Kechu Imachem Devarim – Take It With You

On this special Shabbos, we are all occupied with thoughts of teshuva, preparing ourselves for Yom Kippur. The Navi exhorts us to return to Hashem: “Shuva Yisroel ad Hashem Elokecha… kechu imachem devarim v’shuvu el Hashem.”

All too often, we expend our efforts acting properly during this time. Indeed, we might succeed, and our Aseres Yemei Teshuva will be a shining example for how a Yid should behave. However, we remain exactly who we were before, and right after Yom Kippur, we begin sliding back to the way we acted previously.

The Navi is telling us not to waste this incredible opportunity on a temporary measure of chizuk. He tells us: Shuva Yisroel – do teshuva, and kechu imachem devarim – make sure to attain something lasting, a level you can carry with you through the rest of the year. But the process is not yet complete. The Navi concludes, v’shuvu el Hashem – stay on the path of teshuva, continuously seeking to grow and improve.

Contrary to popular practice, the Yomim Noraim period should not be the pinnacle of our year. Rather, it should serve as a springboard for bigger and better things. For most people, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur represent the highest level of ruchniyos we reach, levels we barely even aspire to during the rest of the year. The Navi teaches us to approach the Yomim Noraim differently: Kechu imachem devarim – take the madreigos you acquired and let them propel you forward.

To win a war, we need to study our enemy’s tactics. The Yetzer Hara often encourages us to do mitzvos—but only so we’ll grow overconfident and ultimately stumble. There’s a well-known story of a tzadik who gave up everything and moved to Eretz Yisroel. The moment he reached the Kosel, he saw the Yetzer Hara waiting there. “I thought I left you in chutz la’aretz!” he exclaimed. The Yetzer Hara laughed and answered, “Foolish man! Who do you think brought you here?”

The Yetzer Hara knows how to manipulate even our greatest moments. He sets traps through false confidence. We begin thinking highly of ourselves, and we let our guard down.

The Brisker Rav once warned a father considering a move to Eretz Yisroel: “Here, in chutz la’aretz, your home is a fortress. You’re constantly vigilant. But in Eretz Yisroel, you might relax and rely on ‘the street’ to raise your children.” The risk was not physical danger—it was the danger of spiritual complacency.

Every Elul and Yomim Noraim, the Yetzer Hara tries to lull us into this same trap. He tells us: “Look how good you were! You can relax now.” But we must respond with the words of the Navi: Kechu imachem devarim – keep going! V’shuvu el Hashem – and keep growing.

We ended last time with the powerful words of the Navi: Kechu imachem devarim v’shuvu el Hashem – take your gains from the Yamim Noraim with you and keep on growing. The journey is only beginning.

The pasuk continues: “Shuva Yisroel ad Hashem Elokecha” – return until we are once more standing before Hashem. The Pesikta Rabasi teaches that even a hirhur teshuva, a fleeting thought of repentance, can soar all the way to the Kisei Hakavod. That is the strength of a sincere inner transformation.

There’s a story that illustrates the power of the mind. Researchers offered reduced sentences to prisoners who volunteered for a psychological endurance test. One man was placed in a freezer set at 40°F. The thermometer was rigged to drop gradually, and though the actual temperature didn’t reach dangerous levels, the prisoner believed it did. He shivered, weakened, and ultimately died of hypothermia—without ever being in real danger. His mind killed him.

If the power of suggestion is so strong in the negative, how much greater is the power of a sincere, positive machshava. A person who resolves in his mind, even silently, to change - to grow- can be transformed. He is immediately standing before the Kisei Hakavod.

Rav Chaim Kanievsky, zt”l, lived near his parents. Every morning, he would visit his mother. After her passing, he no longer made the daily stop. One day, his father, the Steipler, said to him, “I also appreciated your visits.” From then on, for twelve more years until the Steipler’s petirah, Rav Chaim visited him every morning. And even afterward, he continued his daily visit to greet his widowed sister who lived in the same home.

Banim atem laHashem. Hashem is our loving Father. When we come to shul, when we open a sefer, when we talk to Him—we’re visiting our Father. During the Yomim Noraim, our visits are frequent. But after Simchas Torah, they often slow down. Let us remember—our Father appreciates the visits.

Kechu imachem devarim—take your inspiration. V’shuvu el Hashem—and keep coming back.

The Dubno Magid shares a penetrating mashal: The wealthiest man in town marries off his daughter. Everyone wants to come. The poor, lacking fine clothes, borrow what they can. At the wedding, everyone looks wealthy. But after the celebration, the borrowed clothes are returned, and you see who was truly wealthy and who was simply dressed up.

On Yom Kippur, everyone looks like a tzadik. We wear white, we daven from the depths of our hearts, and we are careful with every word and action. But come the next day, who returns the borrowed clothing—and who keeps living like a prince?

Let us not experience a “borrowed Yom Kippur.” Let us stand at Ne’ilah and declare: “This is not the end. This is just the beginning.”