In the month of Elul, it is the custom to blow the
shofar every morning after shacharis. This is
designed to awaken us, to rouse us to the realization that we
are in the midst of Elul.
And if we are in the midst of Elul, we must clarify for
ourselves what this means.
What is the nature of Elul? It is a time when we must cleanse
ourselves, purify ourselves from the grime that has
accumulated and adhered to us. We must occupy ourselves with
this activity throughout these days.
Rosh Hashonoh approaches. It is inconceivable that we arrive
at the Day of Judgment as is, without the proper
purification, with the layers of accumulated dirt intact.
Chazal tell us in Erchin 10b that [on Rosh Hashonoh]
the King sits on the throne of judgment, with the Books of
Life and Death ready before Him. On Rosh Hashonoh they are
opened. We would think that this observation applies only to
Rosh Hashonoh but that this has nothing to do with Elul.
The truth is that we must thoroughly comprehend what Chazal
imply. We must ask when the entries are written and by whom?
When a person performs a mitzvah, he is virtually inscribing
himself, by his own hand, in the Book of Life. And when he
backslides and stumbles over a mitzvah, transgressing a
commandment, he is inscribing himself in the Book of the
Dead. Every sin he commits is another entry in the Book of
Death.
So we see that the matter of the two Books does not only
relate to Rosh Hashonoh but to the entire year, for day-by-
day and minute-by-minute, he is recording himself in either
one of the two Books, for the good or the bad.
Let us take a topical example. We are all acutely aware of
the sin of embarrassing someone. When a person is extremely
careful not to do so, not to cause his friend any public
distress, he is -- through his caution -- recording himself
in the Book of Life. And conversely, if he happens to witness
a scene in which his friend is the object of embarrassment
and feels any degree of satisfaction and pleasure, he is
actually transcribing himself in the Book of the Dead. This
applies to the very days of Rosh Hashonoh themselves, for
during them, at all times, through his deeds he writes
himself for the good or the bad.
Bearing this in mind, R' Itzele ztvk'l said that it
were fitting for one to begin doing teshuvoh, to
activate the cleansing process, already from the month of
Shevat. It is dreadful to think that a person could be misled
into thinking that he is following the path of the righteous
when in truth, he is sadly mistaken and does not know which
is the right path. Without the proper knowledge, a person can
actually be inscribing himself in the Book of the Dead.
When we speak of what it means to know about the essence of
Elul, it is certainly not enough to just know that Elul has
arrived; this realization must be steeped in his very
essence. He must feel Elul, body and soul, to the extent that
if he is asked what day it is, he won't automatically reply,
"Today is Monday, etc.," but will say, "Today is Elul."
The personal doctor of R' Yisroel Chaim Kaplan zt'l
claimed that he was able to see on his patient, by examining
him, that Elul had already begun. The patient felt and
exhibited Elul, and it was discernible through actual
physical, physiological symptoms.
On Yom Kippur, our awareness is also primarily that this is
Yom Kippur, as opposed to it being a Monday, Thursday or
Shabbos. This same cognizance should begin in Elul; one must
be steeped in Elul.
Yom Kippur is a wonderful gift from Hashem for the benefit of
the Jewish people. It is, after all, a day of atonement and
pardon. To our regret, as twilight approaches at the end of
the day, most people cannot help but think how hungry they
are and when will they finally be able to break the fast.
If we were elevated to some degree of purity, we should be
happy if more time was added to the fast. Indeed, in Kelm
they would finish Ne'illah very late, and then they
had a break to allow those who felt particularly weak to make
Havdoloh and to eat something. And then they would
daven the weekday ma'ariv of motzei Yom
Kippur just as if it were still Yom Kippur . . .
The Chofetz Chaim once went up to address the students of
Yeshivas Radin. He expressed wonder over the dread which
grips everyone right before Rosh Hashonoh. He said: "Is not
the essence of teshuvoh remorse over the past and
resolution for the future? So why don't we just go about
doing that -- evoking remorse for the past and making firm
resolve not to repeat those sins -- and then everything will
turn out just fine? Wherefore all the anxiety and
trepidation?"
The yeshiva students begged R' Naftoli Trop zt'l to
explain this astounding statement. He went up front and said,
"True, all that is required of us is to achieve remorse, to
be truly regretful for our past sins. But that remorse must
be genuine remorse!" And he repeated himself, "Charotoh!
Charotoh! And the same applies to kabboloh al
ho'osid. It must be thorough, real and genuine. This is
what the Chofetz Chaim meant, that remorse not be
superficial, but permeated throughout the person's
awareness."
With real remorse and real resolution for future improvement,
one will surely not need to be afraid. One will be able to
rest assured that everything will turn out all right. This,
then, is our obligation, our work for the days of Elul, to,
"Launder your heart from evil."
