Part I
From Rosh Chodesh Elul until Erev Rosh Hashanah, according to
the Tur Orach Chaim (571) the custom is to blow the
shofar every day after davening in order to exhort
Am Yisroel to do teshuvoh, as it says, "If a
shofar is blown in the city, and the people do not fear"
(Amos 3:6). This practice also appears in the Rambam
(Hilchos teshuvoh, 3:4) in his discussion of whether
tekias shofar is a mitzvah deOraisa on Rosh
Hashanah: "Although tekias shofar on Rosh Hashanah is
a gezeiras hakosuv, it has a hint or suggestion. In
other words, `Wake up from your sleep; rouse yourselves from
your torpor. Search yourselves and return to Hashem;,
remember your Maker and mend your ways. Let every man abandon
his evil ways.' "
Rav Sadiya Gaon wrote that one of the ten reasons for
tekias shofar on Rosh Hashanah is to urge us tremble
in fear and to subjugate ourselves to the Creator, for the
shofar is frightening by nature, as is written, "If a shofar
is blown in the city and the people are unafraid."
According to Sefer Hachinuch, "One of the reasons for
the mitzvah is the fact that man clings to material goods,
and cannot awaken unless there is something to wake him, like
a call to battle. When war is declared the call to arms is
shouted through the streets and trumpets may even sound, in
order to rally the people. The same applies on Rosh Hashanah,
the Day of Judgment for all creatures on earth since time
immemorial . . . and the sound of the shofar rouses the
hearts of all who hear . . . "
The Shloh writes on maseches Rosh Hashanah,
"Every man is sure to be roused by the sound of the shofar on
Rosh Chodesh Elul . . . He awakens and is reminded of his
various sins . . . and every day the shofar sounds, as is
written, `If a shofar sounds in the city . . . ' stirring all
to do teshuvoh . . . "
In Sefer Hayir'ah Rabbeinu Yonah writes, "From the
beginning of Elul until the end of Yom Kippur, one should
feel a sense of fear of the approaching judgment." The
Ba'al Haturim, on the verse, "Umol Hashem Elokecho
es levovecho ve'es levav . . . " (Devorim 30:6)
writes, "This verse contains the acronym `Elul,' therefore it
is customary to rise early to say selichos starting on
Rosh Chodesh Elul. Another source for this custom is the
verse, `Lulei he'emanti lir'os betuv Hashem,' for in
Hebrew the word `lulei' can be rearranged to spell Elul. From
Elul onwards we stand in fear before Hashem."
Sha'arei Hamelech notes, "Therefore the word `Elul'
appears backwards [`lulei']: just as a deer looks back as it
flees, people run all year without knowing why, and they must
look back during Elul to take note of the mistakes they made
throughout the year."
This sense of fear can be learned by noting the attitude of
the Brisker Rov at this time of year. In Zichron
Shmuel, HaRav Shmuel Rozovsky writes that he heard the
Brisker Rov say to his son during the month of Elul, "You
should know that when I recall that Rosh Hashanah is just two
weeks away, I no longer derive pleasure from anything"
(p.579). In Part II of Sha'arei Teshuvoh Rabbeinu
Yonah writes, "When someone is notified that his case is to
be brought before a judge of flesh and blood, he is worried
and afraid. So, as the days of judgment approach, he should
be full of dread."
As Chazal say, the shofar is supposed to awaken us and to
strike fear of yom hadin in the hearts of man. But two
years ago, on the very day we stopped blowing the shofar,
Erev Rosh Hashanah, a state of fear descended upon us and has
hounded us ever since. During the course of the years,
gedolei hador issued several calls "to gather and save
ourselves from the difficult state of affairs Beis
Yisroel is embroiled in, through tefillah,
supplication and teshuvoh. Jewish blood is being
spilled, various tragedies and horrifying road accidents are
taking place, and people are falling sick with grave
diseases."
In his article, "Why do You Slumber?" the Chofetz Chaim
writes, "Several weeks ago I published an article about the
upheaval that took place in our Holy Land, in which I tried
to spur Klal Yisroel to do teshuvoh. This
upheaval was a warning to the entire world to abandon their
evil ways, and to believe in Hashem and that everything comes
from Him. And it was no coincidence that all of the
terrifying incidents of this year took place . . .
Undoubtedly every thinking man will be overcome with fear and
trembling over what Hashem has decreed upon us. Yet He is
good and gracious to all, and He has rachamim on all
of His creatures, and does not even want the rosho to
die, but rather wants him to abandon his ways and to live.
