and do more than the halocho requires."
A talmid chochom, with his power of Torah, being a person who boasts an awakened nefesh, pureness of heart, and elegance of nefesh, can do real teshuvah. Doing teshuvah is not like performing mitzvos, in which it is enough to do what one is told that he is commanded to do.
In the Novardok Yeshiva there was a popular concept called "the am ho'oretz of Rabbenu Yonah," taken from the beginning of Sha'arei Teshuvah (1:3).
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Opinion & Comment
To Be Content With One's Lot
by L. Jungerman
"And you shall rejoice with all the good which Hashem has given you" (at the end of the parsha of bikkurim in Ki Sovo).
The bikkurim, first fruits, are not the cause for rejoicing; they are the opportunity. To be happy with what one has instead of focusing on what one lacks. This is what the Sefer Hakuzari teaches in the third essay.
"We are charged to be happy with our portion in life through the commandment of `And you shall rejoice with all the good which Hashem has given you.' This is not one of those mitzvos kiyumiyos (like the original command for tzitzis) for which we are rewarded if we fulfill them but are not punished if we fail to keep them (except for times of heavenly wrath, when we are taken to task for not observing them). Rather this is a standing obligation. The Kuzari adds and determines that regarding the lack of joy in our Heaven-ordained lot, we are warned direly by the tochacha curse later in the parsha, `He curtails the praise which is expected of him for all of these favors.' Praise is supposed to follow rejoicing. If it does not, then a person will experience the consequence of `Instead of not having served Hashem your G-d with joy and mellowness of heart, you shall serve your enemies.'"
The measure of contentment in one's lot is not only based on the type of person one is and his general character traits, such as whether he is inclined to be optimistic or pessimistic, egotistic or masochistic. Indeed, not. Contentment with one's portion is the outcome of a proper outlook on life, of studied faith and understanding of the source of all things, whereas lack of contentment in one's circumstances is a sign of distorted faith.
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