אלול חודש
Immersing Ourselves in the Avodah of These Exalted Days
Immersion in the Sweat of a Mitzvah
The Strikover Rebbe of Yerushalayim (1917-2001) once witnessed a Yid wheeling his elderly father up a steep hill in a wheelchair as sweat of exertion streamed down his face. The Rebbe approached him and said, “The Malachim immerse in the דינור נהר (the spiritual and metaphysical river that flows before the Kisei HaKavod); Chassidim immerse in the mikveh... but your immersion in the sweat of a mitzvah impresses me even more.”
This incredible vort penetrates to the depths of the soul. For what is it that elevates a person? What purifies the person? The entire idea of טבילה, according to the Rishonim, is that a person should experience bittul to something greater. A person cannot survive under water, and immersing in water is thus the ultimate bittul.
The Ribbono shel Olam has given us the ability to purify ourselves—and this means not only to elevate ourselves, but also to erase the negative things in our past until there is nothing left of them. How do we accomplish this? Says the Ribbono shel Olam, “I will explain it to you. When you invest in a mitzvah even in a little bit, you will surely derive a reward... but when you immerse your entire self into a mitzvah, to the point of exertion and sweat, this is called immersion in the holiness of the mitzvah! The idea is that the mitzvah surrounds and envelops you—it becomes part of you. If you do so, it will erase your past misdeeds and purify you entirely.”
Being Here
As we approach the exalted month of Tishrei, there’s a tremendous avodah before us. When we think about it, we can see this in ourselves. We’re approaching exalted days of such purity and illumination, and we can all recall these days in times past... when we felt so elevated, as if we were floating on air.
Indeed, the yetzer hara does everything in his power to ensure that we won’t experience these feelings—but we were gifted the essence of these holy days. The essence of Rosh Hashanah, the avodah of Yom Kippur and Ne’ilah—culminating with the effusive joy of Simchas Torah when we dance exuberantly with the Torah, casting away all other concerns and desires—is the result of the many mitzvos that were given to us in this special month.
These mitzvos give us the opportunity to be present with the avodah, to be here, and nowhere else—and this purifies us as nothing else can.
Seeking Serenity
Some people are born naturally regimented. For them, day is day, night is night... they eat when it’s time to eat, and they generally do everything in its proper time. When the month of Tishrei approaches, they feel disturbed. They must recite Selichos late at night, or early in the morning, and they generally feel that their schedule is being tampered with—interfering with their learning and davening. They are made to stand on his feet for many hours, squeezed among crowds of people, dripping with sweat. It would be one thing if they were sweating from the exertion of baking matzos... but here it seems unnecessary...the air conditioning isn’t working properly, and there are massive crowds (as there often are in the courts of Admorim over the Days of Awe).
And if we want to think about inconveniences, there’s an endless list. When it comes to fasting on Yom Kippur, it’s also not easy. It’s not simple to concentrate or to arouse our emotions... on top of the frequent headaches. The time of year also brings with it hecticness and stress, robbing a person of serenity.
Both Feet In
As a practical matter, it is worthwhile for us to immerse ourselves in the aura and the essence of these exalted days. We now stand at the cusp of this avodah, and now is the time to think about our plan for the coming month. Are we going to sit and complain about our upset schedule? If we wish to dwell on things like that, we’ll always have one foot in our avodah and one foot out... despite our feelings for kedushah.
And so, the eitzah is to immerse ourselves completely in the avodah. We know in advance the program of this month, and we must disconnect from everything else to focus on this—just as on Shabbos we’re enjoined to adopt the attitude עשויה מלאכתך כל כאילו, as though all your work has been done.
The way for a person to carry this out practically is to say, “Awesome and exalted days are just around the corner, and I know that there are things on my mind. It may be an interpersonal matter, or it may be a financial concern. It may even be a spiritual matter, or something to do with one of his children. “We will speak after the Yamim Tovim. I am now preoccupied... These matters may be very important, but they must wait until after these days. I don’t have the space in my nefesh for this at this time. Now, I want to immerse myself in my pining and yearning for the Ribbono shel Olam—בכבודך כולו העולם כל על מלוך, coronating Him upon the entire world.”
And if a person is indeed dealing with a spiritual matter, then he must certainly place his worry into the words of the davening over these Days of Awe. He must allow this to be the backdrop of the Yamim Tovim—giving expression to his desire to be closer to the Ribbono shel Olam. And when a person merits to be completely immersed in the aura of these days, not only is he connected to the mitzvos of these days, but he also merits forgiveness—for this immersion has the power to erase sin and transgression. The Ribbono shel Olam says, “I am forgiving... I erase sins of the past... but for this to happen, you must be immersed....”