"But the thinking man will realize that HaKodosh Boruch
Hu is spurring us to do teshuvoh, and is showing
everyone that He has to power to do anything He chooses. And
certainly if we had Heaven-sent prophets, they would rise up
and exhort Yisroel to return to our Father in Heaven. But due
to our many sins we do not have prophets and messengers
today, therefore He prods His children through other
messengers, as is written, "Oseh mal'ochov ruchos,
meshoresov eish loheit . . . "
"Brothers and friends, we have seen how middas hadin
has taken on greater dimensions in the world. Not a single
day goes by without hearing terrible, shocking news . . . We
must acknowledge that this is a warning from HaKodosh
Boruch Hu exhorting us to do teshuvoh, and who
knows what tomorrow holds in store? The longer we wait to do
teshuvoh, the more His wrath will increase chas
vesholom, and everyone who has yiras Hashem in his
heart has an obligation to do teshuvoh. Perhaps
Hashem's wrath will subside" (Igros Uma'amorim 12).
Even without the sound of the shofar, whose nature is to
rouse people, the current situation, with all of the recent
events and frightful tragedies that have taken place over the
years -- this alone should be enough to scare us and to waken
us to do teshuvoh.
*
Hearing the sound of the shofar is not enough to fulfill the
mitzvah. The primary requirement is to examine one's deeds,
to mend one's ways and to do teshuvoh, as is
illustrated in the following parable by the Maggid of Dubno:
A farmer comes to the city and a fire breaks out. He sees the
people standing around blowing shofars and trumpets. Later
people run by carrying buckets of water. Now the farmer was
quite puzzled. When the fire broke out the inhabitants of the
city arrange to have musical instruments played in the
street. What is the point of these festivities?
The drums and trumpets, the people explain, are to put out
the fire. Curious about this new technique, the farmer bought
a trumpet and drum and brought them home. The next time a
fire broke out in the village, all of the local residents ran
to put out the flames, until the farmer explained to them
that there was no need to run around with buckets of water,
for he had brought a special device designed to handle fires.
He took out the drum and proceeded to pound away with all his
might. He drummed harder, but the harder he drummed, the
higher the flames licked. Eventually the crowd turned against
him, saying, "Pounding on a drum is not enough to drive back
a fire." The drum is only intended to summon other people,
and notify them that there is a fire so that they arrive to
extinguish it.
The same is true of the shofar. Its function is to notify
people that there is a fire. As Yom Hadin approaches,
they must wake up from their slumber and make themselves
worthy.
During Elul, Rav Yitzchok Waldschein would recount an event
that once took place in his city. In the middle of the night
a fire broke out in one of the houses. Everyone woke up and
ran out of the house. Then suddenly the mother remembered
that one girl was left in the house sleeping. She ran back to
the house, but the flames were too high and she could not go
in. The mother stood beneath her daughter's window and
yelled, "Get up! Wake up! Jump out of the window. Save
yourself! The fire is out of control!"
And over the sound of the crackling flames the girl's sleepy
voice could be heard: "Leave me alone, Mother. I want to
sleep some more."
"Wake up!" screamed the mother with the last of her strength.
"Hurry. Save yourself before it's too late. You can sleep
later."
And the sleepy girl replied, "No, Mother, I want to sleep
now."
The fire raged on and the girl perished.
During Elul, concluded Rav Waldschein, the shofar calls us to
wake up. But some people answer, "Leave me alone, I want to
keep sleeping." Then along comes Rosh Hashanah and they are
left sleeping, and do not do teshuvoh.
The entire month of Elul is an auspicious time to do
teshuvoh. In his sefer, Ponim Yofos, the
Haflo'oh writes, "Call to Him while He is near" refers
to the month of Elul. Only the beginning of the verse, "Seek
Hashem and you shall find Him" refers to aseres yamei
teshuvoh (Chapter Acharei . . . ).
*
The question of why people do not awaken and fear does, in
fact, need to be addressed. Rav Salanter, in Igeres
12, writes that people fail to think because of the holiday.
In Igeres 7 he writes, "Even the tekios shofar
in Elul do not rouse us, for we are mired in our worldly
concerns. Our hearts are numb and hard as rock."
In Sha'arei Teshuvoh Rabbeinu Yonah writes that some
people are so caught up in worldly affairs that they do not
take the time to consider what will happen after their days
on earth are finished (Responsum 82).
In Sichos Mussar 5731, Essay 32, he explains why
people do not do teshuvoh as they should. He writes
that it is tragic how people adjust to their present state
and accept it, without worrying that it is in decline. What
is responsible for this? Force of habit.
In Or Yechezkel HaRav Y. Levinstein writes, "We are in
a somnolent state of foolishness and `timahon leivov'
(a term Rashi interprets in Parshas Ki Sovo as a
`closed heart') . . . Sin stems from a slumbering soul, which
resembles general anesthesia. The soul is in such a deep
state of hibernation that parts of it can be cut out without
the person noticing. Therefore slight his'orerus is
not enough. A real upheaval is needed: total
his'orerus and fundamental change. This is what the
shofar is supposed to bring about, striking fear in the
hearts of men, saying, `Arouse from your slumber.' "
Therefore teshuvoh is not enough if it is done as
mitzvos anoshim melumodoh, just like last year,
beating one's chest, saying selichos, etc., just to
fulfill the obligation.
