שופטים ושוטרים תתן לך
Judges and enforcers we should make for ourselves.
There are seemingly endless amounts of acronyms darshened on the name אלול. We would like to suggest a novel one and explain how this new understanding can enhance our entry into this very special month. In the Shacharis davening we say in דוד ךרביו the following םידומ אנחנו לך ומהללים לשם תפארתך we thank you and praise Your glorious name. The acronym of these six words are אלול תם. The words אנחנו לך ומהללים לשם is the month of Elul and it is surrounded by the letters of תם, complete, with the words מודים תפארתך.
There is a story told that there was a plague of insanity spreading throughout the land. As panic spread, the king's physician came to him relating that he has in his possession two anti insanity pills and he is advising that himself and Your Majesty must take them in order to save themselves from becoming insane together with the population. The wise king questioned the plan by asking, "If we will be the only ones not becoming insane, then the entire country will look at us as individuals who have lost their minds and will overthrow the kingdom". The physician responded "Then the only solution will be that we will act like them as if we were insane". The king was not satisfied with this answer and again asked his doctor "What then is the purpose of taking the pills when at the end we are just like them living insanely"? The physician answered "The difference is that all through our lives we will know that we are only acting insane. They are real meshugaeem".
No one but Hashem is perfect. However when we at least realize our shortcomings and embark on the challenge to correct them, we are on the journey to perfection which is Hashem's sole desire for Man – לא עליך המלאכה לגמור.
One might ask but what brings a person to such a mindset and conviction to even desire such a life and commitment? From where comes the inspiration and drive for one to "swallow the pill" and preserve his sanity in a world that pursues and fosters only a hedonistic lifestyle and a selfish life mission?
The answer to this is that every Yid is gifted with such a pill called neshama which our sefarim tell us is a חלק אלק ממעל. The Baal Hatanya writes that history has demonstrated over and over again that even the greatest sinner when faced with surrendering his life for Kiddush Hashem or being killed, will choose the former because of that pill that lies deep in his hidden essence.
The Sefas Emes calls this pill בתולה, a virgin. This description is used because it denotes a place that has not been penetrated or violated from the outside or from any gentile influence. It is in the form that can never be altered and it possesses a fire and light that cannot be extinguished. From here a Yid draws supernatural strength to overcome overwhelming challenges of spirit by its constant reminder not to allow himself to be completely hijacked by the negative forces and beliefs which seek his spiritual demise.
The gematriah of בתולה is באמת. The neshama is connected to Hashem who's seal is emes. Emes does not fluctuate or change, it is everlasting even though one is not aware of its presence and does not embrace it. As we say in Birkas Ahavah Rabba וקרבתנו לשמך הגדול סלה באמת You brought us close to your name through the middah of Emes which is the middah of the neshama חלק אלוק ממעל (Orchos Tzadikim 22 Sheker). With the realization that we are constantly attached to this emes of our neshamos, we are led to ךדחילו ךל תודוהל באהבה to thank you for this relationship and to unify and sanctify Your name.
The mazal constellation of Elul is בתולה. Therefore it is the month when our supernatural pill begins to vibrate within us. It reacts to the daily blowing of the shofar to arouse us to this awareness. For it was through the blowing of ruach into Man that he realized that he was created in the form of Tzelem Elokim. As the passuk says ויפח באפיו נשמת חיים which end letter acronym is חותם – seal, the חותמו של הקב"ה אמת. As the Elul days pass you start to realize that there is another part of you besides your blood and flesh that craves earthliness. This other component which acts as an alarm clock, is ignited to send its wake up calls to arouse you from your deep slumber and complacency. It begins to beep in a low and gentle sound only to grow louder at higher decibels as the days of Elul pass by.
As this absolute emes slowly becomes clearer, you realize that more aspects of your behavior and lifestyle are inappropriate and not in sync with the will of his creator. You begin to feel remorse over your actions and feel that they are a betrayal to your hidden essence the neshama. It is then that you reach the awareness that the bad things, beliefs, and actions in your routine living are merely the role of an actor but not your true identity, nor are they in alignment with his deep yearning which comes from your inner existence. You arrive at the assessment that your essence and neshama are your real life forces and salvation, and everybody else is meshugah and living a falsehood. Now with your reframed perception of yourself and life, you are ready and motivated to repent and do proper teshuvah.
Rabbeinu Yonah writes at the beginning of his Shaarei Teshuva an analogy in order to understand how bad it is to delay teshuvah. A bunch of criminals who were in prison, one day broke through the wall and they all escaped except for one. When the guard discovered their successful plan and realized that nevertheless one prisoner still remained behind, he took his stick and began beating him. It was obvious to the guard that the reason he did not attempt to escape with the others was because he didn't realize that prison time was a punishment for doing something wrong. In such a distorted understanding he will never acquire the benefit of rehabilitation for his evil doings. Therefore the guard felt that beating the prisoner will awaken him to the reality. We see from the Rabbeinu Yonah that one must first understand that his behavior is wayward and only then will he be motivated to correct it.
שופ םירטושו םיט if your intellect cannot judge and bring about corrective behavior, then the enforcers will have to take over and forcefully bring one to a true judgement. In the above scenario, the analogy of Rabbeinu Yonah is fulfilled.
In other words one cannot truly to do teshuvah unless he first recognizes the role of his neshama which then raises a red flag that something or middah is wrong and malfunctioning and has to be fixed. This is the purpose of Elul, a time to first realize that you have gone off the divine track of emes and fallen astray in a falsehood, and yet you still have the ability to return to Hashem and once again become close to Him. This is hinted in the name לולא as we find the two words לא and לו. The word לא symbolizes the realization I am not where I am supposed to be at. The word לו symbolizes that I still have within my ability to do teshuva and return to Him my creator.
This yesod in teshuvah is hinted in the acronym found in the words םיללהמו ךל ונחנא םידומ לשם תפארתך. Elul possesses the segulah to bring out the neshamah awareness of תם בתולה within each Yid. Without it some of us would never have realized even up until the day of death, that all through life we were bad actors who were carrying a foreign passport instead of being the active citizens of Am Yisrael fulfilling the purpose for which we were created.
Gut Shabbos Gut Chodesh Elul
Rav Brazil
