It is told that Maran HaGaon R' Itzele Blazer ztvk'l
once stood before the congregation on Rosh Chodesh Elul. He
opened the Oron Hakodesh and, turning to the Torah
scrolls, said amidst weeping:
"I thank You Hashem, my G-d; I praise and extol You for
having given us this month of Elul.
"Master of the World: We accept upon ourselves this month of
Elul with love and joy."
*
In what way is the month of Elul different from the other
months of the year? In what way is it unique? In what way are
our duties during this month greater than during the rest of
the year? What, essentially, is Elul?
The simple answer is that at the end of these days, at the
culmination of this year, there is prepared for each and
every person a huge and spacious hall filled with goodness
and blessing, both spiritual and material. This hall stands
ready and waiting for him, except that it is locked and
sealed. It has no opening and one cannot enter it and avail
himself of its treasures. Man is required to create, through
his very own efforts, the opening to this hall through which
he can enter and help himself to what has been prepared for
him, both spiritually and materially.
It is no simple feat to open a doorway. Laziness, poor
character traits and other stumbling blocks stand in man's
way. Sometimes he will need to invest great toil and effort
until he makes the opening, for it is a large door and who
can move it? How can he open such a huge door? But he is told
that he need not free the entire doorway. All he need do is
make a tiny aperture, the sliver-width of the eye of a
needle, and then Hashem will open up for him the entire
hallway, and from Heaven he will be showered with plentiful
blessing once he enters that hall.
But the opening, however small, is the prerequisite and he
must create it all by himself. Actually, man must work at it
throughout the year, not only during Elul. Mitzvah upon
mitzvah, prohibitive and positive, avoiding evil and doing
good. All these efforts create that desired opening into the
hall of Hashem's goodness.
If it is true that it is a year-round effort, then what,
again, is so special about Elul? Why does this month stand
out from all the others?
True, throughout the year, a man is obligated to hew out the
entranceway to the treasure trove, but if this is an arduous
task throughout the year, if it is difficult to even make a
dent, a needle-thin fissure, then during the propitious
period of Elul he is privy to a great measure of Heavenly
assistance in all of his avodas Hashem. In Torah and
prayer, in self-improvement, in areas between man and his
fellow man and so on. These are his tools to create the
doorway into the sanctuary.
These days are particularly conducive to drawing closer to
Hashem, as is explained by the words of Chazal, and as was
reiterated by Adonenu the Vilna Gaon in Aderes Eliyohu,
(Shemos 33:7): "But in the final forty days, [Moshe
Rabbenu] did not do more than prostrate himself [in prayer].
Therefore, these forty days were established for
supplication. And on Yom Kippur, He was appeased on their
behalf" (Mishnas R' Aharon II, p.23).
In other words, since these days were ordained for
supplicative prayer, they are especially conducive for prayer
to be received and requited. Therefore, a person can achieve
more during this period through prayer than during the rest
of the year. And at the end of this period, he shall merit to
enter the Heichal Hashem.
For whosoever creates that opening during these days merits,
eventually, to enter the great auditorium which has been
prepared for him, as the Gaon said in his commentary, "`And
Noach opened the window of the ark which he made.' This was
on Yom Kippur. On Yom Kippur, the windows of the ark, which
refers to the access to teshuvoh, are open. This is
why it is written, `At the end of forty days.' These are the
well- known days from Rosh Chodesh [Elul until Yom
Kippur]."
Where is this `opening'? Where does it face and what is its
significance?
The opening is the gateway, the entranceway, the vestibule.
The doorway is the way whereby a man can get into the hall
beyond. It is his connection to the contents of the huge hall
inside.
Man, by his very essence, is attached, he belongs to . . .
"Like a tree planted on streams of water." In order for him
to be connected to the Heichal Hashem, to
spirituality, a person must create some kind of bond, a
connective link. He must make an opening that goes through
and through, that connects him to the courtyards of Hashem.
He must feel a bond, a belonging, a desire to enter and
become part of that inner hall of Hashem. He must sanctify
and elevate himself to be prepared for the connection, for
the `dwelling in the House of Hashem and visiting in His
palace.' This is the gateway through which the righteous
enter.
What is so difficult about creating that opening? Why does it
require such prodigious effort and why is it such a great
hardship?
The difficulty lies in the fact that man has, in addition,
another `hall,' the one in which he lives and exists, to
which he is connected and has a sense of belonging. This hall
is filled to overflowing with earthly desires, evil traits,
sins, materialism.
In order for a person to be connected to the hall of Hashem,
he must first break away from the ties that bind him
elsewhere. He must subdue his materialism and sever his
connection to it. Cutting himself off from the bad habits and
creating an opening to the hall of holiness and purity is
difficult; it is very hard. It demands a great effort, an
exertion to overcome the pull so that he can create even a
minute opening, a small connection of needle-thin dimension
that will bind him and connect him to the holiness. Then will
he begin to merit the Heavenly assistance that will open up
the fissure to the proportions of the huge hall where he can
bask in the bliss of proximity to Hashem.
In the days of Elul, which were designated for pleading
prayer, a person will find it that much easier to divorce
himself from his private hall of pleasures and connect
himself to the hall of spirituality, of Hashem, by creating
the necessary aperture to get in. By Rosh Hashonoh, he should
already belong to that palace of Hashem and merit the
sanctity of the Days of Awe and the special opportunities
which they provide.