In order to achieve real his'orerus and to do
teshuvoh for all of one's deeds, one must contemplate
all of his actions and examine all of the cracks and crevices
to verify whether his conduct was fitting or not.
Commenting on the verse, "Vehasheivoso el levovecho . . .
veshavto ad Hashem Elokecho" (Devorim 30:1) the Sforno
writes "vehasheivoso" means to examine the hidden
places and to return them to your heart in order to discern
truth from falsehood.
The Derech Etz Hachaim writes, "The first step is to
examine the goal one is expected to reach, and the second
step is to consider one's conduct."
As it says in the introduction to Mesillas Yeshorim,
"Everyone agrees that [learning to serve Hashem properly] is
of central importance, but people rarely contemplate it,
since such matters are seemingly so simple and familiar that
we assume there is no need to dwell on them." The same
applies in terms of the ways of doing teshuvoh.
Because it appears to be so simple and familiar, people
assume that there is no need to dwell on them.
In Chapter One of Even Sheleimoh the Gra writes that
our primary task in life is to constantly work on conquering
our middos, for otherwise why should we be given life?
If we want to change our evil ways, we must evaluate our
middos honestly. From the outset we must consider our
bad middos and acknowledge them.
In Toras Habayis the Chofetz Chaim writes, "Everyone
is well aware of the requirements of teshuvoh, yet the
yetzer hora still manages to prevail. By distracting
people with numerous worries it prevents them from
contemplating their ways (Chapter 13)."
Similarly in Sha'arei Teshuvoh Rabbeinu Yonah writes
that many people will not reach the light of teshuvoh
because they consider themselves to be pure and innocent, and
do not realize the need to mend their ways, for they do not
detect their own faults, though they sin against Hashem
exceedingly." (Chapter 2, V) Thus it is not enough to simply
reflect, for then one may think that he is irreproachable.
Instead one must contemplate carefully and examine his deeds
in depth to see whether they have been rectified or not.
*
The real challenge in examining oneself and doing
teshuvoh also stems from the fact that when an
aveira is repeated over and over again, it takes on
the appearance of a heter. In maseches Yoma 86b
Rav Huna says that when someone repeats an aveiroh
until the point where it resembles a heter, he fails
to realize that he must do teshuvoh, for he no longer
considers this act to be a sin. The Gra writes that people
commit aveiros because they do not see them as sin,
after having repeated them time after time (Even
Sheleimoh Chapter 4).
In Sha'arei Teshuvoh Rabbeinu Yonah writes that the
yetzer has control over the easy aveiros, which
is why one does them constantly, for the constant repetition
renders it a heter and even if he frees himself from
it, he is still not safe completely(301).
Even a small aveiroh can turn into a big
aveiroh if one repeats it constantly, as it says in
Ma'alos Hamidos, "A chochom said there are no
minor transgressions if they are constantly repeated. And
there are no transgressions that are beyond forgiveness. Even
if someone transgressed the smallest of aveiros, but
he repeated it, the act is no longer considered a minor
transgression but a major one, and even if someone
transgresses the most serious of aveiros and asks for
forgiveness with all his heart and regrets it and sincerely
repents, it is not considered a major transgression, but
rather a minor transgression, and HaKodosh Boruch Hu
forgives him for it." (Chapter Ma'alas Hateshuvah)
In Hilchos Teshuvoh the Rambam writes "Do not say that
teshuvoh only applies to aveiros that involve a
discernible act, such as stealing, but just as one must do
teshuvoh for such misdeeds, he must also examine his
corrupt ways, and return from anger and other misconduct . .
. and such misdeeds are harder to rectify than those that
involve a physical act. For when someone has sunk into these
ways, it is difficult to set them aside, as is written,
`Veya'azov rosho darko'" (Chapter 7, Halochoh
3).
In fact, there is an essential difference between someone who
ate on Yom Kippur or ate forbidden foods, chas
vesholom, and someone else who harmed his fellow man, for
the kedushah of Yom Kippur can never be desecrated. In
his heart he has not extinguished the sense of the severity
of the sin, whereas regarding other aveiros, such as
bein odom lechavero which he has repeated over and
over again, the sense of sinning has already vanished from
his heart.
People often allow their mouths and their will to have free
reign, not bothering to hold their tongue or to contain their
ta'avos. Perhaps this is why the Gra wrote in his
famous letter, "Until the day of his death, one must torment
oneself, not through fasts and asceticism, but rather by
reining in his tongue and his ta'avos, and this is the
essence of teshuvoh."
End of Part I
HaRav Moshe Man is rosh yeshivas Be'er Yitzchok.
