Waking Up
The following story can only be understood in light of the
fact that Rav Shach, zt"l, held that HaRav Chatzkel
Levenstein, zt"l, was one of the most dedicated
servants of Hashem in the past two hundred years.
HaRav Chatzkel Levenstein felt that Elul was a time to
totally dedicate oneself to Divine service and as such was
not a time to celebrate weddings. Once he was invited to a
chasunah during Elul and because of the stature of the
parties involved he was committed to attend. Although Divine
furor burned inside of him, he was able to hide his anger
from the other participants. However when he was called on to
speak, he could no longer control his feelings and, at the
top of his lungs, he screamed, "ELUL!" after which he left
the hall.
Almost twenty years ago, I was sitting at a shmuess in
yeshiva and heard the above story. There was a small attic
above the beis medrash where the shmuess was
being given. One of the talmidim made the unwise
decision to skip this momentous shiur and instead to
ascend up to that attic and catch up on his sleep. That
bochur will never forget the day he woke up to the cry
of "ELUL!" as the entire beis medrash reverberated at
the awesome strength of the Mashgiach's powerful vocal
chords.
"When the Aryeh roars who does not fear (Amos
3,8)." Our Sages tell us that the word Aryeh is
an acronym for Elul, Rosh Hashanah , Yom
Kippur and Hoshanah Rabba.
The months of Elul and Tishrei cry out to us like a lion to
do teshuvoh. During these days each person must open
his heart to let the message penetrate his soul. Perhaps he
will be successful and wake himself up from the slumber to
come back to his Father in Heaven (Eleph LeMogen
581:1).
The Sound of the Shofar
"Can a shofar be blown in a city and the people not tremble
(Amos 6:3)?" The sound of the shofar beckons everyone
to wake up. Its deep cry has the ability to enter our hearts
and to arouse us to total repentance. Therefore our Sages
instituted that the shofar be blown during Elul in the hope
that this would jolt us from our deep sleep. In doing so we
follow the precedent of Moshe Rabbenu who commanded that a
shofar be sounded upon his return ascent to Har Sinai on Rosh
Chodesh Elul, in order to stir the Jewish people to distance
themselves from idol worship (Pirkei Derav Eliezer Ch.
46 as cited by Rosh, Rosh Hashanah 4:14).
All Elul we sound the shofar. Suddenly, right before Rosh
Hashanah, we stop. The poskim explain that the reason
for this is in order to confuse the Soton (Maharil).
This can only be fully understood on the deepest metaphysical
level, for surely the Soton is not dull-witted enough to be
fooled every year by such a mechanism.
On a simpler level the poskim write that the reason
for the pause is in order to differentiate between the shofar
blowing in Elul which is only minhag, and that of Rosh
Hashanah which is a Torah obligation (Levush). Some
take this so far that they even forbid practicing to blow on
erev Rosh Hashanah (Mogen Avrohom 581,7).
However most poskim agree that one is allowed to do so
in a closed room (Mishna Berurah 581:24).
Selichos
Since Elul overflows with Heavenly compassion, our Sages saw
this as an opportune time for an addition in tefilloh
and decreed that Selichos be recited. Sephardim
have the custom to say Selichos during the entire
month of Elul. Ashkenazim have the minhag to start on
a motzei Shabbos which is at least four days before
Rosh Hashanah.
This practice can be understood in light of the halachah that
a sacrifice needs at least four days of examination for
blemishes, prior to offering it. On Rosh Hashanah we give
ourselves over as a korbon to Hashem, and we require
self-introspection beforehand (Elia Rabba 581:8).
When is the best time to say Selichos? Although the
first half of the night is a time when strict Divine justice
prevails, at chatzos (halachic midnight) this
attribute begins to abate and it is considered to be a time
of special auspiciousness to daven to Hashem (Zohar
as cited by the Mogen Avrohom 1:4). So too during
the last three hours of the night, Hashem's Presence roams
through this world and prayer is readily accepted (Bach,
Perisha, Levush ibid.).
Since all of Elul is a time of Divine mercy, if one is not
able to say Selichos during these times, they may be
said during any of the daylight hours (Eleph LeMogen
581:24). Although adjusting one's schedule is no easy
task, the greatest effort should be made to say Selichos
with a minyan, even if it means cutting back in
other important areas. If one is unable to recite them with a
minyan, the Selichos may be said by oneself,
with the exception of the thirteen attributes of Hashem and
the Aramaic phrases of the Selichos which may only be
said together with a minyan.
