Shabbos Shuva

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, we should do teshuva, and kechu imachem devorim, make sure to attain some level that you can take with you for the entire year. But the process is not yet complete. The Navi concludes, v’shuvu el Hashem, keep on the path of teshuva, continuously seeking to change 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 throughout the rest of the year. For most people, Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur represent the highest level of ruchniyos we can achieve, levels we barely aspire to the rest of the year. The Navi teaches us to approach Yomim Noraim differently. Kechu imochem devarim. All the madreigos you acquired during these days should propel us forward to ever-greater heights.

To win a war, we need to familiarize ourselves with our enemy’s tactics. Let us study how we get caught up in this way of thinking, and we will overcome it easier.

The tale is told of a tzadik who closed his business, sold his home, and made the difficult trip to Eretz Yisroel. When he arrived, he went straightaway to visit the Kosel. He approached the wall, and to his surprise, he saw the yetzer hara standing there. “I thought I left you in chutz l’aretz,” he said. The yetzer hara laughed at him, “Foolish man! Who do you think brought you here?”

The yetzer hara doesn’t just tell us openly to do aveiros. He is much smarter than that. Instead, he convinces us to perform great mitzvos, but he is really setting a trap. He knows we will begin to think highly of ourselves, and we then become overconfident. Once we let our guard down, it is only a matter of time before he misleads us in many other ways.

This type of overconfidence takes many forms. The Brisker Rav was convalescing in Switzerland and someone approached him, asking his advice whether he should move to Eretz Yisroel. He explained to the Rav how the burden of leadership had grown too difficult for him. Despite the validity of his complaint, the Rav advised him to stay in chutz l’aretz, and he explained as follows. “You still have young children at home to be mechanech. Here, in chutz l’aretz, you are surrounded by undesirable influences. Therefore, the home is a fortress, and you are vigilant to ensure that your home is mechanech them in the best way possible. In Eretz Yisroel, however, one tends to rely on ‘the streets’ to be mechanech the children. You might become overly confident, and you will neglect the necessary spiritual supervision.”

Every Elul, we need to be wary of these same tactics. The yetzer hara points out all the great things we do during the Yomim Noraim, and he tries to convince us to take it easy, that we no longer need to worry during the rest of the year. But we are already forewarned. Kechu imochem devarim, carry on with your great work, v’shuvu el Hashem, and continue higher and higher, to never-ending levels of teshuva.

The pasuk says, “Shuva Yisroel ad Hashem Elokecha,” return until we stand once more before Hashem. The Pesichta Rabosi comments that even a hirhur, a thought of teshuva, has the power to travel all the way to the kisei hakavod.

Researchers were once conducting a study. They needed volunteers, so they negotiated a deal whereby convicts at a state prison could participate in exchange for a reduction in their sentence. Ostensibly, they were testing human endurance in extremely cold climates. They warned the test subjects that they would expose them to freezing temperatures, involving significant risk to their health.

The scientists sat one of the subjects in a freezer, with the temperature set to 40°F as the starting point. The fellow sat shivering in the cold and watched as the thermometer slowly began to drop. He became colder and colder, his pulse dropped lower and lower, until he finally died of hypothermia.

During the subsequent investigation, the startling truth was revealed. The thermometer was rigged, and the researchers only dropped the temperature by several degrees, not nearly cold enough to hurt anyone. The experiment was really about the power of suggestion and its effects on one’s mental state. Indeed, the belief that he was experiencing extreme cold was enough to trigger corresponding physical reactions in the prisoner, and his eventual death.

We see the amazing powerful of the mind. Can we begin to imagine how much one can achieve if he puts his mind to it?

This is the strength of a positive machshava. A person merely decides, with a firm commitment, that he is willing to change. This alone can transform him completely, and he immediately is standing ad Hashem Elokecha, before the kisei hakavod.

Rav Chaim Kanievsky lived in Bnei Brak, near his parents’ home. Every morning, he would make sure to stop by and visit them. Then his mother passed away, and he stopped his daily visits. A short while later, while he was in their home, his father, the Steipler ztz”l, commented to him, “I, too, appreciated your visits.” The very next morning, and every single day afterwards until his father was niftar twelve years later, Rav Chaim visited his father after Shachris. And he remembered this lesson well, and he took it one step further. Rav Chaim’s widowed sister lived with their father. R’ Chaim continued to visit the home every single morning, after the Steipler’s petira, to greet his sister.

Banim atem la’Hashem. Hashem is avinu malkeinui, our Father, and we are His beloved children. We, too, visit our Father in His home, in the betei midrashim, and every time we go to shul to daven. During the Yomim Noraim, we visit quite often, but once Simchas Torah is past, our visits become less frequent. We need to keep in mind that our Father appreciates our visits. Kechu imachem devorim, take your newfound appreciation, v’shuvu el Hashem. Keep visiting, keep returning, keep on growing and coming closer to Hashem.

Walk into any shul on Yom Kippur, and you will be greeted by the identical scene. Men wearing their kittels are involved in their tefilla, and the mood is appropriately serious and respectful. One would get the impression that they are all tzadikim, all primarily occupied with their ruchniyos. Yet we know this is not always the case.

Picture the scene, says the Dubno Magid, when the richest man in town marries off his daughter. Everyone is invited, and this is one affair no one wants to miss. All the guests prepare their finest clothing and their best jewelry. The poor people also want to join, but they don’t own suitable attire. Rather than miss out on the festivities, they attempt to borrow whatever they can from neighbors and friends, so they can attend in style.

To a casual observer at the wedding, all the guests seem affluent. Only if they follow them home after the celebrations are complete will they see some people returning the borrowed items to their owners, and it becomes abundantly clear who is wealthy and who was dressing up for the occasion.

On Yom Kippur, we all look the same. We’re all acting our best, and you cannot differentiate between the truly righteous individuals and those less so. It is only on the next day, when everyone returns to their ordinary routines, that we can discern who lives this way, and who was putting on a show.

Let’s make sure we don’t experience a “borrowed Yom Kippur.” Let us stand by ne’ilah, and say, “This is not the end – this is just the beginning.”