Don't Miss the Train!
Whoosh, the train sped past him at record speed.
Moshe wanted to visit his uncle Shraga, however he lived in a distant city many miles away. He decided to purchase a train ticket - seemingly a perfect solution. He could travel to see his uncle in quick time and with little effort - after all, he was not the train-driver! So there he was in the station ready to travel to meet his beloved uncle Shraga. However, whoosh!! The train sped right past leaving Moshe behind. What had happened? Where had he gone wrong? Why did he not reach beloved uncle Shraga?
The answer was simple, he had not boarded the train. A train can take you great distances without any effort on your part. There is a powerful locomotive pulling the train, there is a driver driving; all you need to do is board the train. But if you don't board it you will miss it and remain exactly where you are. The powerful locomotive, with all its fuel and the most experienced driver will not help at all. You will remain firmly on the platform.
The Train of the Time
We are currently in the midst of the aseres yemey teshuva - the ten days of repentance. At first sight this seems like a curious notion: Surely there is a mitzvah to do teshuva throughout the year. Why should these days specifically be known as days of teshuva? The answer is that these days are akin to an express train driven by Hashem. He is ready to take us to distant, wonderful places, to purity and holiness. We can achieve far more with our teshuva than during the rest of the year when we must make our own efforts. All we need to do is get on the train.
This is even more true of Yom Kipper. The gemara relates that according to Rebbi, “itzumo shel yom mechaper - the power of the day itself brings atonement”. Moreover, “Mi metaher eschem - Avichem she’baShamayim” - Hashem lifts us up, purifies, us, cleans us, and brings us closer to Him. All we need to do is get on the train and prepare ourselves for the special day.
During these special days we tend to feel distant from the concepts of kedusha, tahara, kapara, and kedushas ha’yom. We feel that in past generations, during the eras of great tzaddikim and closeness to Hashem, people attained tahara and kapara on this day. But nowadays, what connection do we have to this?
However, the truth is quite the opposite. This special period is not driven by us: we are not the train, nor the driver. “Mi metaher eschem, Avichem she’baShamayim.” We therefore do have a connection to the day, we can gain kedusha, tahara, and kaparas avonos, no less than R’ Akiva Eiger, the Rashba, the Ritva, the tannaim and amoraim did. It is the same Hashem being metaher us, all we need to do is get on board.
This Generation
In fact, not only is it true that we can repent and draw closer to Hashem even today, our aseres yemey teshuva is the most potent of all generations. The Rambam relates (Hilchos Teshuva 7 5): “All of the nevi’im were commanded regarding teshuva ... in the end Klal Yisrael will repent before the geulah and immediately they will be redeemed...” Furthermore, during these times there is exceptional si’ata di’shmaya, as the passuk in Malachi describes (3:23): “I will send you Eliyahu haNavi before the arrival of the great and awesome day, and he will return the hearts of father and their children...”
Current Time Revelation of Eliyahu haNavi
The Maharal (Chidushey Agados, Sanhedrin) explains that Eliyahu haNavi does not always appear in human form. Instead he enters peoples’ minds of people, in the guise of particular ideas. They believe that the ideas are theirs’ but in reality they are nothing more than a manifestation of Eliyahu haNavi. We are witnessing an unparalleled teshuva movements in this generation, clearly a product of the great si’ata di’shmaya that is granted to us prior to the final geula. This unparalleled opportunity, not granted to previous generations, is not only reserved for ba’aley teshuva movements: it is for all of us. The train is soon to arrive - we must run to jump on.