The best candidate to lead Selichos is an older, G-d
fearing talmid chochom, married with children
(Shulchan Oruch 581:1). Although a baal
teshuvoh is generally the first choice to lead prayers,
when it comes to Selichos it is better to appoint
someone whose parents are also righteous (Eleph LeMogen
581:52). The leader should be a man of stature and thus
certain outer blemishes disqualify one. On the other hand,
disabilities that are not noticeable actually make one a
better choice, for in an figurative sense Hashem prefers to
use "shattered vessels" than whole ones (ibid.
581:58). In any case it is better to select a younger
talmid chochom than an older person who is not a
ben Torah (Mishna Berurah 581:13).
A Time For Tehillim
Kabbalistic literature reveals that saying Tehillim
protects a person, his household and the whole generation
from all sorts of physical and spiritual maladies. Slow
recitation of Dovid Hamelech's profound words can effect an
outpouring of Hashem's blessing, and kindness. This
recitation has a special protective power when it is done in
a communal setting and Kaddish is recited after them
(Eleph LeMogen 581:6).
Elul is a month of special Divine closeness, especially for
those who take the first step to reestablishing their
relationship. Our Sages found a hint to this in the very name
of the month Elul, which also forms an acronym for: Ani
leDodi veDodi li [I am to my Beloved (Hashem) and my Beloved
is to me (Shir Hashirim 6:3 cited in Abudraham
Tefillas Rosh Hashanah p. 280)]. Therefore the poskim
advise that during the month of Elul one should add
tefillos, and say ten chapters of Tehillim and
Kaddish after Shacharis. This way one can complete
Tehillim twice before Rosh Hashanah.
During Aseres Yemei Teshuvoh they recommend saying more than
ten a day, in order to finish the book a third time by Yom
Kippur (Mishna Berurah 581:3).
In conjunction with these additional Tehillim, from
the second day of Rosh Chodesh Elul up until and including
Shemini Atzeres, the minhag is to say the twenty-
seventh chapter of Tehillim twice a day (Mishna
Berurah 581:2). Although this chapter of Tehillim has
special significance all year, its impact is especially
powerful during these days of Divine mercy (Chida, Moreh
Etzba 37). The opening verse of the tefilloh
encapsulates the entirety of this period: Ori (My
light), refers to Rosh Hashanah, and veyish'i (My
salvation) refers to Yom Kippur (Medrash Shochar Tov
27).
Some say LeDovid after Shacharis and
Ma'ariv, while others say it after Shacharis
and Mincha. What if one finds himself in a
minyan that contradicts his personal minhag?
HaRav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach zt"l ruled that for the
sake of unity if one is in a minyan for Mincha
that says LeDovid, he should also recite it, even
though his minhag is to say it by Ma'ariv. The
same applies if his minhag is to say LeDovid at
Mincha, and he is at a Ma'ariv minyan that says
it (Ishei Yisroel 55:6). Even those who are stringent
not to learn Tanach at night, may nonetheless recite
Tehillim with a minyan (Eshel Avrohom of
Butchach 238:3).
A Month of Teshuvoh
When discussing the parsha of Ishoh yefas to'ar
the Torah writes, "And she shall cry for her father and
mother for thirty days (Devorim 21:13)." The baalei
mussar relate these words to a verse in LeDovid Hashem
Ori, "My father and mother abandoned me and Hashem
gathered me up." In both instances the father and mother can
be understood allegorically to refer to the artificial
gratification that this world tempts us with. During this
period we must try to dispose of these false "parents" that
we adopted and return to our true Father in Heaven, Hashem
yisborach (HaRav Chaim Zaitchyk zt"l).
Yet another hint to the month of Elul is found in the verse
Umol Hashem Elokechoh es levovecho
ve'es levav zar'echo [Hashem shall
circumcise your heart and the heart of your children]
(Devorim 30,6). Here the Torah offers us profound
words of consolation. Even those who excel in their Divine
service do not always have the ability to reach the hearts of
their offspring. Elul carries with it the special siyata
deShmaya to bring every one of the Jewish people back to
their Creator, even if their parents were not able to do
so.
In the merit of the avodoh of this unique month, may
we and our children merit to have our hearts opened up so
that we can serve Hashem with the untarnished soul that He
breathed within us.
