When the Mitteler Rebbe (the second Chabad Rebbe) was five years old, he studied under Reb Ber the melamed, in the home of Reb Avraham the doctor. Once he overheard Reb Avraham bemoaning, “We are already far into Elul, but I haven’t yet prepared the leeches!” Leeches were used for healing and were only out in the warm summer months.
When the Mitteler Rebbe came home after cheder, he used to spend time in the company of the chassidim who were in the room next to the Alter Rebbe’s room. One day he saw them sitting around and talking, when they suddenly began to laugh. Hearing them, the young boy reprimanded them, “We are deep into Elul, you haven’t yet prepared the leeches, yet you sit here laughing?!” And he left the room.
They immediately assumed that this was a vort (teaching) he had heard from his father, the Alter Rebbe, and began to think deeply into its meaning. They concluded that just as leeches are used to draw out a patient’s diseased or overheated blood, during the month of Elul one should do away with one’s negative desires in preparation for Rosh HaShana.
When word of their discussion reached the Alter Rebbe, he said, “such is the way of the Baal Shem Tov – to learn a lesson in G-dly service from every physical thing that one sees or hears. Whoever follows this path and uses all physical things for G-dly service, will instill in himself and in his descendants a spark of inspiration in their service of Hashem.”
Chassidim recall: That Rosh HaShana, the floor was wet with tears from the impact of the Mitteler Rebbe’s vort, and on Simchas Torah, the shoes of the chassidim were worn out and torn by the exuberant dancing inspired by the Alter Rebbe’s promise.
The chassid Reb Foleh Kahn related: Once, as I was sitting alone, I heard the Rebbe Rashab muttering to himself, “it’s Elul in the world and time is just flying away.” Hearing these words, a shiver went down my spine. When I later shared this experience with my fellow chassidim, they all told me, “don’t you understand? The Rebbe was speaking to you.”
The month of Elul is called the month of teshuva. It is a most auspicious time to make a spiritual accounting and to correct whatever needs to be corrected. For this reason, we sound the shofar to awaken us to do teshuva. As the Rebbe teaches, though we are assured that during this month Hashem greets us lovingly, nevertheless it is incumbent upon us to reveal those thirteen attributes of mercy (a high spiritual level) through davening, learning and teshuva.
During the month of Elul one should designate more time for davening. The Rebbe writes that similarly in the realm of Torah, one should learn those areas which focus on the service of Hashem, and those maamarim (discourses) of Chassidus which arouse one to do teshuva.
reprinted from The Weekly Farbrengen by Merkaz Anash, on-line at TheWeeklyFarbrengen.com
