In the olden days, they judged whether a person was fit to go back to society or if he was a candidate to remain in the ersatz “mental facility” or crazy house in the following way: They brought the patient into a room with a muddied bathtub and a cup, a spoon, a fork and a bucket. If he used the bucket to empty the tub, he was still lacking in cognisant ability. If he pulled the plug and emptied the filthy water, home he went!
In our mission as Jews, we try as much as we can, to cleanse ourselves well at the end of every year. It's no coincidence that Parshas Shoftim arrives with Elul year in and year out. “Shoftim VeShotrim Teetain...” — stand guard lest foreign influences penetrate the gates of your city. This idea was made to be understood on many levels. Our eyes, ears and mouths must be carefully guarded lest we lose the battle to our most formidable foe, the Yetzer Harah. The yetzer, the inclination to stray, is working overtime. We have 40 days, from Rosh Chodesh Elul to Yom Kippur, to attempt to fight the battle.
But unfortunately many of us produce a change in our lives for a short period of time, until we pass the “finish line” of Yom Kippur. Real change is life altering. It means looking inwards to identify the source of our pain, our struggles. Not an easy job, but we must try.
Let’s begin by turning off facebook, instagram, twitter as a mode of communication and trying to connect using a more advanced mode of communication: An ancient device called the Soul. We instinctively know what to correct — but we need to calm the static in our mind to see it and feel it.
When something breaks, we think, replace or repair? When It is dear to us or one of a kind, we repair. The Jewish soul is both eternal and different, hence we “fix” ourselves in order to preserve our divine potential.
Elul’s sign, Besulah (Virgo, the unblemished soul), holds the power for us to begin anew, free of blemish, as if just created. We long to come closer to Hashem, to feel connected, feel the love of our spouse and our children, to engage the true friendship of our neighbors and to fulfill the will of our creator by learning His holy Torah with sweetness, each one of us.
The answer; Teshuvah Mei’Ahava. Changing our ways because we love and cherish our relationship with Hashem. In the post-holocaust generations we have all been affected by pain, whether mechanchim, parents or life pressure; love of ourselves, of others and of our Creator, remains the preferred path. Opening our sealed hearts will clean up old behaviors (let those muddied waters out). Feel Hashem’s presence each day— everything that happens is for the good; thank Him for every step we take.
Kol Dodi Dofek, The Shechinah is knocking at our windows, let Him in.
- RABBI YAKOV YOSEF SCHECHTER
