A certain talmid chochom told me... these are the opening words of HaRav Chizkiyahu, ...that HaRav Shach suffered from inflammation in his legs and became house bound, unable to go and deliver his usual shiurim. After the Shabbos prayers, two avos beis din who prayed in the yeshiva, HaRav Shlomo Tenne and HaRav Mordechai Ilan, came and said to him: 'Why don't you go to a doctor?'

He replied: We are in Elul now. Who has time in Elul to visit a doctor?

In previous times, the awe of Elul was truly tangible. People were not afraid of wars, soldiers or police. [They feared the judgment on Rosh Hashanah.] They prayed the psalm of "LeDovid Hashem" and were reassured.

"If an army encamps upon me, my heart shall not fear; if war is declared, in this will I place my trust." That made them altogether calm.

Today, the situation is the very opposite. We tremble before the army and the police, but Elul? "I am confident about that."

One thing we have to know: Each Rosh Hashanah is a new Rosh Hashanah. It is nothing like last year.

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Elul is a time for drawing closer to Hashem. "The voice of my beloved" refers to these days. It is a form of intimacy and affection, of familiarity. Everyone learns this fundament already in cheder, without realizing all that it entails. One must know that the door is open during these days.

This vital foundation, of drawing close to Hashem during Elul, is discussed in Chayei Odom (Vol. II;138:1). He brings it from Pirkei deRabi Eliezer: "While Teshuva is beneficial at all times, nevertheless, during Elul it is enhanced, conducive and more attainable in that it is preferential over the rest of the year. These have been days of favor since the time of our nationhood. When Jewry sinned with the Eigel and the Luchos were shattered on the 17th of Tammuz, Moshe Rabbenu ascended Har Sinai, prayed and was commanded by Hashem to carve [new ones]. He was appeased and in Elul, he again ascended to Heaven, remaining there until Yom Kippur. These were days of favor and have been so ever since. This is why, year in and year out, during Elul, Hashem makes Himself accessible to Jewry, and despite the fact that they stumbled and sinned, He opens an entrance way for them once again."

The IDF is not geared for mitzvah-observant Jews, and not only for Torah students. Let them not tell you fantasies as if the army is prepared to tailor itself to them. It is all lies, deceptions in order to tempt the naive ones and suck them into the army trap from which it very difficult to escape. From time to time, another story makes the headlines, which only reveals the tip of the iceberg of army abuse against soldiers who seek to preserve their Judaism within the army.

Most soldiers simply bow their heads in submission to the dictates of their superiors who lack minimal understanding and sensitivity to Jewish values. But occasionally, a story comes to light about soldiers with backbone who are not prepared to yield to the whims of their opinionated, value-lacking commanders.

This is a story that took place this past week when 16 Givati soldiers, Hesder students, declined to obey an army order forcing them to agree to a joint maneuver with female soldiers. They called their rabbis.

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Part 1

This was originally published in 5636.

"Everything is dependent on mazal, even the sefer Torah in the heichal," said Chazal. Just as sifrei Torah in the heichal are dependent on destiny, so, sometimes are living sifrei Torah, the talmidei chachomim of each generation. Even one who has labored in Torah and, with siyata deShmaya has grown very great, is still to a degree, dependent on mazal.

So it was with the gaon, R' Dovid Oppenheim, Rav of Nicholsberg and then of Prague and the Bohemia region. This illustrious gaon was one of the greatest gedolim of his time enjoyed outstanding Torah and wealth. Although he was highly esteemed by his co-generationists, nonetheless, after his death, his name was eventually forgotten. Many bnei yeshivos don't even know that there was such a person.

The same fate befell his written works. Except for a few responsa that were printed in various other seforim, all of his writings remained in manuscript without anyone attempting to publish them. All this occurred, despite the fact that many of the works of the rishonim which Torah students and scholars use on a daily basis, were made accessible only due to his unstinting efforts.

His works began to be redeemed in 5732, , when Machon Chasam Sofer published his shut, Nishal Dovid. This sefer, which is beautifully printed with illuminating letters contains an extensive preface describing his life and his works.

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